Tick tock tick tock tick tick

Karam Y., 12 , GSIS

Tick tock tick tock tick tick. Mrs. Simonson stared balefully at the clock. Why did time seem to go by so quickly? She sunk into a reverie. In the good old days........She saw herself as a child of four or six giggling happily with her friends, pigtails flying in the wind. She saw herself at the desk, her head drooped down trying to solve a hard problem. She saw herself graduating. Diploma in hand, grinning proudly at her parents. Then she saw dear Mr. Simonson's face, smiling at her. She saw her two children reaching out for her and laughing when she scooped them both up.

After that came the years of sadness and pain. She saw herself waving goodbye to her children. She saw herself dressed in black weeping over the freshly dug grave in which her poor son lay. She remembered the lonely times, with only Mr. Simonson for company, feeling so lonely. She remembered the Christmas when she had sat on the porch waiting for nearly a whole day for the daughter who never came. She remembered the recent years. Returning to the house and finding Mr. Simonson sprawled on the floor, barely breathing. She remembered the long hours she spent chewing her fingernails and praying to God to spare her husband. All in vain.

Mrs. Simonson woke up with a sudden jolt. A tear glistened on her cheek. She stared at the empty old house, half expecting her family to pop out. She sighed and looked down at her hands. They were swollen from arthritis and worn from many years of work. She stared into the mirror and saw her countless wrinkles and snow white hair, her sad grey eyes and her down-turned mouth. It would be her time soon, she thought.

On Family

By Anonymous

Our parents brought us into this world. Since we were born, they have spent hours, nights, and days to train, teach, and build our character. They have given us opportunities and love. Money cannot replace the happy moments we have spent with our family. Our family demands quality, hard work and honesty. This is what motivates me every day. These values are drilled into me and make me who I am.

I am not a perfect person. I am not the smartest. I am not the strongest. I have made mistakes. I am very grateful to everyone in my family for trying to guide and shape me into a better person. My parents have always demanded that I work hard and give my all in everything.

I have spent so much time with my family. Through thick and thin my family have always given me support and pride. I try my best to make my family proud. The endless investment in me can never ever be repaid. The only way to repay my parents is to show love, work hard and achieve my best.

I owe my parents a huge debt. They have been patient, willing and have sacrificed a lot to train me. My parents have always cared a lot about my academic studies. They have shown a huge interest and have guided me. My parents are big believers that education is the only way to success. They always tell me to do what they do and learn their strengths and better myself. Without my parents, I would not be able to meet new people, own fancy gadgets, have food, shelter and most importantly love. Without my family I don’t know what I’d be like. I come from an amazing family and am so thankful for what they have done.

Sometimes my parents nag, but they do it because they care. It makes me want to prove them wrong. I may not always be appreciative but I cannot emphasize the debt I owe and how grateful I am to my family.

My parents always work their butt off for me. They have made sacrifices. They go to work and I spend time with my grandparents. My grandparents are all happy individuals. I share endless memories with them. My grandpa on my dad’s side always spoiled me, played with me until he was sick. I miss the times when I was a kid and every holiday I would be so excited to see him. He taught me to enjoy life to its fullest. I was very devastated to lose him recently. Losing a family member makes you appreciate the things that money cannot buy. On my mom’s side my grandpa taught me how to study and about core values. I love spending time with my family. My grandmums would always cook delicious food and spend time together with my granddads. At this point in time I treasure my grandparents a lot. Losing my granddad made me appreciate every second I spend with my grandparents. One day our parents will have time gone. Therefore it’s equally important to be grateful to them when they train and spend time with us.

        My family have loved me deeply. I want to treasure every moment with them. I do not want to take them for granted because one day they will be gone. I love my family a lot.

Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong

Dhruv M., 13, HKIS

At present, Domestic Helpers are not allowed right of abode in Hong Kong despite residing here for many years. Until recently, domestic helper Evangeline Banao Vallejos was part of the 250,000 domestic helper population in Hong Kong. She recently won a lawsuit with the backing of several renowned lawyers to be able to seek permanent residency. However, the rest of the hundreds of thousands of helpers present in Hong Kong still have not been granted the right to abode in this city and enjoy the benefits permanent residency ahs to offer. This is wrong. After living for 24 years Vallejos still had to go to court, and she is just on helper. The Hong Kong government must realize that after rechecking their system it would be illogical, and maybe even illegal, to prohibit domestic helpers the right of abode.

One of the foremost reasons that helpers should be enabled to have permanent residency because by denying residency, that is a contradiction of the Basic/Immigration Ordinance laws. The Basic Law states that discrimination is not legal in Hong Kong SAR. According to it, residents are of equal status when involved with the law. On the other hand is the Immigration Ordinance law, which according to the reference basically disables helpers from being granted “permanent resident” status. Not allowing helpers to get permanent residency based on their occupation is discriminatory, and by having one law that says that discrimination is unlawful, and another promoting discrimination there is, as earlier stated a crossover in the law. Basic Law is fundamental to the city, and in order to prevent violation Basic Hong Kong Law, regulators must make sure that helpers are no longer discriminated, because this could quickly become a massive flaw in the city’s vast legal system.

Secondly, helpers do in fact contribute to Hong Kong society. They give people the ability to not have to worry as much as they would have to without a helper about the home life, and whether everything is in check, and so on. While some people say their contribution to society is outweighed by the negative effect they would have on the economy if granted residency, these people may in fact be incorrect. Now that they debate on permanent residency has been raised, some helpers may leave if not granted citizenship, because they have “come to their senses”. The helpers leaving could create a domino effect.

First the helpers would leave, then people would work less in order to take care of the home, then income would reduce, and consequentially the economy will slow down. So now that the topic on residency has been raised within the helpers’ community it would be a safer bet for the government to grant them a right to abode.

On top of this, it makes no sense that the government are complaining about the effects on the economy, when the Hong Kong government just spent 5 billion dollars on a new headquarters. The amount the government would have to pay in order to give the helpers citizenship is dwarfed by the amount they paid on something that has no visible public benefit. The amount spent on Tamar (new headquarters) could have been allocated into many different projects across Hong Kong that would have had a larger public impact.

At the end of the day, it is time for the Hong Kong government to reanalyze their laws, and to double-check whether some of it may be wrong, and actually promote discrimination. It would most certainly save them quite a few million in probably future lawsuits from the now awoken helpers group of Hong Kong. It is time for a change.

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.