A teen problem…

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_446405.html

I think that this piece of news isn’t really shocking at present times because it is common knowledge that many youths these days are engaging in sexual activities as early as in their beginning teen years. No wonder more and more of them are getting such illnesses. Being sexually active at such young ages definitely increase their chances of getting STIs. Some people suggested more sex education to be conducted which I think it is neccessary and it will help in a way. However, I feel that at the end of the day, it is still their upbringing. Values taught at home from a young age plays an important role in the development of their characters in future. If parents were to emphasize the importance of not engaging in sexual activities at a young age and make them fully understand the reason behind it and the possible consequences, I believe chances of such a thing happening would be lesser.

And also, another reason that may have caused the rise of teens engaging in sexual activities could be due to the absence of family members at home. Especially during the early teen years, there should be at least one family member at home. It is during that period of time when many teens turn rebellious since that is when they start to meet more people of different backgrounds. Social circle widens and mindsets tend to be influenced by friends. In a way, we can say that it is the ‘danger’ period for many of them.

In addition, many of them always have the mindset that they wouldn’t be that lucky to get such a disease. I feel that it is because of this mindset, the tendency for them to engage in sexual activities at such a young age is higher. It is this kind of thinking that made many of them suffer the consequence. What’s funny is that there have been so many real life examples and even tv dramas had touched on such a topic, but people still refuse to learn from others’ mistakes. In the end, they ended up following in their footsteps. I really don’t get it why there are people who still go ahead with it when they clearly know what it might cost them.

Food Quarrel!

http://www.asianewsnet.net/news.php?id=7919&sec=1

After reading this article, the first thing that came to my mind was that, “What’s the point in arguing which food belongs to who?”

How is it possible to distinguish which food originated from where? Just one dish alone, there are so many variations in different countries. The different dishes have evolved due to different cultures. In one country, there are many different races and cultures because of crossing borders. Thus, how are we to differentiate? It’s common now that there are many people who are originally not from that country, but had chose to settle down there and start a family. If a Singaporean had went over to live in Malaysia and had created a famous dish during his time there, would the dish be counted as Malaysian or Singaporean? And, if an Indonesian did likewise and came to Singapore, is it Indonesian or Singaporean? It’s impossible to decide.

And, I wouldn’t think that it is fair to say that a particular dish strictly comes from a certain country. That’s because I feel that the different cultures contributed to the evolution of these dishes, making them so famous today. Thus, wouldn’t it be better to say that every country had a part in making these dishes popular all over the world than argue which dish belongs to who?

Marrying Outside One’s Race

http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-6-18/42908.html

After reading this article, I’m glad that the world today has modernised. We are living in a global world now. Many things that were being against in the past, have now been accepted my the masses. One example is interracial/intercutural marriages.

Now, people are able to view it another way and establish a degree of tolerance towards it which is a good thing. Like what some say, love has no boundaries. Love does not restrict someone to a certain race, a certain age group or a certain cultural belief. I feel that as long as both parties truly love each other and are willing to face any problems that may surface together, then we as outsiders should lend them our support.

Although it is the 21st century, there are of course, some who still view interracial/intercultural marriages as taboo. Everyone has their own opinions to stick to so it can’t be blamed. However, I feel that to do something to break the couple apart should not be tolerated. Of course, now in today’s modern world, there aren’t many people who would do such things anymore. Such only happened in the past when people of that time were backward in their thinkings. Learning of such stories from the past really pains the heart. There are also movies which portrayed interracial marriages being against in the past. One example is, “Partition”.

It is the forbidden love between an Indian man and a Muslim girl. This movie is really good as it talks about how they overcome all obstacles, like disapproval from their families and the society to be together.

We should all be lucky to be living in the 21st century as many rules have been loosened. Now, many young people do not bother much about different cultures and religions, and whatever they want to do, they’ll go ahead with it. I believe that there should be a certain degree of self-control. Since we are given such freedom, we should appreciate it. We should also live with a more open mind and have a higher tolerance level of interracial/intercultral marriages. Don’t discriminate against them. You never know. One day, your child might want to marry someone who is from another race.

Sexist

http://ezinearticles.com/?Gender-Roles-and-Work—The-Conflict&id=778666

Like the author of this article, I disagree with his schoolmate too. Women should not shoulder all the blame. It takes two hands to clap so there will always be other factors involved. There are cases whereby single mothers had been abandonned by their irresponsible partners. In this case, to survive, the mother has to go out to work and earn money to support her family. In what way is this wrong? If the situation calls for it, there is no choice.

Also, time has changed. The world is constantly improving and the mindsets of people has changed. Now, it’s normal for women to go out to the world and join the men in bringing the money home. I feel that people of this modern age should not be against such an idea anymore. We all have to change with the times and always keep in mind that both sexes are equal. Whatever men are capable of doing, women are equally as capable. This has already been proven by many real-life examples.

“The unsuccessful negotiation of gender roles has lead to the break-up of several families and relationships”.

One possible reason for this is not simply gender roles, but to be more exact, social roles. Different social roles in a relationship can affect the two people invovled. This happens when the woman has a higher social status (eg. a higher ranked job). It makes it worse if the both of them are in the same company. We often this kind of situation depicted in many dramas where the women is a successful, career-minded woman whereas the man is either in a lower ranked job, her surbordinate or jobless. And drama plots always ended up with arguements and quarrels, and sometimes, breaking up or a divorce if they are married. Thus, social roles can really deeply affect a relationship.

However, everything will be fine and the chances of the couple living happily ever after will be higher when the roles of the man and the woman are switched. That’s the puzzling thing. Why are people alright with the idea of the man being in a higher social role but not when the woman is the one with the higher role? Is there a difference?  I for one, am alright with the idea of the woman being in a higher role because to me, it makes no difference. They are both humans and they both bring back the bacon to support the family. They are all working equally hard and not idling around or neglecting their family. So, why are there still people who are against women coming out into the career world?

Again, people of this modern era should learn to modernise their thinking. We must respect one another, no matter men or women. Treat everyone as an equal. We must broaden our minds as time changes. Only then we can improve as one.

Boomz again

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090925/tap-283-miss-singapore-world-convicted-c-231650b.html

Our Miss Singapore World 2009 winner had hit the headlines again but it wasn’t because of her poor english.

I believe no one would have expected our Miss Singapore representative to have a criminal record. I think she’s the first winner in the beauty pageant history to have one. Now, many people are discussing whether she should still carry on to represent Singapore in December for the Miss World pageant .

However, I think that now the issue of whether she should represent Singapore or not is not important. Looking at things now, I do pity her. Now, everyone is pointing fingers at her and accusing her of not being fit to be a beauty queen. But, if we take a step back and look carefully, I wouldn’t think that she should take all the blame.

It is a fact that her English is really bad. That is something that can’t be covered. But, how in the world did she win the competition if that’s the case? During the competition, the girls will have to answer immediately to questions given to them on stage. That’s when they are tested on their wits and the way they answer. Wouldn’t the judges be able to tell that her command of English is bad from there? Knowing that she speaks like that, they still gave her the crown.  The way she speaks is something that can’t be hidden but yet, after going through so many rounds of elimination, she was still able to make it. If you know that she can’t speak well, then why do you still choose her as the winner? Are the judges really credible enough to be judges? They can’t even tell that her english is bad? It seems that they need the rest of Singapore to tell them that. And at the end of the day, it just made a roundabout, allowing people to poke fun at her and criticise her, then finally, ruled that her english is bad and doubt her suitability to represent Singapore. What a joke.

Now, the news brought up her criminal record that happened a few months ago, tarnishing her image even further. I don’t see the need to bring it up. Moreover, she did it before she joined the competition. It’s true that a beauty queen can’t have a criminial record since it will tarnish the image of Singapore. But, I don’t see the need to be so harsh on the poor girl. They could have settled it quietly with her and not putting it on all over the newspapers in Singapore, making her even more unpopular by the people.  It is the organiser’s decision whether to allow her to represent Singapore or not, and not the entire world. The poor girl still has to face people around her. Like what one commented, she deserve a second chance to correct that mistake of hers. And, we can help by not blowing up the matter. I feel that the most, we should just not let her represent Singapore.  Case closed.

If she had not join this competition, I believe they wouldn’t even report her fraud in the papers. It’s just because she was crowned and people are already making fun of her, thus  the bringing up of her criminal record.

What do you think?

Your Own Perception…

http://www.plasticsurgeonpractices.com/why_do_people_get_plastic_surgery

If you were to find out that someone you know had gotten plastic surgery, how would you react?

There are people who are fine with plastic surgery but there are some who see it in a bad light.

 ”I heard she went for a plastic surgery. She has to rely on such a method to be pretty. What a fake”

 Plastic surgery has become very common in modern society. It’s not only popular in Korea, but also in the other parts of the world. Yes, it is an unnatural way to enhance one’s beauty but I feel that people should not criticize those who underwent plastic surgeries. There is no fault in going for such enhancements because it is up to one’s own choice. If this person feels that he or she wants to do it and has the money, there’s no wrong in going ahead with it.

 Why do some people view plastic surgery as a negative thing? Is it because it’s unnatural? Or it’s because it’s fake? Some say that our looks are given to us by our parents and we shouldn’t destroy this blessing.

 The reasons said by these people are true and it’s understandable for them to feel this way. However, this doesn’t mean plastic surgery is wrong because these are their perspectives. It’s their opinions. Everyone has their own opinion. People who are fine with plastic surgery have their own opinions too. There are of course, people who undergo plastic surgery for beauty purposes. However, there are those who have no other alternative but to do it. These are those who were involved in serious accidents, causing their faces or other parts of their bodies to be severely scarred. As such, don’t you all think that these people deserve to go for plastic surgeries?

 At the end of the day, I feel that it’s how each person looks at the issue. One can still be against plastic surgery even if the person has natural defects in their bodies or had a serious accident. It all depends on perspectives. One can view it in this way but, another can disagree and views it another. However, both are not wrong. It’s just a difference in opinions.

Idols of the Theatre

http://www.asiaone.com/News/the+Straits+Times/Story/A1Story20080628-73380.html

This article I picked is titled, “Youth debt stems from branded goods mania”.

Reading this reminds me of what my brother had once told me before. He once said to me that he has friends who are so obsessed with branded goods that the moment they get their paychecks, they’ll spend it on a Louis Vuitton or a Chanel bag. And, the worst thing is that these people are only in their early twenties. They’re either still schooling or just in the early stages of their careers. They are willing to scrimp and save on things like food just to be able to own a branded good. Is it really so important to have one?

It is once again the era of accepting fashion uncrititcally. Everyone is accepting new trends without consideration. It doesn’t matter whether it looks good on you or not or whether you’re able to afford it, you’ll just buy it. It’s simply because it’s the latest trend now.

“Everyone is having it so I want one too”

It seems that it can be used as a tool to impress or to have people notice you. “Wow, that person is carrying a Gucci bag”

I believe that buying such luxurious goods isn’t wrong because it’s individual’s choice. However, I think that it’s plain ridiculous to make yourself suffer just to be able to own one. Knowing that it’s not within your financial abilities and yet, still going ahead with it, will only create more problems for yourself. One obvious problem would be debt. In my opinion, it’s not worth it.

I truly agree with the quote from the last paragraph of the article. Nowadays, to impress, people chase after things that are beyond their reach despite the fact that they know they’ll have a hard time paying for it. At the end of the day, they are the ones who’ll suffer the most.