On Body Image

Christie L., 15, St. Paul’s Convent

        Being skinny has already been a trend in the modern-day society. From teenage young ladies to middle-age women, keeping fit has already been a long-life goal to work for. Everyone thinks that skinny means beauty. They think that being skinny makes them feel confident and successful. Why is being skinny a trend for women (or even men) to achieve? One of the reasons is those models in the fashion shows or fashion magazines looked really skinny, and publishers try to build up a “skinny means beautiful” image and it influenced the way that people look towards health and beauty.

        Looking back in history, ancient people, especially Chinese, thought that being fat meant that the person was born in a wealthy family and they were brought up well. Fat also meant fortune. People thought that being fat meant the person was fortunate. Ancient wealthy or middle class people like to find a fat woman as a wife because they thought that fat women could act like a female pig by giving birth to a dozen babies! Lady Yang Yuhuan is a good example. According to the history, she was one of the four most beautiful ladies in Chinese history. She was described as a very fat woman, but she was the lady that the emperor Tang loved most. This shows that fat people were more favourable in history. So why has this thinking changed?

        Throughout thousands of years, people thought that being fat was great. However, in today’s society, people finally realized that being fat is not a good thing, but that being healthy is the best. Later on in this century, models are asked to be skinny and tall, magazines, pop stars, and actors help build the image that skinny means beautiful. Eventually, those photos made women think that being skinny is most important though it might look uneven. This idea made people lose weight with different methods such as taking pills that may be forbidden, joining some courses that promised to help you to lose weight with a certain period of time, etc. There may be harmful effects of taking these products but these people are willing to risk their lives in order to change into a “model” body.

        Advertisements are some of the most important factors that influence people about body image. They make images look uneven as they think that skinny is more important than uneven proportions. Also, the phrase “skinny equals beautiful has already been their objective. When there are tons of these advertisements lying around, people will be influenced by the ads and agree with skinny equals beautiful. Then, they forget what is the standard of being healthy and start to go for the trip to maek themselves skinny. When advertisements lie everywhere, from the streets to your house (leaflets), from magazines to TV, it is difficult to not be influenced. Then, once your friends are influenced, the conversation you hear may also include body image and eventually you become seriously influenced.

        To conclude, the power of advertising is enormous. We should be careful about the information we perceive and choose the truth. We should not follow the trend of society. Being healthy, not skinny, is best. 

Should the Mega Rich Be Allowed to Build Entire Skyscrapers Devoted to Themselves?

Jonathan C., 14, South Island School

Sometimes you have to work hard to become wealthy or sometimes you could be one of the lucky ones where your business becomes very big and earns you wealth, fame and status. Recently, a mega house was built in the center of Mumbai, India. In a city where many people live in the slums, the building has caused even further outrage when local media discovered that the owner of the house does not actually live in it but hosts many glamorous parties in it instead. There have been many environmentalists who have come out and shown their dismay by questioning the amount of natural resources used to build the house.

I am worried that many citizens will go protest the government’s decision to allow the project. It’s bad enough that he owns many luxurious items but what is even worse is that the building looks down on the poor areas. The poor may start to be jealous and think he is showing off and may wonder why the government has not developed affordable living for the poor instead. In the slums disease is lurking everywhere. On the other hand, if the government chooses to reinvest the money into developing affordable living then many of the poor would become happy.

Another issue that could arise is corruption and greed from the politicians and people. They could become inspired to use the country’s money and build a mega house for themselves instead of developing the country. I feel that the decision to allow this building to be made was wrong. The land could have been used for high rise affordable flats or even for a school or perhaps an orphanage. There is a famous saying that the simpler the house, the better it is. In my opinion this building is too excessive, it takes up space and it’s a huge carbon footprint.

The rich should be setting a good example to the people by being philanthropists, being humble and also being grateful for what they have. Instead of wasting money on lavish items, they should help the needy and educate people by giving speeches. The rich could inspire a better attitude and make others want to work hard. The building sends a wrong message to people because you have to save money instead of spending it on unnecessary items. If many others build things through the loan of banks and not be able to pay it back then it could lead to an increase in bankruptcy in India.

Looking at it from another perspective, the building could become a tourist attraction and bring in revenue to the government. I mean there are not many other places in the world where there is a 27 floor house overlooking the city. If the owner agrees to turn it into an attraction then it could pay dividends. He could also turn it into an office/hotel space. However this is highly unlikely.

In conclusion I believe the building sets a wrong example and should never have been made. The rich should be motivating others to follow suit not trying to show off and make the less fortunate feel worthless.

On Autism

Serena C.,15, HKIS

Autism, a condition believed to stem from variations in early brain development, is characterized by a wide spectrum of social impairments. The most common ones are talking to oneself in public, occasional uncontrollable outbursts of emotion, and an inability to sense others’ emotions. Because of this, it is quite hard for autistic people to find jobs, interact with others, and live an independent life. There are estimated to be 200,000 autistic teenagers set to come of age in the United States alone over the next five years, and the question looms above us: What are we going to do with them? Although autistic people have trouble interacting with others and sensing emotions, it doesn’t mean they are not smarter than we are. We need to give them a chance. If we don’t start accepting autistic people for schools and jobs, there will be nowhere for them to go.

Some say that society can benefit if we do not accept people whose brains function differently. Autistic people would have trouble fitting in with the general public. In schools, autistic students would require more attention from the teacher and would need things to be explained more than once. In the workplace, autistic people would have trouble focusing with so many other people around them, and conflicts could arise between them and their colleagues.

However, these views toward autistic people have stemmed from negative stereotypes associated with those who are diagnosed with diseases. Just because they communicate in different ways does not mean we should treat them as children or look down on them. Autistic people are not mentally disabled or mentally challenged; in fact, many of them are extremely good in math and science. These stereotypes are unjust and have no basis in facts, and because of them there is now a widespread, wrongful perception of autistic people.

Isolating autistic people from society is an unethical, blatant form of discrimination. Autistic people—like everyone else—have certain individual talents. When hiring or reading school applications we need to keep in mind that they can still do normal things and have potential. For example, there are two people going for the same job as a computer programmer. One of them is completely normal, and one of them has slight autism. However, they both have the same qualificat6ions and are very talented. The company hires the one without autism. Is this not a form of discrimination? The company is being prejudiced against the person even when he is just as talented as the other. If this company thinks this way, there are definitely going to be others who think the same. This brings us to the question: What are autistic people going to do?

We need to give autistic people a chance to live an independent life. This means taking their condition into consideration and giving them certain benefits. Autistic people have the right to an education and jobs and we cannot take that away from them. Schools and workplaces should give autistic people more of a chance to gain a position, because if we don’t accept them, they will have nowhere to go. The government should start more programs to help them transition into adulthood and deal with their autism.

As human beings, autistic people have the right to an education, jobs, friends, and most of all: respect. We need to throw away the negative stereotypes associated with autistic people and treat them no less than we would treat another human being.

President of Holanderlabi

Sharon Y., 7, Kiangsu

1)      If you were the president of your own country, what would you name it? 

I would name it Holanderlabi.

2)      Where would it be?

My Holanderlabi is in Europe next to Holland.

3)      Every country has a flag. Draw a picture of your country’s flag, then describe it:

There are six colours on my flag. There is a strawberry on my flag because there are a lot of strawberries in my country.

4)      Every country has a national anthem, or a song that describes their country. Write four lines of a song or poem for your country. If you can, make it rhyme!

Holanderlabi sala boni sea,

I love you Holanderlabi,

It has strawberries full of markets,

I have gold Ha Ha Holanderlabi!

5)      Hong Kong is full of mountains and skyscrapers. What does your country look like? How big is it?

It’s full of houses and strawberries. LIKE THIS BIG! Bigger than Hong Kong!

6)      You want more tourists to come to your country, so you print a travel guide that lists the three best things to do in your country. What are they?

l   Buy strawberries

l   Eat your own food

l   Go to the park and play

7)      As president, you get to make a new law that everyone in your country has to follow. What is it?

My law is: If you don’t buy strawberries then you’ll need to sleep on the roof!

8)      You learn that the people of your country are very upset about something. Why are they mad?

Because they need to bring their own food.

9)      Describe what you do to fix the problem.

I will say: Ok if you don’t listen to the rules you’ll be in trouble!

10)  Would you want to be the president of a country in real   life? Why or why not?

        I don’t want to be president because it’s so boring!

Life As Trash

Daphne C., 7, St. Paul's Co-Ed

I am a piece of trash. Someone will put me in the rubbish bin. I don’t like it because it is smelly. Someone will move the rubbish bin. Where do they put us? They put us in a huge and smelly truck. The truck drove to the landfill and they put us in the landfill. I feel miserable because I miss my family a lot. I must be brave because then I can be recycled. I want to be a paper in my next life. A little boy called Ryan will use me to write a story.

The St. Patrick's Day Switch

Vera Y., 10, St. Paul's Coeducational School

        

         When Johnann Glubb received a mysterious clay figure from his class teacher Violet Preston for his birthday, he twiddled the clay figure in his fingers. He placed the figure down. It was actually a leprechaun in Irish fairytales. He scribbled a half-hearted answer on his worksheet. He was more interested in the clay figure. He liked the little leprechaun in his smart green tailcoat.

        Then, suddenly there was a gust of wind and the clay figure flew out the window.

        “No!” he cried as he ran out the door. Amongst the branches, the clay figure thought, “How refreshing!” He sniffed the air and wandered around Johnann’s backyard.

        “I wish I could just switch bodies with that Johnann guy,” he said loudly. Just then, a pair of huge hands reached down and scooped him out. The clay figure wriggled out of Johnann’s grasp and landed on the floor.

        Johnann kneeled down. “You can talk,” he asked, surprised.

        “Of course,” the leprechaun replied in a thick Irish accent.

        “So what’s your name?” asked Johnann. “It’s long, very long so just call me Cler for short.” He settled on a leaf drinking the dew and continued, “You want to switch bodies with me Johnann?” asked Cler.

        “Switch bodies? Cool!” exclaimed Johnann. Cler mixed something like stinky socks and two glass bottles containing pink liquid.

       “Here drink it,” said Cler gulping it down. Without hesitation he drank it. It tasted like strawberries and cream. Instantly Johnann shrank. Flowers looked like trees and trees looked like skyscrapers.

Cler looked at his new body. “Wow!” he exclaimed. Johnann climbed into a flower bed and it felt like velvet. He nestled inside and heard something tinkling  and the noise of water trickling down a tap. He looked up and saw Cler blowing into a cone shaped object. Johnann yawned and thought, “Why do I feel sleepy?” Thinking nothing of it, he began to snore.

The sound of footsteps woke Johnann up. “Hey look what I’ve found when you’re asleep!” shouted Cler. He showed Johnann a rectangular shaped gamebox with a silver joystick in the middle.

“Hey that’s my Electronic Blast 1000,” protested Johnann. He grabbed the gamebox with his hand but the joystick slipped off his hands. “Wow, Combo Blast, this is fun!” said Cler. “Being a human sure does have many profits!” he said. Johnann groaned and just hoped that he would turn back into a human.

“Cler I want to be a human again,” said Johnann.

“Nope,” Cler said cheekily. Leprechauns are hard to deal with, so when you meet one be cautious and never trust them. “I’m having fun and I’m going to find my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Do you want to go with me?” asked Cler.

“Of course!” said Johnann excitedly. “Ok then come now so we don’t miss the Rainbow Express!” said Cler. Cler took a gold coin with a picture of a four-leaf clover on it and put on a pair of green velvet gloves and rubbed on the coin. The coin exploded and formed a gold slide. A minute ago, they were shooting up into the sky and now they were whizzing down like the world’s fastest roller coaster (without seatbelts).

“Ahhh!” Johnann screamed, diving headfirst in somebody’s birdbath.

“Where’s the pot of gold?” asked Johnann.

“Ah, just over there!”

Sure enough, a black cauldron was sitting on a patch of grass. Cler kneeled down and got a bottle of green liquid. With an evil smile on his face he said, “Mwah-haha, I’m gonna destroy this bottle so that we won’t change back ever again!”

“Nooo!” yelled Johnann making a wild grab for the bottle. He grabbed it by splashing water on Cler’s face distracting him for a moment. He guzzled down the drink and turned back to normal.

Should We Put Obese People on a Mandatory Diet?

Kelly G., 14, GSIS

        Today, about 30% of the US population is obese and one of the biggest causes of death is diabetes. This problem in the US is getting worse and worse. However, is putting these obese people on a mandatory diet really the right option?

        Firstly, people have the right to eat whatever they want. This is a basic human right. If you put obese people on a mandatory diet, you are violating their right to eat whatever they want. The government should not have control over one’s private life and therefore should not infringe on one’s right to eat whatever he or she wants.

        Secondly, an obese person eating more unhealthy food does not affect anyone except themselves so why should they not be allowed to eat un healthy foods? If an obese person wanted to be healthier, wouldn’t they have started dieting for a more healthy lifestyle already? It is their own choice and decision what they do to themselves and is no one else’s decision to make.

        Thirdly, there are other alternative solutions such as giving obese people incentives (such as money) to go on a diet or taxing fast food, which would be more effective. Many obese people might want to lose weight but just need that “push” and giving obese people an incentive to go start eating more healthily would be that “push.” The government should encourage and influence a healthy and better lifestyle for obese people. It has a responsibility to shape society. Also, any money spent on reducing the number of obese people will be replaced by life savings for the health service.
        We should not put obese people on a mandatory diet because firstly, it infringes on their right to eat whatever they want to eat and the government should not have control over one’s personal and private lives. Secondly, an obese person eating more unhealthy food does not affect anyone except themselves. Thirdly, there are better alternatives, such as giving obese people an incentive (like money) to start eating more healthily so more money will be saved on healthcare. Therefore, we should not put obese people on a mandatory diet.

Poor Little Snail!

By Beatrice C., 9 , St. Stephen’s Girls’ School

        Wandering throughout the woods, enjoying the gentle wind, Xavier, the snail with a huge shell, could feel the fresh grass under his tummy. He could also smell the colourful flowers filled in the air.

        As time went by, Xavier stopped walking and glanced at the eagle with open wings in the endless sky. “It’s incredible! Awesome! I wish I could fly too!”

        Without warning, an excellent idea flew into his mind. First, he found a pair of leaves, but it was too small. Ohhh…I forgot what was the brilliant idea. He was looking for a pair of leaves that fit his body size to be his wings. Let me continue the story…Next, he found another pair of leaves. It was perfect!

        Next step, Xavier clambered to the humongous mushroom. “One and a two and a THREE!” Shouted Xavier.

        “Bing! Bang! Boing!” What’s happening? Let me look for it—Oh! Poor little Xavier had dropped on the floor. His shell was cracked! “Help!” Shouted Xavier again. While Xavier was asking for help, Joe spotted someone’s cracked shell. Joe rocketed to Xavier and drove his car to the Poor Snail Hospital.

        “Um…Mr. Xavier, let me give you some advice. Don’t ever try to fly again. You should walk properly!”

        This story told us that we need to be happy with who we are and not to do something that you can’t undo forever.

The Underdog

By Courtney W., 9, CDNIS

1)      Today you are going to write a story about a sled dog in Alaska. What is its name? What does it look like? What kind of town does it live in?

Its name is Puffy. The colour of it is brownish grayish. This dog lives in Anchorage. In the town it is very cold.

2)      One day its owner selects it to participate in the Iditarod. It has never participated in any race before, let alone the Iditarod. How does the dog feel? Does it want to participate in the race? Name at least three things it must do to prepare for the race and why.

Puffy feels scared and sad because it was cold and the race was tough and dangerous. It does not want to participate in the race. Puffy has to train for being out in the cold running and to be a stronger dog to pull the sled.

3)      It is the first day of the race! The dog lines up with its teammates at the starting line. One of the other dogs says, “You are too weak to be on our team, Underdog!” What does the dog say in response? How does he intend to prove that he is not too weak to compete?

The dog does not say anything and ignores them. He says to himself that he will prove to everyone that he is not weak and an underdog. He focuses on pulling the sled and does hard work.

4)      The first few hours go smoothly, but as the sun begins to set, black clouds fill the sky. Suddenly, a violent storm starts pouring down on everything. What happens in this storm?

It is raining really hard. Lightning is booming and the dogs feel scared. It makes them tired and scared because of the noise and when it is raining hard hard it makes them wet which carries more weight.

5)      Because of the terrible conditions, the musher is too weak to go forward, and he lies on the ground shivering. Even worse, the wind of storm has blown away the harnesses that attach the dogs to the sleds. The underdog realizes it needs to get the musher to safety. It comes up with a three-step plan. What is the plan?

Step 1: Pull the musher back on the sled.

Description: A few of the dogs pull the musher on the sled.

Step 2: Find the harnesses

Description: The dogs go around finding the harnesses so they can continue their race.

 Step 3: Prepare the food for the musher.

Description: Some of the dogs go around and find food. The others protect the musher and look for food on the sled.

6)      The harsh winds make it difficult for most of the dogs to move, but the underdog remains persistent. He decides to run as fast as he can while dragging the musher by the hood of his jacket. Everything is going well until the underdog hears ferocious barking near him in the storm. The wild dogs approach him. What do they do? How does he react? Describe what happens!

Puffy will explain what happens and the wild dogs decide not to eat them but to keep them prisoner until all the dogs and musher finish and they will go into last place.

7)      Eventually, the wild dogs, force you and the musher into their empty igloo. They say they are going to keep you prisoner there until their friends cross the finish line of the Iditarod, ensuring that the underdog’s team comes in last place. But the underdog notices a missing brick of ice in the walls of the igloo. Describe what he does to escape with the musher.

When all the wild dogs are out finding food, the dog uses its strength to break a hole big enough for all of them to escape.

8)      After escaping, the underdog races out of the igloo with the musher, who has finally regained consciousness. After running for hours, they see some familiar dogs running through the snow. It is his other teammates, and they are dragging the harnesses and the sled! What does the mean dog say after realizing how much the underdog has helped? Do the dogs think they have any chance left at winning the race?

The other dogs will say they are sorry and they will continue the race.

9)      After running for hours, the underdog’s team crosses the finish line in second place! How do they feel? How does everyone treat the underdog after everything he went through? Does he think he will run in the Iditarod next year? Why or why not?

All the dogs feel happy and everybody treats the underdog well. They want to be in the same team for next year if they are in the race.

On Responsibility

        Edith L., 14, Renaissance College


        Responsibility is a big word that is hard to learn the true definition of. Some people learn to take responsibility from a young age, whilst some never learn to do so. Help is something everyone should treasure and be thankful towards when it comes from others. It does not mean people can take it for granted and rely on it. People should be responsible for their actions and their lives. Helping them may not be the right strategy as it would sometimes make things worse.

        Life is given to a person so they can live the most of it and take charge of it. In most situations in life, we are given choices to choose between. These alternatives lead to different consequences, which usually has a good outcome or a bad outcome. It is all up to the decision of the person. If they choose the one with a bad outcome, they should never rely on anyone else to help them. It is their decision to have caused all this trouble so they should feel and be responsible for their own actions and their life if that is the route they choose to follow. Recently on the news, a sixteen year-old boy from a well-off family sexually assaulted a teenage girl on the minibus. The boy was sued and his parents went around to find teachers and other judges from the court to put in a good word for their son. However, the boy repeated his actions twice more within two weeks. This time his parents did not help him as they knew, even if they did, he would not change. Helping those who chose or are not willing to improve themselves is not worth it. In this case, the boy chose to repeat the shameful actions without feeling thankful and repaying his parents for helping him. The parents had made a good and reasonable decision to leave him alone. He will need to be responsible for himself and his ruined life as he chose to. He expected his parents to help him, which in fact wasted their money trying to help a hopeless young man. Letting people be responsible for themselves is one of the best lessons they would learn in life.

        Since alternatives are given, people should not expect others to help them after they chose their route, and definitely not blame them for the decisions and consequences caused. This is because no matter how others have influenced a person, one shall always be able to decide on their final choice, meaning that the person they should blame on is in fact themselves. Since the problem is caused by anyone else, people should understand that blaming themselves is not enough, but to stand up again to feel responsible for their actions and start improving.

        Of course, there are exceptions such as when a situation was not caused by man in any way, like natural disasters. These are situations where people do not even have the basic needs to survive, which are the only ones when help would be required and can make matters better. However, once everything is sorted, they must no longer rely on others’ resources but must use their knowledge to help themselves.

        To all organisms, life is extremely precious. There is only one lifetime for one organism to live through. In order to make a lifetime useful and live one with no regrets, it is necessary to take on responsibility. Help would be required at times but never always. The only person to make your life successful is you, not anyone else. Be responsible for your life, for your friends and family, and for your future. Learn to help yourself: it will lead you down the road to success.