"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.