Yes, I know. It's been ages since my last post. I'll have to say this: I had absolutely NO IDEA what to post about until now. Also, I've been very busy. Today, I'm just going to focus on two topics: the John Baty-Raffles Debate Academy workshop that I just participated along with some of the homeschoolers the previous week, and something else you'll find out as you read along.
Firstly, let's concentrate on the debate workshop. It was held at RI/RJC, and I have to say, that place is humongous! We had a bit of trouble finding our way around on the first day, but directional signs pointed us in the right direction (thankfully). The instructor was a Canadian guy named John Baty (surprise surprise) and he's quite a funny guy.
I had a great experience at the camp (namely getting to know school people from different schools, learning stuff about debate, etc). Surprisingly, the lunch food was much better than expected. We even had different food everyday! After all, what do you expect from Raffles? :P
After all the teaching and learning, we all had to put that into practice. So we had debate rounds on the last day, which was on a Friday. Least to say, my teammates were fantastic and although we did not win all the rounds, we still managed to get something out of it. If I had the opportunity to go for a similar debate workshop, I would pounce for the opportunity!
However, life is not all sweet and happy. Bad things happen too. Recently, my cell member's aunt died. I could tell he was quite devastated (apparently, he had been close to her). As I comforted him at church on Saturday, I realized that I understood his pain. I realized how similarly I reacted when my cousin passed away. Although we are good friends, I've never felt closer to him before this.
This whole incident also showed me how a cell should be like. My cell rallied around my friend, prayed, and comforted him. We supported him emotional and spiritually. This was something I have rarely seen and this has convinced me that my cell is progressing forward.
Coincidentally, I found my late cousin's blog last week too (finally!). All this while, I thought I was close to my cousin. (I even switched clubs from Chelsea to Manchester United because of her.) However, reading her blog made me reconsider. I didn't even know all those things were going on in her life, and I didn't go and find out. Lesson learnt: loving your loved ones goes beyond just treasuring them.
That's all I have to say today. I don't mean to be morbid but that was the lesson I learnt this past week. I hope I have more so I can post more often! :P
Showing posts with label frailty of life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frailty of life. Show all posts
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Delicateness Of Life
Well, my brother and I are going for an Ethos debate camp in June. This is my second one while it's my brother's first debate camp.
For the exhibition debate, my topic is "Banning physical punishment of children" and my brother is debating on legalizing organ sale. My brother's topic brought me sadness because I remembered how I lost one of my closest cousins to heart failure on February 9, 2007. She was only 21 years and two months. (She was born in December) Although she had been suffering heart failure for three and a half years, she passed away so suddenly that I couldn't believe she was dead.
That Friday night, I was at home cell playing with my friends while the adults had a discussion. My mom then received a call from my maid saying that my cousin had collapsed at home and was being sent to hospital. My parents fetched my brother and me home before rushing to the hospital. I remember that it was already 12 midnight. We went to sleep that night, praying for our cousin. We did not think that it was really serious, although we felt a bit anxious. Trying to be optimistic, I expected her to be discharged the next morning.
The first thing I heard in the morning was the sound of crying. My maid crying. I brushed it off, thinking that my maid must be crying over some family problems, as she always did. A few moments later, she ran into the room and broke the news to me: my cousin had passed on. Immediately, I started sobbing and stumbled to the living room where I found my mother on the phone, tears streaking down her cheeks. It was one of the few times I witnessed my mother cry. (My cousin was very close to my mother.)
I went for the wake, but due to my young age of nine at that time, I was not allowed to go for the cremation. I thank God that my cousin had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and was now in heaven with Him. However, the question still rings in my head, "Would she have been saved by an organ transplant?"
This incident also taught me that we must live our life as if Jesus will take us home the next day. The frailty of life is very real. We may get called home tomorrow. My cousin impacted many lives and as a result, she left a lasting legacy. Due to her condition, she knew that she may die the next day, thus she gave her best in everything. She was a straight-A student in NUS and even committed time to serve in her church's Sunday school. Thank God for such a wonderful cousin!
For the exhibition debate, my topic is "Banning physical punishment of children" and my brother is debating on legalizing organ sale. My brother's topic brought me sadness because I remembered how I lost one of my closest cousins to heart failure on February 9, 2007. She was only 21 years and two months. (She was born in December) Although she had been suffering heart failure for three and a half years, she passed away so suddenly that I couldn't believe she was dead.
That Friday night, I was at home cell playing with my friends while the adults had a discussion. My mom then received a call from my maid saying that my cousin had collapsed at home and was being sent to hospital. My parents fetched my brother and me home before rushing to the hospital. I remember that it was already 12 midnight. We went to sleep that night, praying for our cousin. We did not think that it was really serious, although we felt a bit anxious. Trying to be optimistic, I expected her to be discharged the next morning.
The first thing I heard in the morning was the sound of crying. My maid crying. I brushed it off, thinking that my maid must be crying over some family problems, as she always did. A few moments later, she ran into the room and broke the news to me: my cousin had passed on. Immediately, I started sobbing and stumbled to the living room where I found my mother on the phone, tears streaking down her cheeks. It was one of the few times I witnessed my mother cry. (My cousin was very close to my mother.)
I went for the wake, but due to my young age of nine at that time, I was not allowed to go for the cremation. I thank God that my cousin had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior and was now in heaven with Him. However, the question still rings in my head, "Would she have been saved by an organ transplant?"
This incident also taught me that we must live our life as if Jesus will take us home the next day. The frailty of life is very real. We may get called home tomorrow. My cousin impacted many lives and as a result, she left a lasting legacy. Due to her condition, she knew that she may die the next day, thus she gave her best in everything. She was a straight-A student in NUS and even committed time to serve in her church's Sunday school. Thank God for such a wonderful cousin!
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