13 Dec; Oh my god, who is she?

You know what they say about how a person is more creative at night? I don't know if the statement is true, but I can relate to it. Maybe its because there are not much interruptions at night. I often get sudden bursts of inspiration or thoughts. Sometimes my flow of thoughts become too overwhelming I feel like I've been smacked in the face. One night, I was feeling a little down because I envied that my friends have noteworthy events that happened on their birth date like releasing of an MV or. Maybe the reason why nothing remarkable happened on my the day and month I was born on is that my birth is so legendary that people don't want to interfere with this date. Just kidding. I wondered what happened on that particular date and month before I was born but I never Googled it until my teacher gave my class an assignment on events that happened on the day and month of our birthday. Therefore, this post is supposed to be about events that happened on my birthday but I don't feel like letting the world know when my birthday falls on just yet. So, I decide to write about events that happened on 13th December. You might ask, 'why 13th December?' Continue reading you shall find the answer. If you're my chummy, you probably know the answer already, or maybe rolled your eyes as well ;)


Here are some historical events that happened on 13 December.

1758 :-

The Duke William was a ship which served as a troop transport at the Siege of Louisbourg and as a deportation ship in the Île Saint-Jean Campaign of the Expulsion of the Acadians during the Seven Years' War. While the Duke William was transporting Acadians from Île St Jean (Prince Edward Island) to France, the ship sank in the North Atlantic on December 13, 1758, with the loss of over 360 lives. The sinking was one of the greatest marine disasters in Canadian history.

1937 :-

 Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking – The city of Nanjing, defended by the National Revolutionary Army under the command of General Tang Shengzhi, falls to the Japanese. Following the capture of the city Japanese soldiers massacred Chinese POWs, murdered civilians, and committed acts of looting and rape in an event known as the Nanking Massacre. Though Japan's decisive military victory excited and emboldened the Japanese people and government, the subsequent massacre tarnished Japan's reputation in the eyes of the world. 

1938 :-

 The Holocaust: The Neuengamme concentration camp, a German concentration camp opens in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, Germany. It was operated by the Nazis from 1938 to 1945. Over that period an estimated 106,000 prisoners were held at Neuengamme and at its subcamps. More than half of them perished there. The camp served the needs of the German war machine and also carried out exterminations through labour. The inmates were spread over the main camp and approximately 80 subcamps across north Germany. At least 50,000 succumbed to the inhumane conditions in the camp from hard manual work with insufficient nutrition, extremely unhygienic conditions with widespread disease, and violence from the guards.

1962 :- 

Relay 1 was launched atop a Delta B rocket on December 13, 1962 from LC-17A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Shortly after launch, two basic problems evolved. One was the satellite's response to spurious commands, and the other was the leakage of a high-power regulator which caused the first two weeks of satellite operation to be useless. After this period, satellite operation returned to normal. Relay 1 was the first satellite to broadcast television from the United States to Japan. The first broadcast during orbit 2677 was to be a prerecorded address from the president of the United States to the Japanese people, but was instead the announcement of the John F. Kennedy assassination. 

2003 :-

Operation Red Dawn was an American military operation conducted on 13 December 2003 in the town of ad-Dawr, Iraq, near Tikrit, that led to the capture of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. The operation was named after the 1984 film Red Dawn. The mission was assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno and led by Col. James Hickey of the 4th Infantry Division, with joint operations Task Force 121—an elite and covert joint special operations team.

 December 13 also happens to be the birth date of some iconic people. These people are:

1678 :- Yongzheng Emperor of China

Emperor Yongzheng (雍正帝) was the fifth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and the third Qing emperor from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, Yongzheng's main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, Emperor Kang Xi, Yongzheng used military force to preserve the dynasty's position. His reign was known as despotic, efficient, and vigorous. Although Yongzheng's reign was much shorter than that of both his father and his son (the Qianlong Emperor), his sudden death was brought about by a heavy workload. Yongzheng continued an era of peace and prosperity. He cracked down on corruption and reformed the financial administration. His reign saw the formulation of the Grand Council, an institution which had an enormous impact on the future of imperial China.

Portrait of the Yongzheng Emperor in Court Dress, by anonymous court artists, Yongzheng period (1723—35). Hanging scroll, colour on silk. The Palace Museum, Beijing.

1780 :- Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner, German chemist

Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (13 December 1780 – 24 March 1849) was a German chemist who is best known for work that foreshadowed the periodic law for the chemical elements. As a coachman's son, Döbereiner had little opportunity for formal schooling. So he was apprenticed to an apothecary. He eventually became a professor at the University of Jena in 1810; he also studied chemistry at Strasbourg. In work beginning in 1829, Döbereiner discovered trends in certain properties of selected groups of elements. He also invented the Döbereiner's lamp.

Engraving of a painting of Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner.

1989 :- Taylor Swift, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

 Aka queen of my heart (don't tell my mum). Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 14 to pursue a career in country music. She signed with the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of her self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. Her latest album,1989 sold 1.287 million copies in its first week of U.S. release, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, making Swift the first and only act to release three albums that sold more than one million copies in a week! As of February 2015, 1989 had sold over 8.6 million copies worldwide, making her the best selling artist in 2014. Okay, now she is the reason why I chose this date. A strong, inspiring, kind person and everything I dream to be, I have no regrets calling her my idol. 1989 has showed me that we should sometimes take some risks and come out of our comfort zone so that we can be strong. I know I won't achieve as much as her by the age of 25 and it kills me inside. I will stop now before my fangirl-nerves overwhelm me and I'll burst into tears. 

#truedat (C: http://speakswiftlynow.tumblr.com/)

Moods

Some time ago, my teacher told us to write about moods. *deep breath* What exactly is a mood? If you're looking for a definitive explanation, I'm pretty sure Wikipedia will do its job to quench your insatiable thirst on this particular word.

Moods and emotions go hand in hand but they are not the same. Emotions are intense feelings that are directed at specific objects or situations whereas mood is a state of feeling that is less intense than emotions and more generalised. In my opinion, it is something that determines ones actions and opinion on a certain object or someone. For example, when I'm sad, I go to the fridge because it lights up my world like nobody else. Mood can make or break someone's life. If an employer is in a bad mood he/she might make an impulsive decision to sack his/her valuable employee, bringing detrimental effects to the company or organisation.

What are some mood or thought-provoking things in our daily life? Perhaps the weather? A movie, or a book? Some people claim that books are just words printed on paper then compiled into a rectangular- like solid. How interesting can it be? Movies on the other hand are much more interesting. It can drastically change our mood or view on a certain thing in about 1 to 2 hours. In movies, there are special visual effects and sound effects accompanying a certain scene in a movie to create arouse different kinds of feelings. Similarly, in writing, there are so many ways to elicit different kinds of feelings. Tabloid articles are a good example that shows that writing can easily evoke a mood to induce and influence readers. Mood is a literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions. It creates an atmosphere or an emotional situation that surrounds readers. Plot twists in a book can recaptivate the reader's interest towards the book. A good book can leave readers breathless, and often leave readers asking 'what do I do with my life now that I've reached the end of the end of this series?'

As for me, I try to put my knowledge of vocabulary to use when I write. Repetitive words in an essay will surely enkindle boredom in the reader's mind. A simple change in the usage of vocabulary can enhance one's writing. Therefore, Google and a thesaurus is my best ally when i write. Asking rhetorical questions can uplift the vibe of an essay as well, don't you think so? (see what I did there) I hope I didn't bore you too much with my writing. Thanks for reading!

'Sekolah Kluster', can you not?

Recently, my school gained its title as a cluster school and has changed from a double-session school to a single-session school. I never thought I would despise the word "Sekolah Kluster Kecemerlangan" so much until now. Whenever the school principal mentions those 3 words, I can't help but roll my eyes and groan mentally.  Although some people have managed to embrace this new system with open arms, it is no secret that many students remain unsatisfied and unwilling to adapt to the aforementioned idea implemented by the school. Personally, I stand with the majority because of several reasons I am about to delve into.

Firstly, the time period of lessons on certain days has increased as there is no longer a need to release the morning-session students early to make room for students of the lower forms. Although this may easily seem like an advantage to the students, many of us have limited attention spans and are unable to give our full attention for such a long period of time. Besides, students also become weary and exhausted quickly from all the brain activity and work given to them during the long school hours. I don't see the point of extending the school hours when most of us can't pay attention in class after a certain amount of time. In addition to that, afterschool activities now end later as well which adds on to our level of tiredness and increased inability to juggle multiple things on our hands before falling apart mentally. Some of us stay far away and require a longer travelling time to reach home. By the time when we reach home, we won't have much time left to do our homework and revision. Lets not forget additional tuitions as well. Students will be too exhausted and spent to finish their homework.

Aside from that, longer school hours = later lunch times. Most of the upper secondary students' classes end much later. Some classes end as late as 2.40pm from Mondays to Wednesdays. This means that students are forced to eat at irregular times. As we all know, at this age, our metabolic rate is higher and we get hungry easily. Most of us are forced to study with growling stomachs until class ends, only to have the canteen greet us with little food left. Two weeks after the school year started, my abdomen started to hurt and I had to visit the clinic twice. According to the doctor, my stomach ache was caused by my irregular mealtimes. I could not concentrate in class due to the constant discomfort in my abdominal area. You might be thinking, what about recess? Forget about recess. Upper secondary students have their recesses after the lower secondary students. The canteen caterer doesn't replenish enough food for us. During recess, more than 300 students will rush into the small canteen to buy food. The school might have extended recess by a mere 10 minutes, but by the time they land their hands on the food, the bell would've rung. 

Also, afterschool clubs and societies which used to be separated into junior and senior categories have now been obligated to combine into one colossal group of people. While some societies still manage to escape the large swarm of students, there are certain clubs that are struggling to accommodate all their members under one roof.  Besides giving the teacher-in-charge and the committee members another problem to handle, it also causes discomfort to the students who are given insufficient space to sit or move around. It has also become more strenuous to attend to each student personally as the number of new members has skyrocketed tremendously. This situation has greatly discouraged many students to stay back for their afterschool activities as they would much rather be in the comfort of their own home than to take part in this chaos.

  

In a nutshell, the school should remain as a double-session school to be able to boost the productivity of the students. There seems to be absolutely no rhyme or reason as to why the title of a ‘Cluster School’ should reduce the initial two sessions to one. If we were able to obtain that title whilst being a double-session school, then why would we not be able to maintain it under the same conditions? The priority of any school should be to provide an education that will produce students of worth who will eventually benefit the society and the world, and our school has undoubtedly been excelling in that field. However, how will we be able to continue that without a conducive learning environment for the students? Schools are our second homes, so the saying goes. So let us provide a nurturing environment for the young generation of students in order for them to grow and become the pillars of our society. I would like to quote an infamous quote by Simon Cowell, about this whole single-session thing,