Problems faced by teenagers today

These days, it is undeniable that many teenagers face various problems such as depression, peer pressure, and so on. Some resort to doing certain things to make themselves feel better. Sometimes, what they do may ruin their lives and the teenagers would end up miserable. There are a lot of problems faced by teenagers in term of the stress and bad behavior.

            One of the main problems faces by most teenagers is stress. Stress can be brought about by pressure from families. In some families, parents would be pushing their children to do very well in their studies. They are give almost '24-hours' tuition and do not have enough time to relax or spend time with their friends. Some of these teenagers would feel very depressed and might run away from home, or in even worse cases, commit suicide.

            Another common problem faced by teenagers is mixing around with bad company. This usually happens when parents are busy with their work and do not spend time with their kids. Having friends are fine; however, the type of friends is what matters. Most of the time, teenagers are not aware of the people that they mix with, and may fall into bad company. They follow their friends’ bad habits and may even start taking drugs or smoking. Once these teens are hooked into drugs, they would need money and they would resort to stealing. This would terribly affect their lives and their studies.

Hence, I feel that the pressure of teenagers and lack of love from parents are very serious as these problems affect the teenagers’ lives in many terrible ways. Teenagers should have a mind of their own and should know what is right and what is wrong.

ONE OF MY UNFORGETTABLE EMBARRASSING EXPERIENCES

I have had a lot of  embarrassing moments. But none is as unforgettable as the one that happened to  me three years ago. I was on my way home from school. My friend was with me too. We were waiting for the bus. It was a very hot and humid afternoon. There was a big crowd gathered at the bus station. We waited patiently. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side. Two buses, packed to the brim, came and went off. The longer we waited, the angrier I became. Probably, I was hungry. I could sense that the crowd was getting agitated too. When the third bus came, there was mad rush for it. Needless to say, I joined the crowd. I have learned that in such a situation, ‘the fittest survives’.

The moment I stepped into the bus, I started muttering and grumbling. People were shoving and scrambling for the available seats. I managed to find a seat for my friend and I. The air was stuffy and the heat was unbearable. Little wonder, I groaned in disbelief. The window beside my seat was shut. I tried to open it but could not to. I figured that there was something stuck in between this particular window. I was determined to open it, no matter how difficult. I thought I heard someone shouted at me that the window was jammed and it could not be opened. But I was so engrossed in opening it that I paid no head to the advice. I tried with all my might. Finally with a mighty heave, I jerked the window free. Did I say free? Guess what? The window slipped out to the side and dropped out from its place. At the same time, the bus was turning the corner of the road. I was so shocked that I could just look at the falling window. When I regained from my senses, it was too late. The window had fallen off the bus and broken into a thousand pieces on the roadside.

The conductor quickly called out to the bus driver to stop the bus. He got out from the bus and brought back the steel frame of the window. I was so embarrasses that I felt like burying myself in a deep hole. My face turned red out of  humiliation. By this time, I was scared out of my wits because I was worried that the conductor would ask me to pay for the broken window. Instead, he and the bus driver broke into laughter! I laughed too with the rest of  the students in the bus.

I was so thankful that they did not ask me to pay for the broken window. When I told my parents about the incident, they had a good laugh too. They reminded me ot to be ‘tomboyish’ in the future and behave more like a lady.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE

                     It is indeed true that a second language is a must learned thing nowadays especially that we are living in a such sophisticated world where we have to communicate with people using different language at a particular place. When we talk about a second language, it is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue. It is argued by some people why do we have to learn a second language. This will be proven by analyzing the advantages that we will get from learning the language.

                    First of all, in terms of community, learning a second language will also increase understanding and compassion for other cultures. For example, a native English speaker who takes the time to learn some Korean before traveling to Korea will have more than simply a greater chance of understanding the street signs and menus. By making the effort to speak to people in their language, rather than assuming they should speak English, the traveler is validating the Korean culture. The simple act of trying to express oneself in the other language shows a respect that is usually appreciated.

                    Secondly, when people learn a second language, they become a valuable asset to the community in which the work and live. Apart from make us easier to travel to a foreign countries, there are an increasing number of jobs where people are required to interact with people that speak other languages. As we know, nowadays most of the forms of applying a new job or one position requires us to state which language we are fluent to speak other than just our mother tongue. Also, the capacity of communicating in another language can be a contributory factor to the overall achievement of professional and personal career goals.

                    Learning a second language may be difficult but with time and practice a student can become very efficient. Mastering the skill is the hardest part, using it is easy. Not too many people speak a second language fluently because they just do not have the time to learn. They fail to realize that they can truly benefit from speaking a second language. It is obvious that it helps us to learn other cultures and can open up job opportunities. Most importantly the learner becomes aware of the different cultures around us everyday. Our country is a melting pot, it is very important to be aware of the cultural differences around us.

Pairings:

1) Izzah bt Zulkafli

2)Nor Hakimah bt Husin

How powerful pictures are to change the world?

Pictures may be worth 1000 words but just how much are they worth in shaping public opinion? Are unedited, uncensored and profoundly disturbing graphic images more likely to materially affect public opinion than those typically shown on television and in newspapers and magazines? Images are so powerful. In only a picture, many questions might be pop out from one’s mind. We will never see the whole world but we can experience a lot more of it via photography.

            Once I found this one picture shown an unemployed man waiting for their customers to put shoes on a block provided to be polished. This picture was taken in Hong Kong.

When I first saw this picture, I was thinking why are they doing this, a job that can make people look down on us? Then I realized these people have no basic knowledge and it inspires me to study hard, achieve good results, then score a good job. As simple as that, I can say how powerful images are in order to change one’s view or perspective like I realized how important knowledge is, so that I won’t become like them.

Other than that, I had read an online news years ago and I found a picture that really touched my heart. This man named Hhaing The Yu, 29, holds his face in his hand as rain falls on the decimated remains of his home in the Swhe Pyi Tha township, near Myanmar’s capital of Yangon, on 11^th May 2008. Cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar that leaving millions homeless and has claimed up to 100,000 lives. So, what I can say from this picture is, we should not just think about our hardships because there are always people who suffer more than us.

Let it be simply declared that a picture really has its own power that they can bring tears to our eyes, lift our spirits, or sink our hearts. Images are powerful, and with such power must come responsibility for their prudent and thoughtful use.