Ktwhat term 3 201718

KTJWHAT?!

Term 3 17/18

Holy pens of the press team with angels singing in the background.

SLEEP WELL, LIVE WELL

FINAL CAFE REVIEW lessons learnt from almost dying

contents 3

◆ editor’s note

4 6 9 11 13 16 18 20

◆ exposure: PAST KTJ EVENTS ◆ DEBATE COLUMN ◆ this week in history ◆ sleep well, live well ◆ cafe review ◆ INFINITY WAR REVIEW ◆ thought catalogue ◆ POEM

KTWhat?! Term3 o

FROM THE

EDITORS Hi! -or as we say in the Social Media Club- Hi! And welcome to the last edition of KTWhat?! for this academic year!

R

eflecting upon this rapidly ending And last but definitely not least, its safe to term, its safe to say that it can be say that KTWhat?! would undoubtedly be described as many things: exciting, unachievable without the help of all those tiring, fulfilling; but one thing we can all involved whether it be in writing, agree that it wasn’t, was uneventful. editing, designing, approving From House Hockey to exams to or in every other way that has EMAIL US AT talent time and so on, the term contributed to the creation has been jam packed with events SOCIALMEDIA@KTJ. of this magazine and to that always seem to keep us on EDU.MY, WE WOULD them, we say them we our toes- a sensation we wanted say thank you in all the LOVE TO HEAR WHAT to encapsulate in this terms languages known to man.

YOU GUYS HAVE edition of KTWhat?!

TO THINK! With that, we won’t hold you With articles with topics that span back any longer. Go forth and from the likes of the everlasting debate be prepared to be amazed by this of whether to escape to home or to stay in term’s editors of KTWhat?! school for exeats to the coveted termly Cafe Review of which lie in the midst of wonderful Thought Catalogue articles and revisits to InterHouse events, there’s definitely something for anyone and everyone to laugh CO-HEAD OF THE PRESS TEAM 2018-2019 at, enjoy and even contemplate. If you have any questions, concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to email us at socialmedia@ ktj.edu.my, we would love to hear what you guys have to think!

Hanna & William

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SWIMMING2k18GALA Weeks

before swimming gala, the houses began training vigorously for the long-anticipated event; arranging practice sessions at least once week. The blood, sweat and tears put in during those few weeks most definitely paid off as all competitors did remarkably well during the event that lasted from morning till noon. exceptionally well, proving their motto “small but strong�.

Nadzaruddin came in as first place in the junior boys category, undefeated with a total of 135 points. Irinah placed first with 150 points in the senior girls category, dominating the competition with their superb performance. Lastly, Imran gained the title of champion with 109 points in the senior boys category, displaying great skill and agility throughout the competition.

The Junior Girls 100m Individual Medley kickstarted the event with a splash; it was easily one of the most demanding yet intriguing races as the swimmers not only needed stamina but had to be capable of four different swimming styles — butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.

Enthusiastic cheers erupted from the stands as the swimmers leaped off the numbered diving blocks, disappearing into the cold waters.

All houses were extremely outstanding, showcasing teamwork in relay races and good sportsmanship throughout the event. I for one believe that if we frame competition as a means to challenge ourselves and achieve our personal goals everyone will have the opportunity to develop a love for sport.

An impressive total of 16 records were broken this year, setting the bar high for future participants. The Naquiah girls claimed their trophy with a whopping 151 points, gaining the title as overall champion in the junior girls category; they performed

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Written by Andra, F4

KTWhat?! Term3 o

SENIOR

HOCKEY

BY WILLIAM , L6

In the midst of examinations, the Senior Hockey inter house competition took place. First of all, credit has to be given to all the seniors who took part and trained for the event because they had to balance their time well in order to do so. Their hard work and intense training paid off, as all the houses did very well and we experienced incredibly intense and competitive matches.

For the girl houses, it has to be admitted that Irinah played exceptionally well for all their matches, and it is apparent in the data given for the final standings as well. Their team won both matches against the Jawahir and Alia, and while all 3 teams have to be praised for their gallant effort, victory would adorn an orange hue this year. Congratulations to Irinah.

IMRAN AND NADZIMUDDIN

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ALIA AND JAWAHIR

As for the guy houses, Naquiyuddin and Nadzaruddin were fantastic to watch as they had players who had experience and skill in tandem. While we all applaud fervently for them giving their all, the fight for the throne was down to the match between the boys in pink and the lads in yellow. Both teams displayed brilliant skill, the hockey stick being a mere extension of their body, allowing them to utilise it for changes of direction and pace that would make the audience awestruck. In the end, Imran clinched the victory, and their reign in hockey continues.

debate

BY DEBRA and MAE LEEN , U6

COLUMN

“This house believes that staying in KTJ is the optimal way to spend the weekend.”

characterising

the motion, we note the two keywords: “optimal” and “weekend”. Though the subjectivity of the superlative leaves a lot in the air, the government side will be attempting to convince you that the options available to a person who stays in on a “weekend” - being a non-exeat, regular weekend - are superior to those available to one who returns home, while the opposition will attempt to justify that the comforts of the home are infinitely superior to those received from the

nature of KTJ. We also make the assumption that the individual in question is given the full freedom to either option: in effect, we discount people who have obligations to stay in school or return home for issues like school events, tuition, physiotherapy etc., or people who live too far away/in a different country who do not have the option of leaving freely available to them. However, we remind all that they are free to relate to the opinions shared on either side!

GOVERNMENT

opposition

As taken from the consensus of a wide

ktj

gives us everything that we humanly require. Yet sometimes a little away time is necessary to help yourself remember that an outside world exists.

When one constantly stays in at school, it is easy to lose touch with what is going on in the wider world. Getting out for a short period of time helps a person keep perspective; it reminds us that our concerns and issues in school, while important to us, aren’t incredibly significant in the grand scheme of things.

Just the act of immersing ourselves in a world where we do not know everyone - neither are we expected to - and can go about our own matters without scrutiny is certainly healthy to have and is arguably very beneficial for one’s mental health.

Momentary freedom of

variety of individuals, while we all love our parents, sometimes their constant, demeaning presence can leave some independence to be desired. Staying in means maintaining a sense of freedom - perhaps at the expense of roll calls, but at least you don’t have to greet every relative that walks through your doors and asks things like, “what are you studying, how is your social life going, are you in a relationship, what are they like, which university are you going to, oh that’s pretty good, what’s your offer” - sorry, you get the point.

To get to the bottom line, the government side believes that solace from such stress - especially at so oppressive a period 6

KTWhat?! Term3 o

GOVERNMENT

opposition

as exam season - may in fact be for the better. While the inverse can be argued for your time in KTJ, it is arguably easier to get some alone time in your dorm, given that the only real obstructions are your housemates (who you could easily ask to leave you alone, or whose presence is possibly less obtrusive) and house tutors (who only drop by every now and again).

movement and decision, while simple, poses many advantages for the individual and can even provide stress relief as well as opportunities to better our own independent living skills (for those of you who want to see tangible benefits).

While we value the friends that we have in school, one of the perks of boarding school is the fact that we get to spend a lot more time with our peers. However, it is also important that we spend time with the friends we have outside of school. Friendships cannot be sustained unless time is spent and we are already able to do this with our friends in school, given the 44 hours of class and 8 hours of ECAs we spend with them per week, not including the time spent together in the house. This, however, is not the case with the friends we make outside of school; if you really want to maintain friendships, it is important you spend quality time with them, uncompromised by the presence of friends from other social groups.

Going home during the weekends offers the opportunity to reconnect and bond with others in your home communities, allowing you to strengthen other valuable social bonds in the long run.

Now, though one may initially be adverse to the idea, staying in school has its fair share merits. On a tight school schedule, your day is packed with 8 hours of class and 2 hours of ECAs 5 days a week, and when it’s a 4 hour day, there’s house sports, or other events to be participating in. All told, it can be difficult to spend quality time with your school friends, especially if they are from different houses. The free Saturday night and Sunday mornings offer you a great chance to hang out together, be it to play sports, bake together, or watch a movie in the Arc. In addition, the option of going out on weekends is still available to a student. Not only can you bond with your school friends by going out to a mall and shopping, but one can just as easily have their friends outside of school meet them halfway at a mall, granted the difficulty of visits to KTJ itself. We hence address “optimal”: the choices of KTJ life and access to the outside world are both available to you.

Moreover, one of the best parts about leaving KTJ on the weekends is the opportunity to go wherever you want and (in true Malaysian fashion) eat whatever you want. Yes, while KTJ does provide meals during the weekends, it is undoubtedly pleasant to enjoy homecooked dishes or meals at restaurants where it is not necessary to line up for hours on end just to get a pancake or two.

In addition, one’s gastronomical choices are limited by the mercies of the dining hall. Should one leave KTJ, however, it is possible to sample any cuisine you fancy at any time you wish; you are not subject to the odd amalgamation of food or timing that is KTJ brunch. One also has the freedom to embark on any other

It can be conceded that access to the outside world provides freedom to food and travel of one’s preference, but let’s not forget that brunch can be quite the enjoyable experience. Though perhaps not the gourmet experience you only stand a chance of getting at home (if your parents feel like taking you out), the government argues that being able to kick back, stay in the dining hall for 3 whole hours with a continual supply of food (which can include nasi 7

GOVERNMENT

opposition

lemak and/or salmon), is an enlightening experience unlike any other. Additionally, the motion’s characterisation forms another cornerstone by which the issue of codependence is founded: upon others’ absence, this only serves to shorten queues on Sunday mornings.

activity of choice: distance is no longer a problem so all manner of malls are open to you, all aesthetically pleasing cafes at your doorstep, any outdoor activity from mountain climbing, obstacle courses, water parks and more.

We have summed up only three of the many benefits of spending a weekend outside of KTJ and having examined these arguments in depth are confident that you, esteemed readers, will agree that spending a weekend outside of KTJ is indeed the most optimal choice.

Therefore, we as the opposition side are hence proud to oppose the motion.

The government side hence concludes that, having explored the various merits and assessing the relative superiority in all respects of remaining in KTJ over a regular weekend, that the options available to a person staying in are undeniably optimal, and gladly stand by our support of the motion.

collective

conclusion

Ultimately,

despite the opposing views we have outlined above, it must be conceded that the nature of our arguments are largely dependent on each other.

This symbiotic relationship becomes apparent when one considers the following - in order for one to enjoy solace, it is necessary for others to leave the school to create such an environment. In the same way, for students to enjoy shorter brunch queues, the absence of a proportion of students in the school is implicit.

Irregardless of whether you are all for team ‘empty-school-on-a-weekend’, or a ‘home is where it’s at’ loyalist, it’s fair to say that both sides retain some extremely viable merits. How will you spend your next weekend?

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KTWhat?! Term3 o

THIS TERM IN HISTORY

BY DHANYA, F4

Much like the beginning of this eventful term, so much that happened all throughout history in the month of April. Whether it’s about the invention of the bottle opener in 1738 or the first American woman to be titled an astronaut in 1982, the month of April holds a plethora of historical events and so here’s the first week of term 3 in history.

april 15 1738

1817

The bottle opener was invented

1st American school for the deaf opens (Hartford, Connecticut)

1912

1955

RMS Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as the band plays

Ray Kroc opens first McDonald's Inc. fast food restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois

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april 16 1853

1862

The first train and railway track in Asia was built being a 36 km long track in India, from Bombay to Thane

President Abraham Lincoln signed an act to abolish slavery in District of Columbia

april 17 1978

2013

Pulitzer prize awarded to Carl Sagan for "Dragons of Eden". combines the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology and computer science to give a perspective on how human intelligence may have evolved

april 18

Same-sex marriage is legalised in New Zealand

1983 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Alice Walker for “The Color Purple�. The book talks about the unspoken struggle of the black community concerning issues such as education and abuse 10

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Sleep Well, Live Well Did you find it hard to concentrate in class?

Feeling constantly tired after long hours of rest?

Making a lot of careless mistakes in your tests?

You probably aren’t sleeping well!

Brain Problem?

Some of you might think that your brain is

available to store all of the knowledge that

not powerful enough to process and store

you learn, but I am almost certain that

all of the information that you are trying to

there is no such thing as ‘running out of

put inside it. Well, I think you are

brain storage space’.

underestimating your brain’s capability. Here’s a quote from a

Efficiency, not Capacity.

Psychologist at Northwestern University,

On average, human brains are similar to

Prof. Paul Reber:

each other. Even if they differ in size, it only causes a marginal effect to level of

“... the brain’s memory storage capacity is around 2.5 petabytes (or a million gigabytes). For a comparison, if your brain worked like a digital video recorder in a television, 2.5 petabytes would be enough to hold three million hours of TV shows. You would have to leave the TV running continuously for more than 300 years to use up all that storage.”

intelligence. Furthermore, a research conducted by ETH Zurich shows that a difficult task is equally demanding for both geniuses and people of average intelligence, but the former require less resources than the latter. Hence, a person is not better in processing information because they are gifted with a ‘better and larger’ brain, they are just more efficient in using it. This finding shows that

However, we also need to remember that

everyone has an opportunity to be a genius

the brain is working 24-hours non-stop

because we have the primary tool, which

and it is responsible for everything that

is the brain, and this can be achieved if we

happens in our body. Hence, it might not

constantly train our brain to be efficient in

be true that you have 100 million GB

performing certain tasks.

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Sleeping patterns of successful people There are various ways to achieve efficiency and one of them is getting the right amount of sleep. A failure to attain the right amount of sleep might reduce your productivity. Even if you think that you have more time to do more things, it may result in less being done. At our age, the average sleeping time necessary is around seven hours. However, it is important to note that each person has a different body structure and requires different amounts of sleep to be productive. So if you think that you

feel refreshed after 9 hours of sleep, do not try to compare yourself to those who only need 5 hours! This applies to all the famous and successful people around the world. Not all of them sleep for 4 or 5 hours as what we thought, some of them even sleep more than we do! Here’s some sleeping pattern of those people:

source: http://www.homearena.co.uk/, or search “sleep pattern of 21 people”

As seen above, we see how successful people prioritise getting enough rest and being productive. They also have good time management, so even though they do sleep more, they get things done. If you notice, only a few of them sleep late at night up to 1am and many of them don’t sleep after 7am.

In conclusion, it is important to find the best sleeping pattern for you that will maximise your brain power. You can run some experiments (advisable to do it during holiday) with different patterns for a week and observe the changes in your body. Based on my 12

personal experience, it takes time for your body to adjust and when you try your new sleeping schedule, you will not feel good (feeling sleepy in the morning, can’t sleep at night). At that point, you should not stop right away! Try doing it up to a point where you think the pattern is fully established. If you feel that it is not right for you, you can switch by adding more hours, increasing napping time, or even reducing the sleeping time if you think that you sleep too much!

Written by Khalif, U6

o

M ae L een, U6

3

KTWhat?! Term3

By :

CAFÉ REVIEW

INTRODUCING CAFÉ REVIEW 3, THE FINAL INSTALMENT OF THE CAFÉ REVIEW SERIES. and grab it. After all, the theory of equi-marginal utility states that:

CAFÉ REVIEW ORIGIN STORY It stemmed from the extensive nature of the café’s menu itself, as well as the people’s differing opinions of its various offerings.

Having decided the hierarchy of popularity, and thoroughly debated the credibility of the potato pie, we now intend to turn our attention to the less popular, mysteriously understated items available at Café Diem.

“EVERY PRUDENT CUSTOMER WILL TRY TO MAKE THE BEST USE OF THE MONEY AT THEIR DISPOSAL AND DERIVE THE MAXIMUM SATISFACTION.”

SO WHAT ARE YOU TO DO?

Sometimes you find ourselves at the café, and you discover a new treat sitting in the display, or that there’s a new special written on the chalkboard, or you glance through the menu and think:

Lost, without any concept of marginal utility, you can only wish someone could come along and try it out FOR you.

Well it turns out that you’re in luck, because Café Review is here to help you out. Having sent out a form to the student body, you all ultimately decided which food items you want the details on, so we have taken it upon ourselves to try them out and publish our results here for you in Café Review 3.

“HMM,

I’VE NEVER NOTICED THIS BEFORE. I WONDER WHAT IT TASTES LIKE? ” Despite your curiosities, you’re less than prepared to whip out a crisp RM10 bill

THE CRITIQUED CAFÉ GOODS ORDER?

After looking through the top suggestions for items to be reviewed, the list was narrowed down to the following four.

Each item has been reviewed on taste, price, and other features, and is accompanied by artwork of the item. We hope you enjoy our findings, and happy ordering!

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Though more a dessert than an iced drink, this certainly turned out to be quite the hidden gem in the cafe! For those unfamiliar, cendol is a noodle-like rice flour jelly that is flavoured with pandan, and is synonymous with a dessert in which it is featured as the main ingredient.

ITEM 1:

CENDOL

Shaved ice with gula melaka (palm sugar) syrup, plenty of cendol, and red bean paste in coconut milk make up this delectable treat, and its taste is pretty true to form: cold, sweet and filled with the aroma and flavour of pandan and coconut. If you’ve got a sweet tooth and a taste for local desserts, this is something you should check out! The portion size for RM5 also turns out to be pretty substantial, and for that price we would definitely call it quite the deal.

ITEM 2:

ICED COFFEE

This isn’t so much a new item so much as a bit of an elusive menu item; every other caffeinated beverage seems aptly labelled “latté” or “mocha”, so quite a few eyebrows were raised at the simple description of an “iced coffee”. As it happens, this menu item - which is essentially an iced americano - is a favourite of mine (the writer of Café Review), being a fan of iced black coffee.

Typically, it does come with sugar syrup incorporated into the drink, but it can be made black upon request. Naturally, it should be noted that black coffee is an acquired taste, and you might want to work down the ladder of taking milk and sugar out of the equation bit by bit (as I did!), but for fans of that refreshingly bitter, supremely aromatic flavour, the café’s iced coffee can be a treat. Not only is it a healthier option, but at RM7, it doesn’t stand at a bad price point either.

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Cake pops have decorated the display of the cafe for quite a while now, but despite this many had it on their forms as an item they wanted an opinion on. As one might expect, beneath that spherical shell of chocolate and sprinkles, is a fudgey, gooey centre of cake. While perhaps not the crumby consistency one might typically see from a common cake pop, if you’re looking for something with a little sugary kick, this will do the trick.

ITEM 3:

CAKE POPS

At RM 5, it can’t be denied that the cake pop stands a little pricier than the rest, but the occassional splurge never hurt anyone. So whenever you see the cake pops at the cafe, maybe you’ll consider giving it a shot!

ITEM 4:

STRAWBERRY

This is a relatively new (and rare) item at the cafe, one that’s not always available or on the display, so do check with the café if you’re looking for it.

YOGHURT PARFAIT

The strawberry yoghurt parfait features a healthy serving of plain yoghurt, topped with chopped strawberries in strawberry syrup and rolled oat granola.

It’s tangy, fruity, and very similar to strawberry yoghurt but with a nice crunch of oats. You might want to ask for a little extra syrup because the acidity stands a risk of overpowering the other flavour profiles of the parfait.

We recommend mixing it all together before consuming!

It can be regarded as being pretty substantial in terms of a portion, and would probably work as a great healthy option for a snack! At the price of RM7, this item essentially costs the same as any soft serve with two toppings, so it stands as a relatively economic tummy-filler.

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What can we say about the highly anticipated installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that hasn’t been said before? If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past decade, you’ll know that the MCU is the grand daddy of all cinematic universes. Starting out with the praised Iron Man in 2008, the MCU has become a huge success way with a long line of critically acclaimed films like Avengers, Doctor Strange, and the newest member of the lineup; Black Panther.

wonderfully crafted fight scenes that are so perfectly done are truly a treat for the eyes. Although many fans had doubts of the believability of a CGI villain, Josh Brolin’s portrayal of the mad and mighty titan Thanos is really brought to life through the power of movie magic. The powers and abilities of each of our favourite heroes really pop on screen. Some of the most epic moments sparked crowds to go wild with hype (especially the scene with our favourite god of thunder). The movie even managed to improve one of the main complaints of the visual style of the MCU, the colour. The colour palette in this movie is vibrant and varied. The scenes are tinted appropriately so you can clearly tell where each scene is taking place when the movie jumps from storyline to storyline.

With Infinity War, it’s the 19th film in the universe and the 3rd Avengers movie to grace the big screen. Since the MCU has garnered such a large following, it’s no surprise that Infinity War had some incredibly high expectations to live up to.

And thankfully for the fans, it lives up to the hype, mostly.

Speaking of storyline, it’s really good. It’s not outstanding as far as movies go, but it’s a cohesive story with good tension and is fully understandable.

First and foremost, the movie is a technical and visual marvel (no pun intended). The stunning visuals from the distant worlds of Knowhere, Vormir and Titan, to the

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“ While Thanos sees the universe simply as a math problem in need of some serious subtraction, our heroes understand that the lives at stake are precious.

KTWhat?! Term3 o

fun isnt something one considers when balancing the

The story is split up into four main branches: Thor’s, Titan’s, The Guardians’, and the Earth’s. Each play a very important part in the story and are done spectacularly. All storylines converge into a climactic final act where a huge fight breaks out in Wakanda, and all hell breaks loose. But with so many different branching paths, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things happening at once, and with so many stories to follow. All of the heroes here display a great deal of courage throughout the movie, and are willing to sacrifice a great deal to fight Thanos. Some characters feel almost underused and underappreciated like T’Challa or Bucky. It can get hectic when keeping up with all the stories and all the characters. But that could play into another strong point. That this movie does not belong to any one character, it’s not a story about any one of the heroes, it’s a movie about the collective Avengers world. And Marvel pulled it off just about as well as we could expect them to.

universe

but this... does put

a smile on my face g:

overall ratin

Infinity War is a treat to watch, and has left pretty much no fan dissatisfied. Go and watch it. Even if you’ve already seen it, watch it again.

Written by: Qadirah, F4

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“

- thanos

Thought Catalog:

LESSONS LEARNT FROM ALMOST DYING

By Farhana Abd Aziz, U6

Alright, maybe I wasn’t remotely close to dying, but after experiencing two seizures, and getting concussed during one of them, it’s impossible not to feel as though I had died and been reborn.

As you are reading this right now, your brain acts like a complex circuit with multiple sensing devices, only transmitting signals where necessary in a calm and controlled manner. During a seizure, all the signal pathways overflow with power and your brain is not meant to take this surge of energy, so it malfunctions. With such power, there’s bound to be some damage done.

After both of my incidents, I didn’t quite remember things the same way. I was forgetting names and events. I struggled to figure out my way to places. Physics concepts that I’ve covered before sounded new again, and the school itself felt like a foreign place as if it was my first day here.

But what bothered me most was that I felt that I was supposed to know and remember all this. I’ve been here over a year. I’ve studied the syllabus meticulously. How could I possibly forget? It was as though I lost the limbs that mobilised my memories and the MC didn’t have the right crutches to support my disability. I tried hard to trace back the lost memories, mostly to no avail and a lot of disappointment. I grew exhausted and petrified.

I felt impaired.

It took a lot of beating myself up to realise that I shouldn’t be so harsh on myself.

When the entire world could turn against you, why should you be your worst enemy?

When you don’t get that A grade, or lost that inter-house competition, self-blame helps neither others nor yourself. Instead, forgive yourself.

Self-forgiveness is a concept that is rarely discussed in our society that is driven by fear of failure. The Asian mentality is to always get straight A’s and never ever fail. Don’t even begin to think about failing. But what if you do?

Art by Mari Andrew

You’re bound to feel like you’ve brought dishonour to your entire family, and with that you have failed yourself as well as what is expected of you. Surely this mentality may 18

KTWhat?! Term3 o

bring some people to success, but at the cost of your well-being? For instance, in 2015, an SPM candidate committed suicide after his Add Maths paper, thinking he had done badly in it. There are so many more opportunities out there and 17 years of life is not worth ending because of a single paper.

The same way you shouldn’t give up after a single wrong decision.

you in your struggle.

Think of the failures that hold you back and keep you up at night. Tell yourself “I forgive you” and move on. Every time the thought of a past mistake comes to mind, consider the lessons you can learn from them and that’s how you can pave the stepping stones towards your next goal.

Couple years back, I figured I was going to ace A-Levels, go to MIT, win a Nobel prize and travel the world. But the journey hasn’t been as smooth-sailing as 17-year-old me had thought, and some of the drawbacks, such as the seizures, were not really under my control. Even then, I still had hope (as well as distaste of being told what to do).

Dreams are a proponent to many amazing things that have and will happen, but one should learn to adjust over time. Your limitations should not define you, instead it’s what you make of it. It’s inspiring to see people overcoming challenges but also don’t hurt yourself in the process, especially when it comes to health.

The days post-seizure was nothing short of unbearable. I was dealing with horrible anxiety unlike anything I’ve ever had.

Reaching out to people about my problem was the hardest, especially at a time where everyone was stressed out studying for exams, furrows on their foreheads shying away from conversation. When living in this ‘bubble’ of a school, there is also the tendency to assume that everyone has their life together and are constantly in a happy state.

Many times, that deterred me from sharing with others my concerns that didn’t quite fit a happy frame, just so that I wouldn’t pop their happy bubble. But believe me, it’s not always sunshine and happiness in everybody’s head, and because of that your friends here are more than willing to help

Worried about the next time I could get a seizure, I was told that I shouldn’t drive or swim. There were also people concerned that I shouldn’t be doing engineering like I planned to, considering the risks. Admittedly, for a while it did bother me and I felt that my future did seem bleak.

I’ve yet to see how limited I might be in my future endeavours, but I look forward to pursuing new challenges. A friend once told me that in life, there should be a balance: when there is winter, there is also bound to be summer. When you are in the deep dark corners of your life, there will be better days, and it’s the dark days that make the brighter ones’ worth so much more.

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A step by a step, Down the tar road I walked alone.

But not for long.

Started off as strangers, Yet, 3 months felt more like 3 years.

Vivid images up in the head, Every time Thinking of this school.

Like a mind-bell ringing; Like an alarm reminding, But with pure sweetness well hid.

A short rush of adrenaline; A temporary wave of heat.

Over my sight a virtual slideshow My favourites soulsGorgeous faces, Yours, the frontmost.

A step by a step, Down the long red track I paced.

We don't stick but I feel attached.

Moments, Sunlit or shady, Took place like a tale, Only, they are all too real.

Thinking of us 20 years, down the trailDifferent temperatures In different edges of the world.

Would my name bridge your rivers?

Would your smile brighten my weather?

I bet they would.

Now daybreak brings hope, so beautiful.

Happy to have met you.

Thank you.

A Step by a Step

Euan Thum

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Comic by Chae Seo Yeon, F3 21

ktj social media club.