"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn"

Dr. David M. Burn’s quote means that success is not about being perfect but aiming. If you have a goal and you try your best till the end and never give up then you will be able to be successful. It also means that if you think negatively then you will be discouraged to learn new things in your life. To me it means that you should never give up or else you will get involved in the negative side and lose interest in learning new things. It connects to my life by facing difficult obstacles, for example if I have a big project coming then I should try my best by NOT giving up and always think positive and believe that I CAN do it. Another example is; in yearbook if I have a short deadline which starts from Tuesday till Friday (in the same week), then I start step by step from the Tuesday and come afterschool to finish my page and the student names. By doing like this you will be finishing the page in no time. “Aim for success, not perfection”, I believe that being perfect does not mean you will be always successful in your life, but aiming to your own goal to the very end without giving up is successful. This part of the quote, “Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life” inspires me by telling that even if I have a very difficult situation/option then I still have to trust myself by believing that I can do it if I try harder.

This picture of golf shows the quote by telling that you shoud aim to the hole and not trying to be perfect. In golf, if you think negatively you cannot be focosed in the game and lose your interest so you always have to think positve which makes you the ability to learn.

A New Life of the Lost Boys of Sudan

When the lost boys of Sudan arrived in the States they had some unusual experiences and faced difficult situations. The most surprising thing to the lost boys was the house; they felt that it was so huge that it could fall over them. Comparing to the mud huts in Africa this house was humungous to them. There were some difficulties with daily living for example not knowing how to switch on the electricity, to do indoor plumbing, to pay bills and to cross a grocery store.
The difficulties they faced were their skin color, they were complaining by saying, “Most white people are scared, they think you’ll beat them up, just because you are black.” Peter was also feeling left out of the American society when he was getting on the bus and said, “When I come nearby people, people just look at me. I look odd, I feel shame and I don’t like them”. This made him more discouraged and frustrated. They were also kept in lower positions in jobs, for example when Peter was working in a market as a boy rolling trolleys, he was asked by his boss to work outside just because he was an African and could endure the heat, this was very prejudice and an unfair way to treat people.

It can be very difficult to understand and adopt a different culture to the Dinka boys. However, they tried to overcome by acting and dressing like the Americans such as wearing bragged pants, jerseys and bini hats. They also went to school and learnt English and other classes, Peter had to lie about his age so that he could go to high school and not directly to college. He had worked hard during his high school years and finally graduated from high school. They played basketball and became familiar to American sports that led them to make more friends. Working in the part-time jobs helped them to earn money and gradually pay their bills. Hopefully, if they get selected in good jobs and earn enough money for their living, they will go back to Africa and help and educate the people.

The Vertical Slope

This was my second day of my Langkawi experience; I tiredly finished my Flying Fox ride and sweated a lot. I was headed to a rope climbing section, on the way I had to cross an underground hole with the help of my rope and balance.

When I reached the place, the mountain that I was climbing down was very steep like a straight vertical line. I felt secure as this was my second time rope climbing and was ready to go down. When I was in my ready position that was standing right opposite to the rock, I was recalling my memories in school when I was climbing in P.E. class, always feeling scared as I might fall down but now I felt happy for I had confidence in myself that I could climb down. The teachers checked whether my ropes and hooks were tight and I started climbing with a steady motion. The sweat droplets from my face were rolling down my cheeks for I wanted to be careful and had a constant speed while climbing down. In my mind I said to myself to be positive and would get down safely.

However, my legs were not higher than my body like the others, so my teacher who was looking up from the ground was advising me to put my legs higher than my body like a “sitting position” because it would be much easier for me when I climbed down. I was trying to do the “sitting position” but it was pretty hard for me because I was not used to it. I went down the climbing path slowly but still couldn’t keep my legs into position. Looking at a 50 feet ground level from my point of view was not a pleasing sight. When I looked at my right side there was a jungle which was dim and thick and on my left there were rough climbing rocks with little trees.

I heard my teacher saying something again so I listened up carefully and followed his direction. First, I let my body lower than my legs. Secondly, I loosened the rope a little bit from my right hand so that I could go down with ease. Finally, I was doing the “sitting position” well for twice or trice but got back to my old position again which my body was being higher than my legs. I still tried to do keep my legs higher than my body. However, while doing the “sitting position”, my right foot slid on the slippery mosses on the rock surface where my right leg lost the grip and at that moment I swung to the right side in the dark jungle where my skin rubbed against the rough uneven rocks and my face almost touched against the rough rocks.

I could tell that the jungle was pitch-dark and I felt cold in my body. At that moment I thought this was the last time talking to my parents in my mind saying, “Mum, dad, don’t worry about me even if I don’t come to the house.” But I was gradually going to the left a little to the place where I was climbing and when I reached the place where I was climbing I still closed my eyes tightly and trembled. My teacher was talking to me very loudly saying, “Are you okay?” I told him that I was fine but actually I was not and he said to me that I should be in my “sitting position”. I again followed the direction by the teacher and came down safely. I finally reached the ground. It was the most terrified time ever in my Langkawi Malaysia Week experience but I was proud of myself that I climbed down from a very steep slope.

From Colonization to Exploitation

Colonization occurs when one or more species are populated in an area. The word “colere” comes from Latin meaning, to “cultivate”, “practice”, “tend”. From the story "Reasons for Colonization" by Richard Hakluyt’s extract, he talks about people colonize because of these reasons, "The glory of God by planting of religion among those infidels" which means that they want to spread the Christianity religion to the people who doesn’t have faith in this religion. "He also states the fact that people colonize because 1.) To plant Christian religion. 2.) To traffic. 3.) To conquer. In my opinion, the main thing why people colonize is “to conquer” because in the colonization in Australia, the British people colonized to take over the aboriginals land, culture and tradition. They felt that it was the right thing to do for their advance in their nation and therefore thought it was a sensible and a justifiable action. In the poem written by Rudyard Kipling, the “White man’s Burden”, Kipling's plan of the poem was to show to the Americans to colonize the Philippines, in the poem it says “To seek another's profit and work another's gain.” This quote emphasizes that people (Americans) colonize because they want to gain money and work. “Go mark them with your living and mark them with your dead.” This quote shows the encouragement and gives confident to the colonizers as the poem is saying treat the land like yours and do anything they want even stamping their life and death. “To veil the threat of terror and check the show of pride;” this quote indicates why the people colonize to show them that they can treat the indigenous people and show their pride and power. These strong reasons would support the colonizers want to go to settle in the land and have control in it.

Colonization can lead to exploitation by first settling in the land and later on as the colonizer gains more power, they start to do some cruel action like exploitation which would take advantage on the indigenous people. Here is an example of colonization gradually leading to exploitation; King Leopold II owned the territory of the Republic of the Congo, over two million square kilometers. Leopold had pledged under the terms of the General Act of the Berlin conference that he would restrain the East African slave trade by “promoting humanitarian policies”, “guarantee free trade” and “encourage missions.” In November 1888, he broke up his promises because after he saw how his power was increasing in Congo and made a law that was totally opposite of what he said to the General Act. He issued three decrees: first he prohibited trade in arms, second he commanded the terms for the employment of indigenous workers, forcing them to be a temporary worker for terms of seven years and third he established the Force Publique officer corps where entirely of whites were included. This decree forced the Congo men to collect rubber and ivory and if they didn’t bring enough, they would hold their wives and children captive or kill them and burn their villages down. This exploitation went all the way up to becoming genocide. These were the acts of Leopold that gradually lead him into the exploitation from colonization.
In the picture, “In the Rubber Coils” a Congo man is tied and twisted by Leopold II who is represented as a snake. The man is being strangled by the Leopold because the Congolese isn’t bringing enough rubber and ivory. Overall, colonization can become exploitation because the colonizers can be thirsty for power and therefore wants to act inhumane.

"IT'S A POWERFUL DAY FOR AUSTRALIA"

In my opinion apologies are important because the person you have been hurt realizes, that person have made a mistake. Most importantly, an apology shows how regretful you have been for hurting someone. Apologies may not cure the illness in the past but it can reduce the pain that the person had and make a better future. In this situation, although Mr. Rudd says that he is “sorry”, the hurt, anger and the frustration from the aborigines would still remain for some indigenous people in Australia. “Stolen Generation” was a criminal and a raciest act; hence it is difficult to accept an apology by Mr. Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia. When Mr. Rudd said “We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all” and “A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country Australia". These speeches made a difference to the aborigines by showing emotional scenes which emphasize that they are taking the apology from Mr. Rudd. However, for some aborigines an apology did not recover their painful wound in the past because in the “Stolen Generation”, the colonizers kidnapped the children and forced the culture and population of Australia to “breed out”. The apology spoken by Mr. Rudd made a difference but some Australians still think that they don’t have to make an apology to the aborigines.

In the picture above, you can see that how a three minute apology touched the minds of the people (aborigines) and gave confidence to turn the nation into a new page.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN, ASK.

Einstein’s words, "The most important thing is not to stop asking questions" means that, one cannot help but be in wonder when he considers the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to understand a little of this mystery every day. Never lose curiosity for it is important and sacred where you can’t buy nor sell. I chose this quote because it represents my personality of studying and preparing for the tests and quizzes. While studying, if I have some questions to ask I go to the teacher and ask for help, after clarifying my question I go back to the place where I was confused and try to re-read again. The second time going through it is much more helpful by giving me a way to think more deeply. Asking questions is very beneficial to me for it provides a way to connect with other things in from different points of view and also communicating effectively with the teacher. Asking what I don’t know gives me a chance of thinking several times and also improving to become a good learner by reasoning critically.

The picture above shows Einstein wanting to seek something. It represents my personality because whenever I do something and I eagerly want to ask my questions, I ask. Asking questions not only represents my personality of studying but also daily life requires the need of asking questions. In my opinion, asking something you don't know really helps for it gives us a better understanding of knowledge. Try it today, you feel good that you learnt a new thing in your life.