Haiti's earthquake

Let's join hands in unity

What happens if disasters struck? Flipping the pages of Newsweek has been mind blowing and heart-shattering. Pictures still haunt my thoughts as I can vividly recall one picture. It was one of a girl. The look she bore on her face was one of agony. It was so excruciating to look at the picture alone that I believe I may never be able to imagine what it is like to actually be there and feel the pressure, the aura, the atmosphere...

Living in the comfort of clean and green Singapore has been a blessing for me as natural disasters have not been able to lay a finger on us. But the sad thing is that...we will can never be able to relate to situations like Haiti's major earthquake. The loss of loved ones, homes destroyed, sense of livelihood crushed..

I feel so angry at myself! I'm helpless! I am unable lend a helping hand to them except to make a small contribution by donating funds to aid the people of Haiti. I want to do more than that. I want to comfort those in need. I don't know how many of you feel the same as I do. But it pains me to see them suffering. The people of Haiti have already suffered so much with their country's economic issues, they never wanted this to happen this way. No one did.

Now, aid are poured into the country. But its not enough. Orderly lines of people queuing break into chaos as the trucks arrive. Everyone flung themselves forward and pushed in every opportunity. It has become a fight for survival.

Being a student now restricts me from going there because I have commitments here. However, I really hope I can grow up to be someone more useful. I want to have a purpose in life and that purpose is to help people to the best of my abilities even though I may be a troublemaker at times.. I really want to do a part.

Together, with kindness, we can bring a little joy and with that joy,it will eventually turn out to be smiles and hearts filled with gratitude. I pray that you and I can be that someone to bring joy to others even if its a small act of kindness.

The quote of the day:

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

~Leo Buscaglia

A scare

A deadly silence hung over the classroom as he strode in. Not a muscle moved. Hearts thumped wildly against our ribs. Our eyes were fixed on him watching his every move. Waiting. He slammed the stack of papers on the teacher's desk. A shock wave rippled down our spines and our hearts skipped a beat. Words did not have to be exchanged to understand.

'Girls... I'm very disappointed in you. This is not up to expectation.' His tone alone was already so depressing that we remained rigid in our seats, trying to take in the blow. The qualifying test was incredibly tough. I bit into my lower lip hoping to stifle a scream and suppress my tears from worming down my cheeks. My head drooped like a wilting flower.

'I'll be seeing each and everyone of you next year though,' he sighed.

'You have all passed but not with flying colours' he blurted out.

My head shot up, revealing my tear-streaked face. Through my blurred vision, everyone looked in a state of shock. Within the next two seconds batches of girls in every corner shrieked in pure joy and disbelief. Whereas I burst out sobbing even more uncontrollably. But these tears aren't one of agony but one of happiness.

a new year

A new year has arrived and I've realised that I've let myself down so many times. Its unbearable... the weight of my burdens seem to tug me deeper into tangles. A mixture of emotions and conflicts overwhelm me as i attempt to think. Day by day, I try to peel myself off my bed and prepare for school. Time is crucial but it never stops to wait. I'm tired. Tired from running to keep up with time. Tired for trying too hard. Tired for doing things against my will.

Watching others so full of energy and enjoying each moment of their day while I slouched in my seat restlessly, unnoticed and ceased to exist. Why can't time stop? I cant keep up. I hate being last all the time. Rage surged through me. But... what can I possibly do? I have no power.

Hey, my name's Joanna and I'm writing short blog entries like this above to hopefully gain some skill in writing and discover the different ways to express myself. (:

But this short paragraph above is partially true about my life and partially made up because I got slightly carried away into writing a story. hehe. This is rather new to me as my writing is has been poor recently and my vocabulary is not very wide compared to others at my age I think.

I think I will most likely be writing more to improve my writing skills.

I'll try to write about my daily experiences. :D

thanks for reading if you are reading this post! ~

really..