Hall of Fame
Time is always a scarce resource. What are your views?
By Low Huey Sze, CHIJ St. Theresa Convent – Achieved A1 in ‘O’ Level English Language
Time is very slow for those who wait;
very fast for those who are scared;
very long for those who lament;
very short for those who celebrate; but for those who love, time is eternal.
– William Shakespeare
Time is never on Man’s side. It is a paradox. Man can never get enough of it, yet there is no way we can get any more of it than what has already been assigned to us in our lifetime.
Like Shakespeare’s poetry, “Time is very slow for those who wait…” When we are young, we cannot wait to grow up and time is deceivingly slower. The brashness of youth makes us think we have an unlimited amount time and we see only the infinity of it. It feels like we can waste days on end and it would not even make a dent. It makes us believe that old age is a fate that will never happen to the young. All we want to do is be grownups; we chase down the minutes, hours and years until we are old enough to get our license, graduate, work, marry and move out of our parents’ nest. We wait for time to pass, anxious and unappreciative of the days that seem to crawl past in our slow adolescence. Adulthood comes too soon, and we all will wake up from the deception of the slowness of time too late; only to realise time is scarce.
Being an adult, we would soon understand that the scarcity of time comes from the fact that it is finite. Time is a non-renewable resource, regardless of your power, achievements, family background, or even wealth. Everybody ends up the same way regardless who they are, for time is always equal and limited. In the mere blink of the cosmic eye, we will join the billions of our ancestors who have lived, died, and become indistinguishable from the piles of bones buried six feet underground. Time has become a scarcer resource.
Upon entering old age, we would soon realise that “time is always a scarce resource”is an understatement. In fact, time is the scarcest resource and always will be. New diamond and gold deposits are discovered, and new bills are printed. Such is not the case with time. Nothing that any of us do in this life will allow us to accrue an extra second, and nothing will allow us to regain the time misspent. Once time has passed, it is gone forever. As much as we recognise the value of time implicitly in our daily transactions, we squander time. A classic example is we are unwilling to invest several hundred of dollars on a new business proposed by an acquaintance, but assuming he invites us for dinner, we are willing to take an hour out of our packed schedule to meet for dinner. We do it out of courtesy despite the fact that it will consume our most precious resource.How ironic. Hence, I think we should constantly remind ourselves about the scarcity of time and be more conscientious about how we spend our time.
In a nutshell, time is relentlessly impartial. There is never more time when we need it. There are no extras, no hand-outs and no bonuses. Time gives no allowances to anyone; it does not matter how rich we are or how much money we make. The bitter truth is that the time we waste has no preference for the rich, beautiful or the intelligent. It has an odd way of reminding us that it really does not care if we are rich or poor, it will get us either way. We need to be aware that there will come a day when we look back and realise there is more time behind us than there will be in front of us. The scarcity of time is always real – it is, and will always be, the scarcest resource in the universe.
Hall of Fame
Secondary (Year 4)
Life as a teenager
By Brandon Gunawan, ACS (Independent)
Teenagers, and their parents, are often confounded by unpredictable behaviour, and volatile emotions, which seem to arise like tornadoes from out of the blue. In addition, teenagers often experience a parade of identities, which seem to change as fast as a runway model’s wardrobe. A teen brain is heavily influenced by massive hormonal messages, as well as current needs and experiences, thus it is constantly being reshaped and reconstructed. This phase is likened to a major overhaul where old behaviours and emotions are switched off to make room for new needs. Hence, teenagers engage in activities, such as staying up late, dressing in the latest fashion trends or even going after idols, that their parents find difficult to accept. Teenagers are simply going through personality changes, such as having new perspectives and reactions, until adolescence recedes.
Hall of Fame
Secondary (Year 4)
Teenagers today are slaves to trends. Do you agree?
By Low Tjun Lym, School of Science and Technology
Teenagers are social creatures, often requiring the acceptance of a group or face the threat of being isolated. The coming of age prompts self-discovery. Teenagers persistently seek out their own identity. They yearn to become part of a group that reaffirms self-identity, be it nerds, jocks or the artistically inclined. They long for a sense of belonging to a group. This is most prominently seen in groups where teenagers all wear clothes of the same, probably overpriced, brands, listen to the same music, usually Korean Pop, or watch Japanese animation, commonly known as “anime”. Following these trends will generate some form of social acceptance, as well as a large bank of conversation topics, for teenagers. Trends represent the pinnacle of pop culture, sought after relentlessly by adolescents to fill their psychological need for social inclusion and to boost their otherwise unstable self-esteem. As long as teenagers care about the social aspect of their lives, they will remain moths surrounding the flame of the hottest trends.
