Not too long ago, in fact jus on monday... as i was flipping thru the newspaper (once again), i saw an article " How did it all get so competitive?"
Upon reading, I was sumhow delighted.... that finally i see an article which expressed so close to how i felt... =D anyway it is in conjunction of the recent case of an undergrad hacking into his former JC's comp sys to check out his peers' exams scores...
In the article, these were a few sub titles in the article.... and damn, how true!!!
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"Born to compare"
This part says abt we are kinda borned to be comparing ourselves to others... In schs, we are being sorted out into
gifted, elite, special, express, normal. Thus as life goes on, reality sets in, we tend to compare with each other's abilities more and more... So much so, to us, comparing is self - affirming. Hmm.. You see? we are all guilty of that right? And subconciously we are adding pressure to ourselves, dun u think? Oh i like the last sentence of this part "
But maybe we shld compare objectively and never forget to love ourselves"
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"Family Pressure"
Hmm.. this part is a part i believe we all went thru, maybe even till now its still gg on? Well during famly reunions, when ur aunts get together, u see them starting to ask qns like "where are u studying now?" 'Hows ur Result in the recent exams?"... how irritating right? this is jus ok... can u still remember when u were younger? haha even ur spelling results in sch can be a questionable subject... only one thing i can add... and tt is STOP PRESSURING US LIKE TT!! WE DUN LIKE IT!!!
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"Know your enemy"
Like the chinese philosopher Sun zi said :"Know your enemy and know yourself"... Yes, life is like a battlefield where only the fittest survive. Since young, we were told to be No. 1, first in class, first in this, best in that.. lower than tt, u'll be scrutinised. And all these while, we are in a constant state of competing. And as our Govt encourages the in flow of foreign talents, our competition for a place in this working society intensifies...
But ironically, it is this competition tt is crucial for our economy to be on the cutting edge. thus, it is inevitable for one to refer back to one of sun zi's teachings albeit old but still very much applicable to our lives, tt we must know our own capability and where we stand in comparison to others. How true..
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"Competition can get tiring"
In this part, it quotes author Richard Dawkins's words in his book, The Selfish Gene : "To a survivial machine, another survival machine of its own kind is an obstacle." True... Why do we humans compete? The ans is, inevitably, to survive. But its mentally draining and tiring isn't it? hmmm... i'm sure u've encountered this : u get ur exams results, and ur frens come over and start asking how u fared. And u wonder whats their intentions by posing such a question and will they be laughing at u behind ur back if ur results are poorer than them? Such thots are demoralising and it dilutes the bond of friendships. To end i wld like the last sentance of this part, "Rivalries can benefit in some ways, but only if the individual has the maturity to set his own goals and not succumb to hyper-competitiveness"
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"Rethink education System"
hmmm.. the last part... hehe... ok this part spks abt the education system... We aspire to be a education hub so we attract foreign students by offering quality education... Ultimately, the aim of educatiion should be to produce dynamic, upright and confident individuals tt value morality as well as academic performance. However, thru years of education, unknowingly, may haf made students, local and foreigners alike, to haf a over-competitive character. Having insecurities reassured only by knowing one's ranking in this never-ending race...Healthy competition can be good for us, but overdoing it may jus be doing more harm than good. "A good education system allows students to recognisetheir limitations, while capitalising on their strengths. Perhaps it is time for a rethink of the system." says the last paragrapgh.
Well, i despise meritocracy... It is not fair to those who are less capable... they are not entirely useless!! >=(
well... a large chunk's been said... feel free to read =D
(oh ya, they were written by students aged 19 to 21yrs... beautiful writings by them! bravo!)
Well today also re-watched the Korean movie "A Moment to Remember"...
Watch this... saddest part of the movie...
看着, 看着, 我流泪了.... 这一次, 我也哭了...
(trust me... i was as teary as him.. lolx)
I dun even haf a teddy bear lor... sobz..
.bmp)
