CONCEPTION OF SUCCESS

Wow. And here i am, already writing my 4th post...

Now, what exactly is success? Has it always got to do with one's career? No. Or even one's wealth? Absolutely not. It is not necessary for the result to always be rewarding. But then again, who would make big sacrifices to achieve something that is not worthwhile? Anyway, I believe that if one were to put his/her heart and soul into doing something, the result would be, of course, success. Success means for one to attempt and then finally, to be able to achieve what he wants. That is my definition of success. Does yours differ? :)

Alright, you might not know the person that I am about to introduce to you. Her name is Jane Goodall. Ever heard of her?

Jane Goodall is born on the 3rd of April, in London. She was a primatologist. (a person who studies primates) Her way of studying animals, which involves living together with them in their natural habitats, changed not only how chimpanzees are understood, but also how studies of other animals are carried out. After studying the chimpanzees for two decades, she gained their full trust and could even sit among them. Through her hard work and determination, she won awards and international recognitions, including a "Conservation Prize" for helping millions of people understand the importance of wild life conservation on this planet. After devoting nearly 30 years to her mission, she alone, had already made significant progress in the research and of course, the protection of animals.

I really admire her determination. Imagine, living for 20 years in a forest along with a few groups of chimpanzees. Now, that is tough! She has shown me that with enough patience, confidence and hard work, one is always capable of achieving one's dreams, regardless of the countless periods of hard times one has to go through.

The next person I am going to talk about is most lightly a stranger to you. He is my father. My father was born in the year 1959, in Malaysia. He lived there along with his seven siblings and parents until the time when he went overseas to further his studies. I guess he met my mother there and well, things began to unfold. (unconfirmed)

Today, he lives together with us (my mother, 2 other siblings and myself) in Singapore. I admire him because i feel that he has not only fulfilled his responsibility of a father, but a father who also devotes his free time (weekends) towards keeping the house a better place to live in. He is successful in a way that he is able to allow our family to lead an extremely comfortable life without much worries. Like others, my siblings and I would of course be worried about our studies. But still, it would definitely be much less stressful if that is the only problem you have to deal with. My father has shown me that a person should not only do things that are just adequate, but to be someone who puts in more effort into the things you want to achieve. This way, what can you not achieve?

I believe that this programme (currently) has taught me to look at the good qualities of a person and to be able to learn something important from them. With all the knowledge, I think that it would be easier to achieve our goals.

Scholarship & Service

What does scholarship mean to me??

Well, i guess that scholarship is the acquiring of a higher level of knowledge. One can also say that a person needs to fare better than most others either academically, or in other areas. I must say that if one manages to attain a scholarship, he/she should feel privileged since it is really quite a rare opportunity. Similarly, scholarship can also mean awards given to a specific person because of his excellent accomplishment in certain areas.

What responsibilities does a scholar have?

I believe that a scholar has the responsibility of passing on his/her knowledge onto the younger generations so that they too, would be able to serve the country, nation or even the world when they go out to work in the society when they grow up. Since knowledge must be placed in your head before you can put it to good use, scholars must also seek new knowledge in case they are of use someday.


What are some of the obstacles that a scholar might face?

Since scholars are expected to fare better than most of the others, people around them must have high standards of expectations of them. This in turn, leads to pressuring the scholar because they might feel responsible for the disappointment they caused others to feel when they, themselves, fail to meet the crowd's requirements. To some scholars, this might be a great handicap because they would have lost faith in themselves. With no faith, how can anyone be able to perform at his/her best?

A scholar might also be criticised for their new concepts and ideas which may otherwise differ from the others. This might cause them to be afraid to speak up and propose different theories on certain things.

Is scholar a leader? How so?

Yes, i feel that a scholar is a leader. A leader is someone that represents a group of people. He is of great importance as he/she is the one that gives commands to the people on what to do which is usually beneficial to the group. In order to be a leader, one has to be the strongest in the group in terms of responsibility, intelligence (et cetera), and i greatly believe that a scholar has what it takes to be a leader.

Who and how do i intend to serve as a scholar?

Being a scholar, i intend to serve my country, nation and the world. (if it is even plausible) I would give the best i have got in order to attain outstanding results and do my school, my country and of course, my parents proud. There can never be an end towards learning and i would also like to achieve things that have never been accomplished before so that i would be able to share this new knowledge with the world. And yes, being selfless and sharing my knowledge with other people is also vital because it would be a great loss if a valuable knowledge to mankind is forgotten, am i right? Ultimately, i want to be able to prove myself useful and benefit mankind.