Make each day of your life exciting!

It's currently 2am and I am once again in deep thought. Somehow, post - midnight hours is where I ponder about my life, about what's ahead of me and what I have done in the past. From that often flow realisations about myself, and a refreshed and new attitude to everything around me. I love it because I feel like I learn something new each time.

This time around, it was the film 'Dead Poet's Society' that inspired me to reflect upon my life. I first watched it in Year 9 English Class, where it made a deep and indelible impact in my mind and life with its powerful message - Carpe Diem - Seize the Day - Make your lives Extraordinary.' At the time, I was extremely moved by that line, I immediately thought: is this how I am living my life? Come to think of it now, even though I was inspired by the film and what it purports, I have never truly taken up the challenge. Now, as a third year university student, I think the message has finally sunk in. I think it is really time to truly believe in myself make each day count.

We cannot always hide in our shells. We must get out there and do things beyond what we think we can. Impossibility is subjective. We can always stretch or extend the scope of it, as long as we try our hardest. Courage goes a long way.

So my dear friends, let's free our wings and fly. Forget fear, forget the standards and expectations of society, forget conformity, forget worries. Let us light our passion and our enthusiasm. Let us try new and exciting things each day. Learn new things, see things from new perspectives. Make our lives extraordinary!

I think it is at this moment that I am truly able to understand the meaning of this film. It is time to integrate this into my life. I would like to thank two of my dear friends here who talked about this beautiful film to me. Thank you for reminding me that life is worth us giving it all. You know who you are! :)

Failing is not failure, giving up is!

We all fail at certain things sometimes. It may seem like it is the end of the world, it may seem like we have failed ourselves, our hopes and dreams may seem crushed. Unbearable pain, sadness and the utter disappointment overwhelms us. We think there is no way out, no way up, the path to success blocked or strewn with uncrossable obstacles. We think we can never get back up, we can never reach our desired destination.

However, little do we know, a stumble will not bring about the end of us. We are still capable of getting back up, we are still perfectly able to keep going, keep trudging, keep fighting. There are so many people out there today, who are battling for their lives with every remaining breath in their lungs. A fall is merely just a precious opportunity for us to reflect what has happened and to make new plans and improvements as we see fit. Believe it or not, we have to constantly make mistakes so that we can change for the better. No one is perfect at everything. Everyone has experience of failures. Failure itself is not destructive, it is the fact that we cannot get up that crushes us. It is through these setbacks that we become stronger, wiser and more of a conqueror.

Life is not always smooth. There will be pain and there will be tears. But under no circumstances should we give up! People always say that when a door closes, a new one opens. Many of us spend a long time looking at the closed door with regret and disappointment that we don't ever see the new door that is waiting for us to open and enter. Life is a journey and an adventure. If it always goes according to our expectations and wishes, then it won't be exciting at all! On the other hand, if life is full of ups and downs, laughter and tears, then life would be very thrilling and memorable - and when we have finally reached our destination, the victory will feel extra special and sweet.

You may remember a conversation from Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo told Gandalf 'I wish the ring never came to me, I wish none of this has happened.' Then Gandalf replied 'So do all of us who live during such times, but that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.' Sometimes we cannot control what happens in our lives. When something bad has occurred, we are always given choices as to what to do about it. We can either regret and be upset and blame ourselves over it or we can be courageous and try our best with what we have to make things better. We have all we need to make our dreams come true, if we just believe. Never ever lose hope. It is the beacon to success, it is like a candle warming our hearts and showing us the way when we are engulfed by darkness. We cannot always change the circumstances we are in, but we can always hope and trust in ourselves. We must never let go of our dreams!

加油！要永远坚持下去！