An Important Moment to Remember

         21^st March, 2012, a date I am not likely to forget for years to come. For this was the very day I had been waiting for after all those years of tension, struggle and heartache. This was the day that I would finally know my SPM results, a tremendous revelation that could either make or break my future. And this was how it all went on that fateful day.

       I had just arrived in my hometown, Kuching, Sarawak the night before as I departed from UTP early in the evening. Oh my, when I first landed, that was when I realized how much I missed my hometown after months of staying elsewhere. Even though I felt the jet lag after hours of travelling, just being home made me felt giddy with excitement! Honestly, at that point of time, I was more interested to reunite with my friends and could not be bothered about my results. But that feeling only lasted a while, as the nervousness began to kick in as the clock struck 12 o’clock in the morning. I rolled around restlessly on my comfortable bed, fearing the worst was about to come. In just ten hours later, I would either be the happiest person in the universe or I could be Little Miss Depressed and lock myself in the room the entire time. Both prospects made my eyes even more wide awake, and needless to say I had barely enough sleep.

       I closed my eyes for what seemed like 10 seconds when someone yelled on top of her lungs. Yes, it was my annoying younger sister, Sarah, who just had to disrupt my sleep to ensure I would arrive at school in time to see my results. Reluctantly, I showered, got dressed and the wretched feeling I felt came, harder than ever. I was so petrified that my usually big mouth shut itself down and I just sat by myself in a corner, waiting for my mother to get ready. Unfortunately, my father could not accompany me that day as he was busy with work, but secretly I was glad. One less parent to deal with, right? Not for long, though. My Aunt Seniah, whom I considered as my second mother, decided to tag along to provide “moral support”. My mind went, “WHAT??!”, and I tried my best to protest. My actions proved futile as she came by our house, and grinned me while commenting on how I was overreacting, that I should just relax. But how could I? Being the eldest child, my parents always had high hopes for me, to be a role model to my sister. And this time was no different.

       As my mother entered the gates of my former high school, I smiled broadly. I recollected all my time spent here, how I grew up, made friends, and learnt about the real me throughout my five years of study. And somehow, recollections of my past made me feel much better, that whatever my results were going to be, at least I tried my best, and made a hell lot of wonderful memories along the way. Walking to the Main Hall, I saw my friends smiling, crying with tears of joy, and when they realized my presence, we all just embraced and savoured the moment. They wanted to tell me my results, but I refused to listen and told them I wanted to look at it on the board, by myself. And when I finally arrived at the board, I took a deep breath, counted to three, and searched for my name. My heart literally skipped a beat. The world seemed to slow down all around me. I then hit me. I got straight A’s! And I was seriously proud of myself. I knew all the sacrifices were worthwhile, and it just made my world glow brighter than ever.

Which is better, Local or Overseas Institutes?

         As a student, have you ever asked yourself where will you be heading after the glitz and glamour of high school? Studies shown by the Ministry of Education proves that over 75% of high school leavers are usually in a dilemma on where to pursue their tertiary studies, either in local institutes or flying overseas to international institutes. Personally, I will say that overseas institutes are better than our own local institutes. Why, you ask? Well, there are three main factors that contribute to my decision which are the quality of the education, the culture, and the experience.

         Firstly, overseas education is light years more ahead and advanced than local education. It is also of greater quality as it provides students with world-class facilities, more than any institution back home could offer. Because of this advantage, well-rounded graduates are produced, and the chances of a wider range of career opportunities will be even greater. One thing that you cannot deny about overseas education is that they create a conducive environment for students to learn and discover. And with lecturers with years of experience and knowledge in their respective fields, it is hard to deny the glory that is overseas education.

        By studying in overseas institutes, I am able to get to know and experience first-hand various cultures and people from all over the world. Nevertheless, today numerous foreigners come here to our country to further their education. This means that we are able to gain the same experience with students that study overseas but only with half the price. However, when these foreigners come here, they begin to assimilate and blend into the Malaysian culture without practicing their own. This makes it harder for us to get to know their culture better as they are more reluctant to practice it away from home.

       Furthermore, when we study overseas, we get to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience that not many people could have in their lifetime. Living in a foreign country with different traditions and beliefs moulds you into a more independent and responsible person. You learn to fend for yourself and to slowly get out of your shell that has been so carefully taken care of by your family. Having an overseas education allows us to immerse ourselves in other people’s culture, their four ever-changing seasons, the exotic food, none that can be bought with money if we were to study back home.

      In a nutshell, we students should study overseas because of the quality, the culture and also the experience never to be forgotten. But regardless of which institute you want to pursue your dream, just make sure you made the right decision for you, and not for anyone else.

Time to Face My Nightmare (Narrative Essay)

Have you ever felt so afraid that you cannot even stand on your feet? Well, I already felt like that when I was on my way to pick my SPM result two weeks ago. I was just an average student with average marks every semester and average performance in co-curricular activities. The following paragraph will tell you more about my journey to my former school, the damn slip that I have been waiting for 16 years and my family and friends’ reaction as the slip was in my hand.

I believe every SPM 2011 candidate was waiting like hell for the 21 March to come and tried to come to school as early as possible. The same goes to me. It was like freaking me out when I received many phone calls and texts wishing me the best of luck on the night before the date. To stop this nonsense, I decided to switch off my phone after I asked my father to pick me up on that day. Sharp at 10.27 a.m., I saw my father’s car entered the parking lot in front of the V5 block with a big smile on his face. I wonder if he was okay on that day. I dragged myself into the car because I can’t wait any longer to grab my slip and tried to sleep all the way to my former school. But, mission aborted. I failed because I cannot stop thinking what does my slip look like. My eyes were on the street but my mind flew away. There are lots of questions in my mind but unfortunately, I don’t have the answer.

The time has come. Finally, I managed to reach my former school at 11.13a.m. Only God knew how I felt at that time. I almost can’t believe what I saw as my friends came out from the hall with tears of joy rolling down their cheeks. At one point, I got the courage to enter the hall and pick up my whole-life-waiting SPM slip. I saw my hands were shaking when I held them to pick the slip which was given my Biology teacher, Ms. Salmah. I know she was smiling at me but I can’t return the smile. I just can’t. Suddenly, my cheeks felt very hot with some drops of water. It was my tears. I was so afraid to look at my slip because it was so nerve-wrecking. I don’t know what to do remove this feeling so I just cried. My friends beside me were tapping my shoulder to calm me down. Because of them, I finally took a peek on my slip and the next thing I know, I passed out.

I admit, I always make my parents worry about me. When I passed out in the hall, it was a chaos. My friend told me the full story. Of course, my parents ran to get me and brought to the hospital. Luckily, it was nothing. I was just lack of oxygen because of my shock. I am so glad to say that my family and friends were happy with results. No, they are not just happy but they were so excited. I also felt like that but I don’t know how to express it into words. I just can put a smile on my face and say ‘thank you’ when someone congratulates me. I am so blessed with this gift and I know that my hardwork for the past few years (although it was always the-night-before-exam preparation) was paid off. Don’t be like me because it was just luck for me to get this kind of result.

Lastly, I would love to give my highest gratitude to HIM for giving me this kind of happiness. My parents’ nonstop-love-and-support also will never be forgotten. Mom and dad, you just don’t know how much I love you both because me, myself can’t even measure it. I know I owed you guys too much. Teachers and friends, they were the most marvelous creature on earth. My hope, my siblings and juniors will take my good attitude as an example and leave my bad ones. They just have to decide what is best for themselves.

Argumentative Essay (Swansea or UTP)

          Are you an engineering course student? If you not, let me tell you that engineering is one of the most exciting field to study. Instead of UTP, I choose Swansea which is located in England. This university is well-known because of its excellence in engineering study around the world. Swansea is taken as my choice because of its great culture, magnificent food and enjoyable international syllabus.

          When we go to different country, we will learn its culture and other cultures from other international students. These cultures may be applied in our productivity in work or study. As an example, the culture in Japan is the Japanese really appreciate of their time. They walk fast to reach their destination on time and because of that, they are known for their punctuality. This kind of attitude should be practiced by other students especially for Malaysians.

          Besides that, when we travelled overseas, we can try different types of food. The food may taste like not as we expected but it is not a harm if we tried. Although as a Muslim, not all of the menus are halal. But, we can take an alternative by cooking ourselves or asked the chef to cook the dishes without the non-halal ingredients. It is crucial for us to know the type of food we ate so that we can distinguish between the halal and non-halal one.

          Furthermore, the syllabus that is being used in Swansea is way better than UTP. This is because they used international-based syllabus which may increase the challenge for the students to survive in Swansea. The challenge may be in the form of pressure towards the mental and spirit. Mentality pressure will increase when the students are competing with each other and comparing their exam results. Some of them may not get the excellent result but this will encourage them to work and try harder next time. Spiritual pressure can be defined when they felt like they were on the verge of giving up but the spirit inside told them not to. That’s why they still holding on.

          As for conclusion, studying in Swansea may increase our knowledge not only academically but also our general knowledge. Thanks to the introduction of their different cultures, marvelous food and interesting international-based syllabus.

Survey Report

14 March, LR10- a survey was done in UTP asking a question to 32 respondents which consist of 21 female and 11 male students. In a 15 minutes time, I manage to get the answer for the question “How long do you sleep in a day?”.

16% of the respondents answered that they slept 6 hours and below. This is maybe because of their tight schedule in UTP. 60% more answered that they slept more than 6 hours in a day. Another 14 % didn’t answer the question with a proper response. I believe the scientist are investigating the factor of some diseases is because of lack of sleep or they sleep too much.   

One-Eye Creature with Long Fangs (Newspaper Report)

23 Feb, Tronoh – A weird creature with one eye was discovered by a male student on his way to lecture class in Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, a private institute of engineering and technology which is situated 350 km northern from Kuala Lumpur.

          He was riding his BMX bicycle when he saw ‘it’ passing by the road. It was just 32-cm tall with white fur and long fangs. “I almost fell from my bike when it suddenly turned its face and smiled at me. It is not a smile actually, it is a big grin just to show its long fangs,” Nathaniel Archibald expressed his fright to us. “I never ride at dust again,” he said after a few minutes of silence, recalling the scene.

          This issue is getting hotter after the number of UTPians saw the creature increased. They also snapped pictures with it and posted them on Facebook, a social networking page. After a few investigations done by the administration, it is found out that the creature came from a crack at Village 2 Café. “We were eating and doing our Physics Lab Report when we noticed a crack on the floor is getting wider. We didn’t expect a creature like this originated from the crack,” said Daniel Humphrey.

          The creature was sent to the laboratory to be taken a few samples. “I’ve never seen something like this before. Maybe this is a new species,” said Prof. Charles Bass, Head of Mammals Department. The creature is on our observation for any abnormal behavior, dietary routine and its type of reproduction.

The Remedy for Cancer Finally Discovered by an Engineering Course Student (Opinion Essay)

          A long time ago, the scientist worked very hard to find the cure for cancer diseases. But now, it was not a problem anymore. A female engineering course student- Izara Aisya, 20 succeeded in her discovery about the cure for cancer disease. The following paragraph will illustrate more on the benefits from this discovery, the problems that may rise and the opinion from the society.

          There are many benefits that can be showed to the society from this miracle discovery. Basically, all of us are aware about our country’s economy problem. With this magnificent discovery, it can increase the income of our country by selling the formula to other countries around the globe. It will bring a huge profit towards our country’s income. On the other hand, without anyone notice, this discovery proves that not only medical students can succeed in medical field. Now, engineering course student are at the same level with the medical students in this medical field of study. And, for the sake of happiness, this discovery may change the fate of the cancer patients around the world. Of course, this discovery is a big news and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the patients to get back with their life.

          Every action has its own consequences and effects. With this discovery, same parties believe that this can be the factor of some problems that rise in our surrounding. As we all know, teenagers today are getting weaker and tempted to do bad acts such as drug addicted, free sex and many more. In the conjunction of this discovery, more teenagers will feel worry-free to do random sex without using any protection and the heavy smokers don’t have to mind their own health because they know they are cancer-free if they have this cure. To make things worse, this will cause the citizen to live an unhealthy lifestyle because of dietary problems and lack of regular exercises.

          The Ministry of Health received many speculation and opinion about this discovery lately. Some of the people suggested that this cure should be marketed with high price to show the difficulties in achieving this state of success. Besides that, the ministers are deciding to give Izara Aisya a ‘Dato’’ title because of her excellence in her study. The Prime Minister also agree with a suggestion which is the first person who is willing to experiment this cure will receive a recognition handed by the Prime Minister himself.

          Basically, there are so many benefits from this discovery and speculations will come out as the problems arise. I know that this cure held many hopes of cancer patients to bring back the light of their lives and this discovery will not let them down.