Considerate: To be or never taught to be?

I've decided to check in here first before dinner. I think I'm going to suggest watching the long over due "Chicago". It has been sitting at the corner of my desk since the 5th of October 2010. Yes, that's an awfully long time for something to be sitting on my table. Especially considering I had borrowed it from someone. Today's thing that dumbfounded me the most was this, were we ever taught to be considerate to another person's feelings or have we just decided not to be considerate to another person's feelings? I take it that most of us are confident in the knowledge that yes, we were taught to be considerate of someone else's feelings in primary school. All those numerous Moral Education lessons. I don't know what they are calling it these days but those days, it was called Moral Education (ME).

Of course we weren't only taught to be considerate towards other people. It is after all, Moral Education. So we were taught to be morally up right individuals and so be able to contribute to society. But nowadays, I think we have begun to slacken in our attitude towards others. Yes, I still have faith in mankind. I'm not one of those who have totally lost it. Although I admit that not everyone I meet reaffirms this faith in mankind, I still believe that the few of us out there are enough to make a higher power think twice about destroying the lot of us. But our attitude towards others really needs to be improved upon. Maybe we should all be attending a monthly if not weekly briefing on Moral Education.

Many things around Singapore today point out the glaring fact that we, people in general, are not being considerate enough, courteous enough, friendly enough. There are the posters on every bus and every train that asks individuals to give up their seat to someone else who needs it more. There are those 'please give way' signs at the entrances of trains that encourage us to give way to exiting passengers. There are nationwide movements that encourage us to smile even! Why do we need this? I think it may have to do with the fact that we live in an extremely fast paced society. Or perhaps, because we also live in a world 'that never sleeps'. We're rushing from place to place, from job to job, from activity to activity. We fail to realize that in our rush to get somewhere, we might have accidentally stepped on someone, bumped into someone, failed to help someone.

I've read a story before, about how this teenage boy had cleared out his locker on Friday to go home. As students, we know that when the last bell rings on Friday, there is virtually nothing that can stop us from escaping the prison we've been forced into since the wee hours of the morning. Students ran, jumped, laughed, shouted as they ran out of classrooms and into the halls. They were bumping into him without a care. They did not care that as they bumped into him, he dropped all his books onto the floor. But someone stopped to help him pick it all up. And invited him to play with them since he was a fellow classmate. They became best friends. On the day that they were graduating from college, he pulls his friend asides and thanks him. For he had wanted to commit suicide during that weekend. He had cleared out his locker so his parents wouldn't have to do it for him. And if he hadn't stopped and helped him or invited him for a game, he wouldn't have lived to graduate from college.

How much good we could do if we took the time to spare a thought for the people around us. Though, yes I'm veering off topic. Just today, I saw a student tap his attendace and then left the lecture theatre. He did not even step fully into the lecture hall. That's not just being rude, that's also being inconsiderate to the lecturer's feelings. I mean, how would you like if someone did something to indicate to you that he did not want to even come for your lessons? I'd probably feel very offended and unhappy.

Well, it seems I can't drag on any further as life calls. I'd be back soon. I hope. Till next time! Toodles!

If we could turn back time.

If we could turn back time, it'd be two weeks ago Monday. When my first term break began. Yes, I don't really want to go back further than that because frankly, why would I want to relive my life all over again? I mean, sure I might do a few things differently, but overall, I'm pretty happy with how my life is now. Okay, with the exception of my work piling up. There isn't a physical pile on my desk but I assure you, the pile in my mind is already stacked too high and is dangerously leaning to one side.

But if we really could turn back the time, I imagine there'd be a ton of problems in the world and even more problems in our lives. For one, would we ever be able to carry on with our lives if we had lost someone who meant the world to us? Not just losing someone to death but losing that person in general. To another person, to an ideal, to an addiction. Personally, I've always wondered if there was something I could have done to prevent something from happening. From losing someone I cherish so much and did not intentionally want to lose. But I think, if I ever turned back the clock to try and change something that had happened in that first instance, I might have missed out on plenty of things in the future and which I am totally grateful for now. Though I'm sure not every one shares my sentiments.

Turning back the time to elevate your status or position in life now. Now, that's an enticing thought that I don't deny has crossed my mind millions of times. Perhaps even slightly more than a million. I'd like to think that even if my financial position in life has changed, I wouldn't change who I am. But we'd never know, would we? How often do we say this or that and when things really come to pass, we never do what we said previously? It might be harmless to try and turn back the time to say perhaps, allow myself to win the lottery. Now, take that thought and multiply it by the number of people who wish the same thing. I don't think everyone is going to step into line and say 'All right people, let's make a queue on who will win today, the next day, the following week, excreta.' I'd like to think we could be that civil, but no, I don't think we could be that civil. Imagine the fights, the arguments, the fallouts (I don't understand why isn't there a plural for this word, nevertheless.). It might be worth it to some but for me, I think I like being at peace with the world.

Being able to turn back the time is something that I think, most people sought after. Well, unless they are extremely contented with their lives now but even then, I'm sure there is one thing in your life that you'd like to change. But seeing as how being able to turn back time is not something that is going to be invented soon or is likely to be invented soon. Maybe we should aim to not regret our lives, or what we do with them. To treat your friends as if you're never going to see them again, or something's going to take them away. To treat the ones you love with respect and shower them with love, whenever you can as if you're never going to see them again. To think about your enemies and what made you enemies in the first place (especially if you were friends in the first place) and maybe try to recover the relationship as if you're never going to see them ever again. Instead of wishing for something that we know might never be, we should try and make it so that we never need to wish for something that might never be.

It's a brand new day

That statement has both a literal and figurative meaning. It's 1am on Tuesday morning and I am still up. Please don't ask me why, because I doubt I'd be able to answer you. It seems I have abandoned my 'sleeping early' routine for my constant late nights now. This is really unfortunate, but I am still thankful I am able to wake up early when I need to. Well, that is only when I have a class to attend at 8.30am in the morning. Figuratively, it's been almost 11 months since I last updated this blog. It has also probably been that long since I last sat down and wrote for any non school purpose. Yes, I shan't blame work or school. Although, life has played a big role in keeping me away from my stories and my love of typing. That's about to change now though. I will try, with my very best efforts, to update this blog on a daily if not weekly basis. I promise, this won't be like the last few hundred blogs you've visited. I promise I won't rant and rave about how good (or bad) my day has been or my week even! (Although I cannot promise you how far that will be enforced, seeing as how I like to share the funny (not bad) moments of my day with you) I'd talk about something that surprised me, disgusted me, amazed me and maybe, even left me feeling questionable. However, with that said, I really should be going to bed. The duty of studying calls tomorrow morning and I am feeling tired. Also, I hear the rustling of plastic bags in the kitchen and by no means do I wish for my grandma to come in here asking me why I am still awake at 1.12am! So, with that, I shall leave you with a promise to be back soon!