We are coming to the end of Term 1 soon and I must say that Term 1 was a very hectic period of time with my competition. If I do not know myself well, I would be saying I am giving excuses... The competitions indeed occupied a large space in my time. Not that I could actually get away with this reason alone. It all boils down to my inability to manage my time well. I got to prioritise and make sure I have adequate practice on every subjects!

I must admit that I have indeed disappoint numerous teachers with my scores this term, especially my inconsistency in my Language Arts. Miss Lim, if you are reading this I must apologise for my inconsistency. However, Miss Roselind Matthews once said to me, "Do not say sorry to me. I am just doing what I should be doing. Learn from your mistakes and get over with it." I still remember that it was the time when I got very low for my history test and Miss Matthews brought up my marks by being a little lenient. From then on, I look upon Miss Matthews in a different light, not because of her help but because of her wisdom that I felt from her. Therefore, I will work harder next term which I believed that my compeitions will end by that time and I would have no more excuses anymore :)

How ironic. Most of the adults would be glad to be a child once again, unburdened by the responsibility of the society. On the other hand, most of the children would want to grow up faster instead, to experience the privileges of freedom. Is that really so? Is that only what we think? I do not know but I would like to believe that some of the adults would rather remained as an adult to enjoy the freedom he/she desire from young. I would also like to believe that some of the children would rather stay as a child, just happy to do only what he is suppose to.

What about me, you ask? Haha, I like myself to be special. From young, I was conditioned to stereotype that all the adults want to be carefree again and all the children want to escape from childhood. Hence, slowly but surely, I wanted to grow up faster. I wanted to be an adult. But, it was not to enjoy the so-called privileges of freedom, it was just to understand why adults wanted to be children and why children wanted to be adults. The carefree of children, the privilege of freedom, they were nothing but illusions. I have come to this age where people can consider us to be boys or gentlemen therefore I can say that I understand part of what it is to be an adult and what it is to be a child. I cannot consider myself to be carefree with the amount of pressure and workload I have. Of course, it cannot be compared to the stress an adult face but nontheless it was a negative force so strong and intangible that it holds you down as time passes. Yet the desire to experience freedom of adults were not quench.

However, I am fine with it. Simply because I feel that what both the adults and children wanted is the same. Privilege of freedom of the adults and being unburden and carefree like the children,is to break free from the chains of the absolute existence, life. In this society, whether you are a child or an adult, you got restrain but the rules of life. Children were bound by rules and regulations to protect us, despite the fact that we may not like the limitations. Adults, similarly, were weighed down by troubles of surviving, not only for themselves but for their families. They have a need to fret over little events that may bring changes to their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Therefore, they felt that its hard to take just a breather, thinking that such a short rest would bring a change to their routinal life, making their world upside-down.

The friend I want in TKAM

If I could choose, I would choose Jem. In a realistic manner, since we are both closer in age and same gender, we would get along well. (Stereotype-thinking) The reason why I chose Jem the moment I read the question is because I can empathise with him. This decision is greatly influenced by the trials during the later part of the novel. I was elated like him when I read that Tom Robinson's left arm was crippled. I thought that for once, despite nagging doubts, that Atticus would win the case. Raw shock gripped me when I read the part with 4 guilty together. I blanked out for a sudden. This may seem dramatic, but I did not know whether it was the long hours I spent on the book that made me thought that I read wrongly or I was simply rejecting the words on the book. I couldn't believe that he actually lost though it has to be like this in the novel to fully express the strong discrimination of the Whites to the Negros. I refused to believe it and read the page 217 three times, confirming the truth. I felt nothing but pity and unfairness for Tom Robinson. Just as the book stated, it just ain't right.

At that moment I really felt liked comforting Jem, telling him that he was not the only person feeling that the jury was blinded by prejudice. That was when I felt that Jem was rather similar to me in that aspect. Perhaps I would have wanted to be friends with Scout if she was portrayed as a little bit more matured. However, the purpose of Scout, Jem and Dill being in different ages was to show the different rates and stages of maturation in the three children and I thought that Jem's maturation stage was like mine since I could understand how he felt in the novel better than Dill or Scout. Hence, it would be rather nice to have a friend that feels the same way as you do. That's just what I thought.

My Research on the Mockingbirds.

According to my research on mockingbirds, they lived mostly at residential areas, city parks, farmlands, open country with thickets, and desert brush. They build their nests in dense shrubs and low trees. It is very similar to the setting of TKAM. The Cunninghams farmed to survive. Therefore, the environment in Maycomb, Alabama should be farmlands and open countries with thickets. Similarly, in the movie TKAM, we can see that there are low trees and shrubs could be seen near Atticus' house and where Dill appeared through the gate.

The Mockingbird is also the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. As Mississippi is one of the state that was located near Alabama, Mockingbirds should be found in Maycomb.

Plant berry bushes such as holly, mulberries, raspberries, Virginia creeper, blackberries, dogwood, elderberries, hackberry, brambles, pyracantha, cotoneaster, grapes or figs would also be found in Maycomb as they were part of the diet of Mockingbirds and they were able to survive in Maycomb since they were shrubs.

Results of BGFL Quiz

It was pure astonishment to found out that I am naturalistic and intrapersonal. Regardless how many times I do these kind of personality quizzes, it never fails to surprise me. It have never come across my mind that I was naturalistic as I am not one who goes to a park or observes the environment regularly. My family has just got fishes before the new year in hopes to make my family more lively. Though this decision was greatly influence by my father, it does not hide the fact that I cared about the fishes. Perhaps doing this kind of quizzes simply exposed us to the other side of our personality, or rather, the real side of it.

Similarly, I always thought myself to be interpersonal instead of intrapersonal. Most of the time I do not know what I am thinking or how I should articulate my thoughts. Maybe thats why my inability to express made me more intrapersonal then interpersonal. I am not sure when, but it has come to the extend where I am deemed *emo* by my friends. I don't really mind because they would have known me better than I know myself.