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“ Do not blindly follow what other people ask you to do” my grandmother always used to tell me. I never understood its true meaning, i always turned a deaf ear to her. The incident stays etched vividly in my mind. The sound of sirens reverberating through the air, on lookers circling around me like a cloud of pungent dust and after that, everything was a blur. Due to my carelessness, I regret what I did till this day.

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She always told me how she would cross the Atlantic ocean for me, but we both know she would not get as far as a step away from her bed if I told her to. She is the funniest person I know and never fails to make me laugh. Her hair is short, uneven hair as she tends to cut it when she is angry and her glasses are a little to slanted to the left because she is clumsy and has accidentally sat on them countless times. She does not like her smile because her teeth are crooked, but I think it is lovely. It is warm and welcoming and every time she smiles at me I feel love radiating from her.

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In the very corner of my closet sleeps a small wooden duck in its blue blanket, protected from the harsh attacks of the sun and my siblings. The duck was a little rough against my fingertips from the peeled paint and scratches from dropping it so many times as a child. It has small black wheels for feet. On its face, there was a monocle haphazardly drawn by yours truly with a permanent marker.

This duck was was the most important characters and objects in my childhood because of every memory that surrounded it. It fills me with a sense of nostalgia, wishing back for my past.

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“Beep…beep…beep” a soft but steady sound was emitting from the side of the bed. My head was pounding and the atmosphere felt so tense. I was lying flat on a bed in such an uncomfortable position compared to my usual snuggled up posture. The bed was as hard as stone and was not like the bed that felt like soft fluffy clouds at home. My eyelids were dry and the light ray that shone through my half opened eyes were enough to make my eyes water. My eyelids were heavy as i fought with every last bit of strength to open my eyes. Then the light that shone straight in my vision blinded me for a second. The the strong medicine and antiseptic smell suddenly hit my nose. When i finally made sense of where i was, I thought to myself: Why am i in a hospital bed? How did i even end up here?

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our homes the place that we rest in after long days of school or work, host parties with friends and more. well, my ideal house is the place of comfort and inspiration. it should have an ample amount of space to move around, especially with the increasing property prices. it also should look aesthetically pleasng, not messy

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I remember that incident very vividly. Every time I think about it, I would get goosebumps as beads of perspiration would form on my forehead. The exact scene would replay in my head, none of the details missed. Tears would well up from the corner of my eyes. I remember the horror I experienced at that time. Until this day, the devilish and raging flames haunt me everywhere. That day would forever be etched in my heart.

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a white dove flew in the vast painting of a plain blue sky. my eyes trailed to the plaque beneath it: Something seemingly small in the eyes of another is the reason behind someone else’s masterpiece.

i tried to understand and eventually did. The artist’s success was because of his own dove. another question formed, who was mine?

Smiling to myself, at the thought of my white bird. judith, the one  outshone who my demons.most of the people knew her as ms judith, the lady serving you a plate of rice, but i knew her as mum.

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the air filled with laughter and joyful smiles. everyone was racing about here and there, trying to find the next station. The atmosphere was full of competition, and the participants were laughing gleefully everytime they completed a station. everyone was having so much fun, and i could safetly say that it was a successful event planned.

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Most people say exams, school, insects or even their family is their worst nightmare. On the other hand, for me, sleeping was my worst nightmare. When you think of sleeping, you normally think of “sweet dreams”, cuddling a soft booster or resting on your pillow to relax in the quiet night. People look forward to night time to go into deep sleep and recharge their energies. However, night time was the time when monsters would creep by my pillow side and greet me with their form of “sweet dreams”. Only Oly, my “bodyguard” could fight them off.

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One thing about me is that I love to collect soft toys. I have and array of various soft toys of different colours and sizes arranged neatly on the side of my bed. Among those, there is one special soft toy that I treasure a lot. It is a birthday gift given to me by my best friend. I have kept it safely for the past three years and hugged it to sleep every day

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Under the moonlight, she seemed to glow like a fairy. She was the most mesmerising woman in my life, the prettiest girl ever. She was someone that brings great joy into my life. Before her, I led the most mundane life ever, everyday felt like a chore. It was just endless routines over and over again. Now, everyday feels like an adventure. I love the thrill of being with her. I love everything about her. From the colour of her eyes, to the way she parts her hair.  I hope we remain best friends forever.

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Seeing the faded scar on my left arm brings me back to a memory which I wish would disappear. The fear and anxiety I experienced in that incident caused me to be here in a trauma-focused therapy session as I had trouble coping with those emotions. As my therapist went through a coping strategy to help with my trauma, my vision blurred as I began recalling back that painful memory.

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I was only 11. I was young and admittedly - stupid. During my primary school days, I’ve had my ups and downs, but I met my worst down at 11. I made a new friend and was in a new friend group. But being in that friend group was a big mistake. That particular incident haunts and upsets me to this day.

My friend group was a playful bunch, and I thought all that they liked to do was all good fun. But one day, during recess, we were in the empty classroom fooling around as 11 year olds do. Suddenly one of them, Phoebe, perked up, “Look! It’s Evelyn’s pencil case! Let’s take something.” Evelyn was a classmate nobody in the group liked, so everyone happily agreed and Phoebe pulled out a pen randomly from her pencil case.

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Even though I love my home the way it is at the moment, there are still some things that my home does not have that I would enjoy having. My ideal home would not necessarily be luxurious, but rather it would be comfortable and give off a cosy vibe. My ideal home would be inviting so whenever a someone were to step in they would immediately be able to feel at home. It would be the perfect place for me to rest after a long tiring day of commitments, a place full of books and preferably high rise so more sunlight would seep through the curtains without any other buildings blocking it. It would also be full of comfortable seats so I could have a wide variety of choice to do whatever I please.

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2019: Write about a time when you suffered for taking a risk.

I only have one leg.

Of course, that might seem like a startling fact to most. Myself included, when I first found out. However, things were not always like this, and I, like most, was born with a pair of perfectly functioning legs. However, as they say, with great risks come great danger. I took a risk—a huge one. Alas, I had to suffer the bone-chilling repercussions of my taken risk, which was the loss of my limb. This is how it all happened…

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1. An object that you received when I was a child and why it means so much?

I dragged my feet around the toy store, reluctantly following my brother to find his favourite transformers toy.Just then something arrested my attention- a toothless infant chewing on his polar bear toy.That cute and adorable image reminded me of my horrifying experience and of someone whom I missed dearly. It is none other my one and only mr Fluffs. He kept me warm and safe in his white furry arms when the quarrels in my house seemed like nothing but danger.He gave me his wide chest to lay and cry on when my sister threatened me with cockroaches.He help me get through every single day of my childhood until one terrible day when he became from his massive self into blocks of cotton.

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Taking risks that are totally out of your comfort zone can lead to failure. What is one thing risk-takers have? Overconfidence. I had that. Taking risks can be very fun but it can be one of the worst things I have ever done. Regret washed over me as I looked at my precious cycle drowning in the gushing water. Blood came thick and strong, flowing through my fingers as I clasped the ripped flesh on my knee. Gut-wrenching sobs tore through my heart.

‘Oh, why did I take this risk?’ I thought.

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A quote I used to live by, ‘The biggest risk is not taking any risk’. Whenever I didn’t want to try something, that quote would appear in my mind, reminding me to face my fears. That quote had helped me achieve my goals numerous time, it always served as a motivation for me. However, one day, just because of that one moment that had scarred me for life, any reminder of that quote caused me to reminisce about that horrible day.

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2019 qn 2
When I hear the word “elderly”, I immediately think of rotting flesh and dead skin. I have never been fond of elderly people, and I try to avoid them whenever I can. These chirpy and cheerful human beings will bore you with their life stories and experiences. Just my luck, my grandparents lived with me. I tried to avoid them whenever I can, and I even take my dinners later than them so as to avoid conversations with them. However, a recent trip to my mother’s workplace— the elderly home, changed my opinion on elderly people and also helped me develop more compassion towards other people in my life.

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Home. When we all think about it, comfort comes first. Living in a place far from the city world where there are bustling people treading back home after gruelling long hours of work or school, cars and buses drove past them with more weary people in it. Why do i need to live in this tiring and boring world? An apartment with an ocean view from my balcony and seeing the setting-sun going back into the ocean making the clouds glow blood-red in the sunset. The ocean waves hitting the rocks in the shore and the salt smell diffusing my nostrils as i take a sip from my vanilla latte in that spectacular calming evening from my balcony the gentle breeze playing with my hair. This is my ideal home. A place where i could connect more with Mother Earth and away from reality with just me and my love.

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The air filled with laughter and the moon was so bright. The park was brightly lit up with lanterns different colours, shapes and sizes.  The atmosphere was great and everyone had wide smiles on their face. The Children were waving their sparklers around in the air and the adults chatted while eating mooncakes and sipping on their tea. It was crowded but it was the first time where i did not feel like going home.

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The buzzing atmosphere filled me with lots of serotonin and as the sweet cotton candy scent wafted into my nose, it felt like i transported to candy  land. As i looked around in the crowd trying to look for someone familiar, i spotted a stand with big bold words “ HOT DOGS, HERE “ and a cute little red umbrella covering the stand. The queue snaked along the whole swimming pool and people impatiently waited for their freshly made hot dog buns. The sound of children squealing and the sound of water splashing could be heard in the background of all the chitter and chatter of the neighbours. The banner “ OPENING PARTY” hung highly above the swimming pool.

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“I wish life had a rewind button.”

This was a phrase that I never thought I would say. I always tried my best not to participate in hurtful actions so that i would never feel guilty or hurt another soul. However, when such a situation unfolded right in front of my eyes in primary school, I could not utter a word of support. I should have never tolerated such actions and regret not protecting my friend. This incident caused me to be upset with all my peers as they showed their childish behaviour and how mean they could possibly be. At the same time, I felt disappointed with myself for not standing up for my friend when she needed me the most

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My mum constantly brings great joy to my life. She is a hero- a true one. I always thought heroes were rare. All the story books told of their large muscles or other qualities an ordinary person couldn't hope to aspire to - but I've seen so many that it can't be so. I've seen my mother be a hero  of kindness, showing the kind of perseverance that would rival any fiction character. I've seen her   helping strangers in the street on every and any opportunity. You might think she doesnt  measure up to Hercules, but I disagree. Leading an honest and descent life without the adulation of a crowd or adoring fans is heroic. My mother is a real hero. Even as a single mum, she worked long hours even in the wee hours of the inky black night just to put food on the table for me and my siblings. In these ways, my mother truly cared for me. However, one such incident, truly showed me the love and care she had for me

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“Prevention is better than cure” was a phrase that was said to me many times in my childhood. My grandparents and my parents nag me about it constantly. I never really understood it, it just rang in my head constantly, day in and day out, reminding me of how naggy my parents can be. However, I took a risk and from then on I understood what it really meant, the hard way. I should have listened to them.

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My ideal home is one with ample amount of space. It is the most crucial aspect of a home to me, yet with homes becoming gradually smaller and more cramped, it is difficult to find one with space and it being affordable. When I am not studying, I enjoy looking at properties on sale, it helps me get inspiration for my ideal home. Whenever I tell my mother about it, she chuckles and says it would take a long time to build.

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With its brown colour and faded red ribbon no one would know how special Teddy is to me. Teddy is a teddy bear that was given to me by my aunt on my fifth birthday. It had been my favourite birthday present and since then me and Teddy went on so many adventures together. I would bring it everywhere I went and showed it proudly to my friends not caring that they teased me for having a teddy bear. I would take good care of him and made sure that he would never get dirty. Teddy was my good companion and he always gave me a listening ear as I confided all my problems to him.

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I opened my eyes to see the sandy beach and glistening sea. The sea waves gently lapped at my feet as I stood nearby. People were playing in the crystal blue water with their family and friends, having the greatest time of their lives.  The beach was full of beige sand that was as soft as cotton and people were lying on it, sunbathing.

That was how I envisioned the beach to be. However reality was the polar opposite. At the beach I arrived at, the waters were a murky green and full of rubbish floating on the surface. There was nobody playing in the sea as it was just so gross. The sand was even worse, so piled up with litter that there was not much sand to be seen. People who wanted to sunbathe had to stack multiple picnic mats as the filthy rubbish were just so uncomfortable to lie on.

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2021 question 6
Don't judge a book by its cover". Sometimes I think that people tend to forget that this saying goes both ways. We should not assume that someone with a bad appearance has a mean personality, but we should also remember that someone with a "perfect" outside may not have a just-as-perfect inside. I had to learn that the hard way, by staring at my best friend of five years lie at the edge of the stairs, groaning in "pain" from the fall she just had. Worry and concern coursed through me, only to turn into a burning rage as sudden as her fall, upon hearing the three words "she pushed me".

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Fond memories of me with my previous best friend, Sam, crushed down on me like a tsunami wave when I saw her again after more than 4 years. Never would I have ever thought that two sentences from my classmate could destroy our four year long friendship.

“Sam never liked you, she always talked behind your back, she was only together with you because you were smart and could teach her. Think about it, why would someone as pretty as Sam ever like a nerd like you.”

I thought about it. Maybe Sheryl is right about that. No one talks to me other than Sam, and everyone likes her, she’s always the center of attention, why would she ever be friends with me if she didn’t want something from me in the first place.

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Just imagine, waking up freezing, people walking past you with disgust. You stand up and look at yourself in shaggy torn clothes you have been wearing your whole life. The biscuit tin that had never been full of money. In a city of selfish people that never bothered to offer you any help in the form of money or others. Life to you is so miserable, having to go on expressways to get money from people. People winding their car windows up and “tch” at you in irritation. Having to look through dustbins for scrap food or getting expired food from strangers. Just imagine, waking up everyday without a roof on your head, sleeping on a cardboard piece, a rubbish bag as your blanket, Rodents squeaking around you, having to beg strangers for money. Just imagine, being a beggar in indonesia. Where they get offered no help, walk on expressways barefoot to beg for money.That was what i saw beggars experience while travelling to jakarta, Indonesia.

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Q3: A gift (2021)

The gift i received was something simple yet precious to me a bracelet. It was given to me as a parting gift from someone whom i would never be able to see again. My grandmother…

After my grandma had retired from her job, she started to enjoy her new hobby of making handmade bracelets with strings and beads, which she would guide them to her friends, relatives and me after she was done making them. Even though grandma was a beginner at making these bracelets, the bracelets were gorgeous. There were daisy bracelets, rainbow bracelets and even animal themed bracelets! “Grandma,I love your bracelets! They are so beautiful! Hmm, since you are retired, how about you try selling your handmade bracelets to earn abit of money?” I suggested. Grandma hesitated to answer, but eventually agreed to start the business. Since then, grandma and i worked together to start our“small business”. I woulld create posters and send them out to all my friends and relatives, promoting them so they would buy it. Grandma then took time to learn more designs to make more bracelets to sell. (Havent finish)

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“Here you go” i said with a warm smile as handed a couple of 2-dollar notes to a poor, hungry, hunched beggar shivering in the bitter cold clad in paper-thin rags which were very torn and tattered. She accepted the money very kindly and courteously and muttered a soft thank you before bowing and retreating back to her cardboard platform. Why is this such a big deal, you may ask. I was just recounting how i helped an old lady, but i was not always this compassionate. You see, i was always a cold person, someone who appears oblivious to the open world, when in fact i actually know what is going on around me. It was until i had visited a place with my family that completely changed my ominous personality. Here is how the story goes…

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Imagine having someone you can laugh with, cry with, and just be your true self around. From cracking the lamest jokes with each other and long bus rides home, Ashley never ever fails to put a smile on my face after a long, lethargic day at school. Ashley is a year younger than me, acts like a child, but is as mature as an adult on the inside. She means the world to me. Shes like a younger sister to me, someone who I can look at and think, “hey, maybe things aren’t so bad after all”. Theres just something about her, that just removes every bit of stress from me. It may be the simplest things ever, like just her making me feel comfortable and accepted for who I truly am. From someone I once found the most annoying junior ever, this is how I truly met this wonderful angel.

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2020
Topic 6
It has tousled pink hair, stuffed full of bobby pins that are sticking out all over. It wears a emerald green dress, with sequins adorning the hem. Atop its head sits a dainty tiara, completing the look of a old, well used doll. That's right, the object I treasured dearly as a little girl was a knock off barbie doll.

A knock off barbie doll? Where can one even find that? Being the frugal people my parents were, my parents did not see the meaning in buying toys. They found more meaning in storybooks or useful day-to-day items. At that time, this particular mermaid doll was very trendy among my peers. Longing to own toys just like my peers, I begged my parents to buy me that mermaid Barbie doll. Personally, I was not very enticed by the idea of playing with a Barbie doll, but I wanted to be labelled 'cool' for having the trendy Barbie doll. After being tricked by my parents into accepting a cheap, knock off barbie doll with a receding hairline and hair loss problems, I grew to be so emotionally attached to this wreck of a doll.

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The last ever school bell for the day rang. All the students hurriedly shoved their books in their bags, dashing for the school gates. I packed my bags and went to my usual group of friends that I went home with every day. There were five of us in the friend group and we walked together down the stairs, towards the school gate. The four of them started talking about how they just started to learn skateboarding and I felt intrigued. They then offered to teach me how to skateboard too. I was hesitant to reply as Mom always told me about why I should stay away from skateboarding. She said that it was too dangerous for a girl like me. Since my friends who were also girls learnt skateboarding, and nothing bad happened to them, I decided to accept my friends' offer and learn skateboarding with them. An excited smile lit up their faces and we skipped to the skateboard park, near our school.

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Have you ever dreamed about your ideal home? Well i have and it is none like the other homes in the technological world. My ideal home is not only mine but it is also a place that is shared by nature. Enough of the high technology vacuum cleaners and Netflix shows, it just hides the true meaning of hard work and reality of the world. What i really want is a home that i can really live in.

Spending my last moments in a wooden made house that lays amidst a very healthy and green farm full of fresh produce is what i want. Breathing in the fresh air….

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Black grime seeped through the cracks of the concrete, which were anything but little. Paint peeled from the walls like old scabs that one would flick off far away the moment there was a chance to. Yet there was something, or rather someone, so appealing about this place. This place I had been so reluctant to visit, but now begging to frequent. A place of stories, memories, lessons. A place one may deem boring. An old folks’ home.  (78 words)

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Imagine having friends over for a party, your multi- coloured LED lights on your ceiling changing colours along with the beat and everyone dancing to the beat of a party song through your latest Sonos speaker. Hear someone asking for a beverage or snack? I can immediately direct them to my mini fridge which will have snacks and drinks that everyone loves.

Once everyone leaves, I do not need to do any clean up because I have an efficient robot cleaner that does all the work for me and I can simply just relax and get ready for bed. Slowly opening the gigantic glass doors, I step into a fashion paradise, with all the clothes of the latest trends hanging in my cupboards, all the designer bags carefully sitting on the pristine shelves and all my jewelry hanging on beautiful mannequins.

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Imagine waking up to the gentle sounds of waves or the soothing rays of the sun as she peeks through the curtains. Imagine standing at the window and looking at a panoramic view of the ocean, unobstructed. Those will be some of the things I would like to see in my ideal home, other than having a huge library of books and a gigantic smart television in my living room.