Friday, September 28, 2012

The Road to a BARELY PASS

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US College Application starts off with one thing:

ACADEMICS

Unlike with its Malaysian counterpart where academics decides 90% (Or maybe wholly *ehem*Bursary*ehem*) of your success rate of admission, the US college application considered academics to be the ONLY first hurdle.

*In Malaysia, academics is defined as SPM
In US, academics is defined as CGPA, SAT, ACT, APs etc etc etc*

Next week, I'll be sitting for me SAT. And as a typical Malaysian student, the most viable preparation would be cramming hours and hours and hours for this examination. I mean, it worked during SPM right?

But then, I took a step back.

How much does it worth?

From what I knew, academics is just a cut off point. You passed it, then you passed it. If let say the minimum cut off point is CGPA of 3.5. Then those who gets 3.5 and 4.0 are considered the same as they are included into the set of people who PASSED the cut off point. If that's true, why work your ass off for a 4.0?

Alright, maybe you all are viewing this as a lamentation or complain or excuses for not studying, but I can't help to wonder. Is it truly worth it?

I'm not sure...
Well, hope I get an answer sooner or later

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

And With That, I Bid You Farewell and Good Luck

1 comments
Imagine a situation:
You have a friend, who you spend five years with together, facing angels and demons and anything in between. Then suddenly, one day, your friend had sprouted wings and fly away. What will you do as your last moment together?

Sorry, can't resist cuteness


Will you cry?
Will you laugh?
Will you reminiscent together?
Will you crack another joke?

Well that went through my mind these past few days. I had four member of Genesis flying off to Egypt to continue their journey in pursing knowledge and the answer of life. As you all know, Genesis means a lot to me. (Duh, read my past posts) So, I made a resolution.

I Shall Go and Send Off Each and Every One of Them at KLIA
No matter how I will do it,
I shall definitely do it.

Again, the most obvious question would be: Why?
Why waste time, money and energy to send off your batchmates?
Isn't a Facebook post is enough?

The reason is simple:
I LOVE THEM
What else drives a man more than LOVE?
A powerful emotion; capable of creation and destruction. In the case, it gave a positive effect.

However, the path of proving one's love is rumoured to be a path full of thorns and bumps...

Love was never simple. Love is hard. Falling in love is hard. Sustaining love is hard. Proving your love is even harder.

I can't believe all those obstacle I need to overcome to make my statement come true. Among the things:
-I got stranded in the middle of nowhere
-My car broke down
-Shivering at the side of the road, waiting for the storm to subside
-Waking up early for class, sleeping very late at night
-Money, TONS of it
-Driving like a madman with speed reaching 160km/h to the airport
-Exploring Selangor like an avid explorer
-Actually writing this blogpost

More and more, it seems my marginal cost overshadowed my marginal benefit (Economics Reference FTW!) It was simply not worth it to send ALL FOUR OF THEM at KLIA. Like KLIA is a freaking 5 minutes drive from your place. It took almost AN HOUR.

But, for some reason void of logic and rationale, I did just that...
Although I didn't really managed to send off Khal and Aien properly, at least I waved at them as they disappeared into the departure hall.
Again, why?
Simple: LOVE

Friends are aplenty. Sure, there are normal friends, close friends, best friends, BFFs and such but inevitably, they are all FRIENDS. The fact they are your FRIEND makes all the difference.


I believe in the Butterfly Effect which states:

 The sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change at one place in a deterministic non liner system can result in large differences to a later state

In other words:

Anything you do or anything that effects you, no matter how small it is, will make a huge impact on you later on.

*My interpretation FYI*

When a certain friend made his or her presence in your life, inevitably they will make an impact onto you. And believe me, ALL of the four Genesis guys and girls that flew to Egypt, no matter how close they are to me, DID made an impact onto me.

And I'm not even bullshiting

That's why, I love all my friends. The fact they exist is good enough for me. I may not show it but I truly do treasure my friends, ALL OF THEM.

You guys made an impact in my life, that's why I love you guys...


TO THE EGYPT STUDENTS, A SHOUT OUT FOR YOU!!!

Emi, the hyperactive girl with a strong heart

Aiman aka Piah, the long arms of Perwira

Not in picture form (Due to a certain group of girls being late):
Aien, the bubbly-pavlova-sweet things loving girl
and
Khal, the timid yet very strong and bold girl

We, from nazranvision.blogspot.com would like to give you:

AN OBAMA SALUTE!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

When You're Stranded, Can You Get Help? Not Really

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Yesterday, I got stranded....
Yes, for the first time in my time, I got stranded in the middle of an unfamiliar place with only VERY limited resources. (RM 1.30 of phone credit, 30% phone battery, RM 17 of cash, and 25 km worth of petrol)

It was a rainy night, after sending Aiman Afif aka Piah at KLIA. I stopped at a petrol station in Bangi to refuel and hoped that it will be sufficient until Subang. Right after refueling, I took off.

Unfortunately, there was a minor flood in front of the station. Figuring that if I took the edge of the road, I might be able to pass it. With a VERY exhausted body and even more exhausted mind, I took it as the best course of action and drive at the edge of the road.

UNFORTUNATELY
The water level was high also at the edge of the road. I panicked and shifted the gear to reverse and get out from the water but it was too late; the engine died. Attempts to start the engine back was futile and things spiral out of control after that.

My car bumper fell off... -.- Ignoring that fact for a while, I put the car on free gear and tried to push it out from the water.

UNFORTUNATELY
Due to my lack of sheer strength, fatigue, and the heavy Perdana, my efforts were as successful as the Greek economy. So, I waved and shouted for help at the nearby cars and the workers at the petrol station.

And you know what happened?

Car 1: Oh shit, there's someone in need. Let us turn back.
Car 2: Meh, someone else will help
Worker 1: *blank n blur*
Worker 2: Not my problem

Furious and enraged by them, I rushed over to the worker and begged for help. The following happened.

"Abang, tolong saya tolak kereta saya ketepi, x elok letak tgh2 jalan."
*blank* "Tapi, abg tgh keje. X mau baju basah."
"Ala bang, basah sikit je. Saya x nak kereta rosak lagi."
*pandang2 orang lain* *blank* "....Tapi hujan lebat la" (You don't say??)

Now, I was at my boiling point already.
I was wet; drenched actually
I was cold and shivering
I was tired and exhausted
I was panicked and worried
I was sad
I was frustrated
AND YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO HELP ME JUST TO PUSH THE CAR???!!

And all the other worker just don't give a damn. It's like each of them were hoping that SOMEONE would come forward and help but in reality, no one made a move. The 'bystander effect' took place and it was freaking annoying considering I was the victim! The diffusion of responsibilities at the WRONG TIME

Thankfully, there were two bro's who were stranded too that decided to help me. Even without a change in clothes, they helped a total stranger push their broken car out from the flood and into the station. Not only that, they even took a look at my car; inspecting any defects or abnormality. (Fortunately, there were none...except the bumper problem)

To wrap out the story, I stayed at Hilfi's place for the night and the rest is history

Screw those workers
Bless those bro's

Nazran here with an important message to all MALAYSIAN

HELP OTHERS
EVEN IF THEY ARE STRANGERS

Thursday, September 20, 2012

A Vivid Imagery

1 comments
Seriously,
The weirdest thing happened to me just now...
As I finished my Theater Journal and re-edited my Education Interest essay, I got this strange statement in my head.

'What if you got into Stanford?'

Truthfully, I didn't know where or how or why that statement suddenly popped into my head, but it did. A huge part of my conscious screamed: "Nah...with your scores and progress and past achievements, it might be quite impossible." Even so, that statement rang again...and again...and again...

'What if you got into Stanford?'

Before I could ponder about why or how, I got this vivid imagery. Mind you, all of this while I was going to the toilet, having a peaceful time in the cubicle.
This imagery was elaborated and almost felt real. I didn't see the world around me, rather I see a laptop screen in front of me. In the laptop screen was an email similar like this:


I froze. Then joy took over. I feel myself typing a joyous email to Amni and Christine, informing the good news. Like they said when I first met them "Report to them first". I did just that. Then I informed the Bank Negara people. Then I informed my room mates and my princesses. Then I informed Asahina. Then I informed my parents...

Now that's the heart warming moment...
Both of them cried the tears of joy...
For some reason, I felt a time skip and I was at Sains Selangor, all the teachers were congratulating me.
It 
was...
The happiest day of my life..

SNAP!

With that, the vivid imagery ended. I can't see or feel anything related to those imagery afterwards. I can't even summoned that scene! The only testament of that imagery was my shaking hands...

My hands were shaking...they shook like never before...
I never been shaken like this before...
Not even my SPM result day was I shaken like this...
But I did...
Is it fear?
Is it happiness?
Or is it futility?

I admit... I almost gave up on Stanford
Why?
Because my SAT scores were not up to par
Because my CGPA is not 4.0
Because I have a suspension case under my belt
Because I didn't play sport
Because my achievements were overshadowed by those who BETTER than me...
I opt for the 'normal' way...
Why?
I had doubts...

Doubts...
Oh the irony...
I just recently advised someone about doubts

'Doubts are like taps. The more you have, the tighter the taps'

That was my own FREAKING quote.
Yet, here am I, doubting myself...
Maybe people would say

"Ala, ko fly gak nanti..."

True. Ko tak salah
Tapi semua orang ada impian mereka masing-masing
Sama macam aku
Salah ke aku cuba mencapai impian aku?

Those vivid imagery gave me a feeling that I will fight for...
I woke me up...
Time is running out...
And the final stretch is near...

I will work my ass off...
For my dreams...
Even if I didn't get Stanford...
At least I can tell my story to my kids

"Your dad work really hard for Stanford, but he didn't get it...Even so, that journey made him your dad today."

So, how about you?
Try to get a vivid imagery of the goal you want to achieve...
And that euphoria will drive you forwards...
To the dream you strive to achieve

Sunday, September 16, 2012

REPOST: Study and Learning...What's the Difference?

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The following is a repost from 1994's...Written by ME! 


Study and Learning...What is the difference?

Salam semua! Nazran disini. Aku nak ucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir dan Batin kepada semua reader2 ku :)

Perasan x perasan, cuti raya dah nak habis. Maka sebagai stimulus dan ignition kepada azam baru selepas cuti, aku nak share something dengan korang semua

FORM CHANGE!
Izinkan ku menulis dalam BI sebab aku lagi selesa menulis arguments dalam BI.

Ehem

So, Raya break is ending soon, meaning we will soon be off to our respective universities, college, school to continue our journey along the path of academia. As the days are over, we shall see more and more of these:

"Crap! Aku tak siap assignment lagi weyh!"
"Study? Aku tak study pon"
"Cis, raya memang tak study la aku"

Well, that's a typical student. No matter where you stood in the class ranking, you must have done this at least once in a life time. But you see, why the worry?

In our education system, the only sure way to succeed in it is by studying. Then the question arises, what is studying?

Studying, as defined in the onlinedictionary is: application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or reflection

So basically, studying is an act where you open a book, scrutinize the details, and analyze the facts. When you study, you need a book. You need to extract information carefully and store it into your brain. It's a very important thing to do and it's what you should do a lot during your time in tertiary education.

BUT

We are forgetting the other side of the spectrum of acquiring knowledge: Learning

Now, most of you will frown and question me. "How the heck are those two are different?"

Just because 'studying' and 'learning' in BM is 'belajar' doesn't mean it has the exact same meaning.

Learning is defined as: the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill.

Now, pay attention to the word 'act' and 'process'. Learning is an act and a process, which means it is an ongoing thing. When I say ongoing, I mean it doesn't stop. You will continue on learning even if you stop studying. Learning is when you work to know something better. It applies to skills, knowledge and almost ever other thing in this universe. You don't need a book to learn. Learning is when you absorb knowledge from the world around you either subconsciously or consciously.

Learning and studying are both side of the same coin in acquiring knowledge.

No, that's an understatement. Studying is actually the subset of learning! If you draw a Venn diagram, the circle of studying is INSIDE the circle of learning!

However, we as students in Malaysia always emphasize the 'studying' part of it. You cram though sets and sets of questions. You memorize TONS and TONS of theories and what nots. You spend countless hours crouching at a desk to STUDY

But why study?
Have we ever thought of that?
Why the heck do I study? I mean, it's boring!
Some may respond with "I need to study to get scholarship" or "I need to study to get a degree"
But that is why we are lifeless when we are studying
We STUDY! That is the sole reason we are lifeless when studying.

Now, I said earlier that STUDYING is the subset of LEARNING. Being a subset, what STUDYING is, is what LEARNING is. Consequently, what LEARNING is, is not what STUDYING is.

Confused?
Here is a Venn Diagram

Via MS Paint. Yes, I suck
You see, when you are a baby, did you study?
NO
But did you learn?
YES

Why?
Simply because LEARNING is fun. No, LEARNING is associated with FUN. In that red zone in the Venn Diagram above, there is FUN!
That's the biggest difference between LEARNING and STUDYING

If you study for the sake of mere STUDYING, when it's boring
But
If you study for the sake of LEARNING, then it's fun!

Now, how do I actually LEARN?
Simple
Be a baby

Be curious
Wanting to know more about the world.
See the world as an adventure.
Screw the books sometimes!
Go and do something else!
LEARN!
LEARN!
LEARN!

That's why, don't study but learn. If you don't study during Raya, fret not, you're not more stupid than the rest of your classmates. You LEARN something else that they don't. The question is: What did you LEARN?

Be curious
And LEARN
Because simply,
Studying is too mainstream
*wears Hipster glasses* 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Aliens...

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I really wanted to write something...'nerdish'
I really do...but unfortunately, I lacked the capability and resources to do so. My intellectual level is not THAT high (yet)
But I found a person who can do just that!

Look at his Facebook Status! (Yes, this is, in fact, a FACEBOOK STATUS)
*In before "Oh, I bucuk. Gi mandi jom huhuhu heks haha :3"

So we talk of aliens and 'first contact' with them and worry whether they'd be either friendly and teach us new technology or bent on world domination and kill us all.

Rubbish.

We're assuming that they have feelings and emotions like us, that they're motivated by exploring distant 'lands' or conquering weaker 'races' like us. Why should they? They're ALIENS for goodness's sake!

Our movies and our cheap novels portray them standing on legs and having hands and heads with brains and eyes to see with and mouths to talk and eat with. As long as they's "intelligent enough" they're all basically human-like. Why should they?

Oh, and there's always those laser pistols eh? -_-

Now let's go further. Aliens are, well, aliens; they don't have to be ANYTHING like us at all. They don't need to have 2-sided symmetry like us. They can have maybe 10-sided symmetry (think starfish) or not symmetrical at all, who knows? Dude, look at nature, see how nonhuman everything is; this is still Earth. Should aliens from who-knows-where look more human than 'Earthlings' like say fleas? 

They don't even have to THINK like us, not even fundamentally! I'll show you why.

We humans follow what's called Aristotelian logic. Basically this means that if you have a ball and you wanna chuck it into either of two holes you know that either it goes into the 1st hole or it doesn't (because it goes into the 2nd); never both. Come on, basic stuff right? Kids know that. So you think this is true for everything. It's either true or it's not, never both.

Sorry dude, that's wrong. Ever heard of quantum mechanics? It says (and this is actually true) that photons, those little things that make up light, can actually pass through two holes at the same time. How the heck do you explain that!? Quantum logic, dude. Stuff can be true, or not true, or 'somewhere in between'. Oh yeah, and there are tons of other types of logic too.

My point is, things we think are 'obviously true' are actually OUR way of looking at the world, and don't have to be THEIR way. Who knows? Maybe aliens on planet 'Klaatu' (wth) think quantum logic is 'obviously true', and our logic is not! 

Oh yeah. You watch movies where aliens fight us and you notice we always have a chance of winning, if we haven't actually won by the time the credits roll. Rubbish. We're assuming their level of technology is kinda-sorta near to ours! Come on, if they could travel literally trillions of km all the way to us and we haven't even gotten past our own moon, you seriously think our technology can challenge theirs? Simple way to think about it: when the British colonialists with their guns and ships first met the Pacific native islanders with their rocks, did the islanders ever had a chance in the first place? Same thing, except worse. 

Then there's their intelligence too. They're not human-level smart, of course. If they could cross the stars, they'd look at us the way we look at, say, ants in ant colonies. Not even worth thinking about, let alone talking to. Ever seriously tried to talk to an ant? So why would they even communicate with us?

One last thing. We think we know if something's alive or not. No we don't: are viruses alive? How about fire? Or AI robots that can build copies of themselves? If yes or no, why? You see, even now on Earth we have problems telling whether something is alive or not. In space it's bound to get way weirder. If we ever make 'first contact' with an alien, the question we forget to ask ourselves is whether or not we'll actually recognize that it's alive in the first place! 

Think different dude, think weird, think ALIEN.

Such piece of writing...I wish I could write something like that...
Instead, I prefer write craps and random thoughts to no end...
Well, humans are different.
Nice work bro!

Credits to:
Muhammad Putera
Don't know him?
He's the No.1 SPM scorer of 2010

Now shriveled in fear!
And be awed at the same time

PS: I saw an obvious pattern between his post and Turga's...my god, these brainy people DO think the same...Must.Write.It.Down.For.Future.Thesis
PSS: I'm an economist, I don't study humans
PSSS: Wait, an economy need humans!
PSSSS: Well how about Aliens then?
PSSSSS: BAZINGA!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this topic except craps...and I'm exhausted so excuse the randomness

Monday, September 10, 2012

Need for Conflict

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Take a look at those two pictures above.
LOOK AT IT!
LOOK AT IT, DAMN IT!
WHY?
BECAUSE THOSE TWO ORGANIZATION CAUSED ME ALOT OF TROUBLE AND SPROUT CONFLICTS LIKE MUSHROOMS AFTER THE RAIN!
...
And because of that, they are my most precious people and gave me the most precious memory.

I did something out of my regular schedule today.
I took out Kyou and played with her (It's my sax, btw)
So, I was playing and playing...then I started remembering the good times with the orchestra...
As a saxophonist...
As a section leader...
As an oboist...
As a Woodwind Leader...
As a Conductor...
Then, I remembered bad times...
The times I got humiliated...
The times I fought with my best friends...
The times 'we' fought with the whole world...

Then, I remembered Genesis...
Similar to the orchestra...
I had many good times and bad times with them...
A midst conflicts, feud, and fights, we held on...

Then I realized, I remembered the conflicts more than the good times.
Like the infamous Genesis Dinner Scandal
Or the Coup de tat of the Orchestra

Diving even deeper, that very conflict IS the reason why I cherished those memories the most...
Obviously, conflicts rips apart the fabric of relationship between us...
But ultimately, we became closer than ever...

Therefore, I concluded that conflicts ARE essential to ANY relationship
Wait wait wait...
Are you telling me that I should DESTROY my relationship with CONFLICTS?

No, little bird...
I'm telling you...
Conflict will come, no matter how big or small it is...
But ultimately, it was for the organization/relationship good...

Recently, I watched an anime called Kokoro Connect.
This anime exemplified greatly the fact that 'conflicts actually make us closer and fonder to each other'
The anime's villain, an enigmatic entity called Heart Seed, purposely caused conflict to the otherwise normal group of friends...
It broke them apart pretty bad...
They fought...
But they never fought before this...
And ultimately, they became closer and closer...
And they overcame their conflict...

Life without conflict is NORMAL
You can say that I really want conflicts in my life...
Ef me right?
But yeah...
When I reflected of my action of joining TOO MANY clubs in Taylor's, I knew what I was searching for...
A club...
which will be hit by a huge waves of conflicts
Which consequently make it abnormal...
For some reasons, I wished the ADP scholars dudes and dudettes will be hit by a BIG conflict soon enough...
It's too...normal...
Well, ef me right?
Begging to be hit by a conflict...
But maybe...
Just maybe....
We can strive better amidst conflict rather than normalcy

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Unlimited Needs...Limited Resources

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Economics
'the study of managing resources to fulfill needs in the most efficient manner'
'the study of making correct choices for maximum output'

So, last week was the first week of class.
And guess what...
I finally learn Economics!

Yeay!!!!
Man, after 3 months of waiting, I can finally formally learn economics.
It's has been a huge irony, me, a scholar who supposed to study economics BUT I didn't learn anything about Economics for my first semester.
It's embarrassing.
When I talked to my A-levels friends, they will go:

Friend: "Oh, ko budak Econs? Susah kan econs? Especially bila *insert economics term here* tak boleh nak relate ngan *insert another economics term here* Aku struggle kot"
Me: Err....haah *bad pokerface*

Now, I had learn economics, I can at least save myself from this kind of situation in the future

So, moving on...
So basically in economics, we study about human's needs, which is unlimited, that must be fulfilled with limited resources. 

To put it into layman's terms, you want everything but you can only do/achieve a couple of thing.

Now, you may think that economics is an 'ART' subject therefore 'SCIENCE' people should not study economics.
Well people, you SHOULD
I'm not telling you to know every economics jargon like "Tariff rate", "Gross Domestics Product" and etc.
I'm just telling you to know the very basic of economics.
Why?
Because at least you understand more about LIFE
Yes, people...Economics is directly related to LIFE

Why? How?
In economics, you will study CHOICES
In life, you have alot of CHOICES
In economics, you need to study how to make the best CHOICES
In life, to succeed you need to make the best CHOICES

Catch my drift?

So, learn Econs...
It's damn interesting

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Delusions...ESCAPE FROM IT!

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Today's blogpost is brought to you by zenpencils.com
Awesome inspirational site. Check it out for your weekly dose of inspiration and hope.




Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Insights

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INSIGHTS!
INSIGHTS DAMNIT!
INSIGHT!!!!

All of my classmates could relate on this...
Okay, before you can say: "Eh, Nazran dah lupa kawan...dia nak jadi 'scholar' bagai"

Let me clarify that what I'm going to write about is for the good of the whole man-kind; not some isolated group of teenagers with hopes and dreams to fly into Harvard but got literally crushed when they see the SAT scores and CGPA of those who got in and the single-digit admission rate and the fact that no Malaysian had went to Harvard for four frickin' years, therefore, proceed to give up on Harvard and even banishing that 'H' word to ever be spoken in the walls of the ADP classroom which more or less look and feel like a dungeon only with the coldness that rivals Narnia

*Takes breath*

Congratulations! You've just read the longest sentence ever published in nazranvision!

*cue confetti*

Well, randomness aside, my classmates and I are basically stumped. We have TOEFL exams this weekends, SAT in October, ADP classes to attend, friends to make, clothes to wash, pets to feed and food to eat which is a MOUTHFUL. And to top it all, WE HAVE THESE COLLEGE APPLICATIONS GOING ON!

And when you thought that the application will be simply and easy like applying to a university in Malaysia, you're obviously wrong and greatly underestimated the power of US college apps.

To brief you briefly about this (Word FTW!) Here's the to-do-list in a typical application.

1. Fill in Personal Info
2. Fill in academic transcript (SAT n TOEFL included...that's another topic)
3. Fill in extra activities
4. Submit personal statement and/or essays
5. Teacher's recommendation
6. Recheck
7. Press the submit button.

Sound easy? Only seven steps? Well, put your attention to NUMBER 4
OKayyyyyyy puns asides

Personal statement and/or essays. The officers wanted to know more about you in a form of an essay

You might go like: "Meh, I'll just copy paste my resume. That will work."

Well, I'll now ask Boromir to say something to you


Well unfortunately, we're talking about Americans; the world's biggest hipsters. They try to be different in EVERY FREAKING SINGLE THING! (Not sure if this is the correct grammar...well screw this) I mean, look at their measuring system. The side of the driver seat. The education philosophy. The music. The EVERYTHING.

*ehem*
With that being said, they want something...(you guessed it) DIFFERENT from personal statement. Rather than wanting this:

"I'm Nazran. I like eating. I have an IQ of a whale but a genius whale. I play music because I didn't play sports. My favourite hobby is to play with my excessive fat that hangs above my jeans."

They want something like this:

"My hand wanders down my chest and onto my waist. The feeling of softness crept through me as my hands caressed the excessive lipids that had accumulated above my waist line. I lament my lack of involvements in active sweat-making; possible during sports. However, I can blow my saxophone to create melodies that enchants hearts and souls while enriching my mind. Speaking of my mind, I suddenly remembered the documentary I had watched yesterday about a whale that thinks like Einstein and may finally discover a particle that can achieve tachyon. That whale reflected my intellectual capability.

I'm Nazran"

Now, ignore those weird metaphors but you can see that the second essays is farrrrr DIFFERENT. Different as in PERSONAL



And that's how we should write our personal statement...

BUT HOW???
INSIGHT!
INSIGHT!
INSIGHT!

Okay, what the heck is insight?
Insight is looking into something different. To word it differently, find the deeper meaning of an otherwise uninteresting topic.

In finding insights, the 'WHY' is important.

For example,

Statement: I'm fat
WHY?
I didn't exercise
WHY you didn't exercise?
Because I hate exercise
WHY?
Because I'm an indoor person
WHY?
Because my parents raised me to be one
WHY?
Because both of my parents didn't play sports
WHY?
Because both my parents came from a poor family, so they didn't really play serious sports.

And it goes on...until you finally explained yourself in detail.
Another way is to question the statement in detail...

Statement: Eating affect my life.
WHY does it affect you like that rather than the other way?
...
...

Now, you're lost and speechless

The huge problem is, what can be my insight?

That my friend, is for you to reflect.

I believe that insights can come from anywhere. The strength of it depends on how you see it and also the significant of that said events or traits affected you. You may think that your life is boring and uneventful and there's nothing you can talk about to let someone know more about you and get interested in you.

 But think again, what shaped you?
No matter how big or small, all of these instances affect us.
Once you found it, questioned it...
And you may find something deeper.

Okay, this was not meant to help my fellow US-bound friends (Sorry guys)
What I'm trying to say is...find insights in your life!
You will find your life is far more interesting!

For example, you can read my past post...
Believe it or not, all of it came from seemingly insignificant stuffs but it actually shows a bigger and detailed picture about you that maybe even yourself didn't knew!


There are something interesting about anyone and everyone!
Go and discover insights!
Find out more about yourself!
And hopefully, become better and better!


Sunday, September 2, 2012

Ground Zero

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random pic of the day

"Every man began at his lowest,
where could reflect himself,
see himself,
and improve himself,
until one day,
he realized he was already flying high in the sky."
-Railzan Kurhna-

So, recently I found out a rather shocking discovery.
My friend, has a girlfriend...
A girlfriend...
A GIRLFRIEND!!!

Why is this shocking? Because he used to be a rather socially awkward. Plus with his demotivated self and pessimistic views of life, I think would be the last person I would thought of getting a girlfriend. Oh, and before you ask, he is a 5 on the handsomeness scale of 10, so looks is not the factor. And yet, he has a girlfriend. To add injury to insult...SHE IS FREAKING CUTE!

Now, you might be expecting me to say: "Ahah! that's just an analogy!" or something but this is a very true story. That guy although being sucky, demotivated and pessimistic did something most of us were chicken enough to do; CHANGE

Yes, he changed.
Now, he has passion, maturity, suaveness, and intellectual curiosity of a professor.
He used to be one of the worst in school...but he got a freaking straight A's for SPM
So how?
Like I said, he changed.

Now, another question arises...what caused him to change? You see, for humans to change, they need an external stimulus to kickstart their feedback mechanism to catalyst change. The magnitude of that external stimulus determine the success of the change.

Putting this into consideration, a theory called the 'ground zero' was created.
Alcoholic Anonymous, a large organization/program which has a long history of success in curing alcohol addiction uses this as a catalyst of change. 

Ground Zero, is a feeling where a human feels that he or she has lost everything in the world. It's the lowest point of human psyche, where hopes and dreams were shattered and every support system he or she once had, crumbled into dust. Such feeling gives an extraordinary amount of stimulus to the human psyche, prompting their feedback mechanism to work overdrive, thus making change very possible.

So, back to my friend.
When he was Form Three, he was bullied. Because of that also, he got into trouble for helping problematic seniors with their pugnacious tasks and tolerating with their behavior. Consequently, he got influenced by them too. His grades were horrible. He didn't joined any clubs. Simply enough, he was a bad student, albeit a really bad one indeed.

But then, one day, he met me. I was the batch leader during that time, so I was really concerned about him. So, I talk to him and begged him to reflect on himself. I asked him to imagine the consequences of his actions. What if everything you do right now, destroys your life completely? No friends, constantly being bullied, weak, immature, lifeless, gullible...what will happen to you? Do you want your life to end like this?

Then, the 'ground zero' effect happened. He did reflect on himself and it took a toll on him...but then, something weird happened.
He changed.....gradually...
What impressed me is not his sudden change of heart but his persistent through out his journey to change himself. People around him did slighted him or didn't support his actions to change himself, but he didn't gave up...

Ultimately, he became one of the best students in the school. And I say, his thought process could even rivaled mine. His passion? I can say he already did surpasses me.

So, what insight can we all take from his story?
One, always reflect on yourself. Put a yardstick to measure and grade where do you stand.
Two, if you think you're now at your lowest, fret not and fight on. Change yourself for the better as your lowest point is actually an opportunity for you to jump back higher than where you stood before
Three, never give up...Screw the views of society and press on...
Four, change....just make a change...small, big, it doesn't matter...

Through my 5 years in school, I've seen a lot of people, weak and broken at the start, but then with a few changes, they became a far better person.
I've seen a guy who used to get the bottom 10 of the batch....then became a straight A student during Form Five, heck, he is now a scholar.
I've seen a girl who used to be wild and free, before making a change and becoming more religious and conservative.
I've seen a man, devoid with any sense of responsibility, who make a change, and got various leadership posts in school...

Changes are around us
And if you got yourself a big challenge which throws you into Ground Zero,
Be positive
And fight on...

Because you knew that you will always win at the end of the day...
unless you give up...

So, always FIGHT FOR CHANGES IN LIFE!

So yeah, salute to you: AMIR IZZUDIN AKA SABAH