My apel reflection on my values. Hope it doesn't bore anyone too much.

  

I'd say that 17 years on this planet called earth has been rather enlightening. There were fun times and bad times and more times that have yet to come. There were plenty of successes and failures along the way, non worth mentioning though. But the one thing I learnt from them is that “what does not kill me makes me stronger". A quote from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.  The quote helped me out during some hard times, stirred up something within me, gave me strength to overcome.  Instant will power recharge when I feel the lack of motivation.  Nonetheless, one cannot conquer death so I guess it’s useful till then.

 

Values, I feel are a product of society. Different societies embrace different values and the whole concept of morals is totally debatable. Morals in my opinion are like unwritten laws that bind the very fabric of society together.  Thus different societies have different views of what they think is moral. This is where the conflict begins. People act in glorified self righteousness and fight for what they think is right. Religion, what I like to call "the cancer of humanity" is not helping at all.

 My take on values and morals is simple. “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too”. A quote from Voltaire (French philosopher and writer). On the surface, it may seem like its encouraging selfishness but delve deeper. My interpretation is that one should act on in self preservation but then we are not alone. For example, can you be happy if the people around you are sad? I know I can't. “You” does not only consist of you but the people you care about, your friends and family. Eventually, that circle extends out to the entire society. The second part I believe is about not forcing your view of morals/ideas on others or brainwashing them. I have noticed that majority of people have this inability to think for themselves, they tend to follow a strong charismatic leader or believe what the majority thinks. Monkey see, monkey do. For example, People go to war because of orders from the top. If the president of a country declares war, the solders in the army have to fight. Why can't the president fight his own war? Why can't the soldiers think for themselves, "I 'm not fighting just because you ordered me to?" Who in the right mind would want to risk their own lives just to kill another? But once blood flows, it never stops. If everyone could think on their own, they would realize that going to war is definitely not beneficial to them. There are many examples in history of people not thinking for themselves, I shall not go into detail. The bottom line is: You have a brain, use it.

 

I wouldn't die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. I find blowing myself up to prove a point the pinnacle of human stupidity. The only certain truth is death. Freedom and love are the only things I find worth standing up for, maybe even die for. Love is something which I’ve yet to comprehend though. I'm not sure whether freedom counts as a value to you. The problem with freedom however is when one person's freedom intrudes into another. Tolerance, I feel would be the solution to this grey area depending on each individual's definition of freedom. It would be an interesting topic to crack out heads with but let’s not drift away and focus on the purpose of this essay.

 

I'm not sure whether I've been twisted and molded into this society's appropriate values yet. Respect, integrity, compassion, cooperation, perseverance, initiative, loyalty? I'm not into narcissism so let’s skip the self praising bullshit. I try to do everything with the best intentions and hope that I do not regret it afterwards. I am only human flawed with mistakes. With regards to character, I think I'm complicated, too many conflicting motivations and needs in this deranged head of mine, so you can judge me by my actions if you like. Some people like me, some people don't, I can’t possibly please the world.

 

The rough one and a half years in Temasek Polytechnic have been awesome rollercoaster ride. I’ve gain plenty so far: friends, experiences, knowledge. I had the privilege of participating in Polyforum 2007, during which I’ve gained many new insights discussing on various topics such as globalization and social entrepreneurship. Business China of which the minister mentor was there to give a speech about the importance of fostering business relations with China. I’ve no regrets coming to polytechnic whatsoever; this place suits my learning style. I like being able to do things on my own time and target. I think I’ve learnt to be more responsible though I still hate responsibility. Then there’s this fear of not being good enough. The same fear that gives me sleepless nights and forces me to better myself.

 

Rest assured that no matter what the future holds or whether I’ll even have one, whatever fate the gods have planned for me or whatever hell that awaits me, I do not intend to comply.  I have many plans for the future. I hope to tell a story, write a book. There’s this idea that has been stuck in my head for a quite a while now. As for the rest of my plans, let’s keep them under wraps for now, lest we lose the surprise.