Episode X

Journal Entry 10

13.7.09

I guess as you age, life only gets tougher. I bet the guy who coined the phrase “Life is a bed of roses” had it easy for him. I wonder what’s his secret to living a stress-free life.

Primary school is what I call the honeymoon period in life. Kids go school and get education. Sometimes what the parents expect from the Education Package becomes more and surpasses their expectations. Children’s emotions begin to unveil itself in front of the opposite sex. Even their vocabulary starts to colour up their lives and parents start hearing really naughty things at home. Honestly, even I thought I had the best time of my life in primary school. But I didn’t swear as much except for “hell”.

But who are we to blame our children for learning. I think we should accept for what is going on but grind the ground values and beliefs into them so they know what is right and wrong.

Then comes the later part of secondary school. This is when opinions start to form and stereotyping begins. Students are forced to join clique or be ostracized. And homework is coming in like we’re receiving fan mails everyday. Oh ho ho! Life then sure sounds great. It’s not about the pressure that homework gives us; it’s about the peer pressure. Peer pressure is one of the main causes of depression and enlarging one’s ego bubble.

Secondary school also means exploring the different parts of your body in the presence of people of the opposite sex, if you get my drift. No, I’m not going that deep. I’m just talking about going first base and not getting a home run here unless teenagers are really stupid enough not to buy a condom before they do “it”. Sometimes, when teenagers feel lonely, they often try to find a companion to talk about their feelings then later they get lip locked.

Now, polytechnics and junior colleges are now considered the prime suffering period to me. In every test, assignments and ICAs, I have to be at the peak. Now, how the heck can I be at the top of my game every week? It’s not like I’m robot who can just accept assignments and go with the flow of it. And I have to compete with my classmates. I’m not really that awesome but I do try very hard to get things done without procrastinating.

After school, the suffering goes on and on, even until the workplace where bitter rivalry and jealousy between colleagues gives you a day of hell at work. It sets you thinking about Life in general.

I got this quote from a movie that pretty sums up everything that I had typed

“Life is just one beauty contest after another. Screw the rest and do what you love.”

But think about it, without all these suffering in Life, would you learn how to live your life to the max? The answer is no.

Because “Suffering” teaches us how to accept and embrace challenges.