ACTS ESSAY COMPETITION 4th Quarter Final!

Please put your hands together and let's welcome the 4th Quarter Final

theme of the ACTS Essay Writing Competition

 
4th Quarter Final theme: Continuous Writing Story

Entry opens 01/08/2014 and closes on 16/08/2014.

Do send in your entry early to "iloveessay@gmail.com".

Late submission will not be entertained.

*Only winners from the past quarter are allowed to take part. 

Winners of 32nd theme:Bad Habits

1st: Elsie, TKGS

Bad Habits

It stood there. A small and unattractive puny creature.

Despite this, it had a Glasgow grin of a Cheshire Cat-promising many great things.

Great things to be worked on. Great things to be aimed for. Great things to be accomplished.

An attractive smile indeed.

Stretching from ear to ear, unnaturally wide and showing.

The art of well accomplished magnetism.

Magnetism so great, attracting scores of victims. Willing to learn, willing to grow, willing to be berated, willing to suffer. And suffering brought it the will to stretch.

Stretch and occupy. Stretch and occupy.

“Never leave me alone.”

The tide of victims never stopped,always approaching, pushing and impatient to reach it. Through this, it got power. The 

Power.

They worshipped it, kissed it, washed its feet, fell on their knees bowing and mumbling incoherent praises.

Authority.

They named it, asked for its help. They knew it could, and surely it would.

Strength.

The strong illusion they had. The misleading interpretation they had.

And through these, it rejoiced.

Power. Authority. Strength.

The opposite of good, the innocent.

And it grew, slowly but surely.

“Grow, grow…aid it with some silver and gold…provide ‘em slaves and make it whole…”

The chants increasing in intensity, in volume and numbers.

Grow, grow. Grow my little one, grow.

Like a faun to a stag.

Like a caterpillar to a butterfly.

And along with it, the grin grew.

Wider, wider. Those teeth. Beautifully aligned, straight and perfect.

It reached for the sky. It was there. The goal.

To be worked on. To be aimed for. To be accomplished.

It was bliss. Heavens. Like the simple blessings in life, worth living for.

A heavenly demon.

“Is it really?”

“True bliss?”

“You would call this blasphemy happiness?”

Everything faltered, like the sudden flash of the television screen. The failed static and abrupt surprise.

The uneven rhythm was growing with each breath.

“You choose.” It rasped, malicious grin oddly fixed.

“Between those two. Them, or me.”

And thus the two conclusions were simple.

FOR IT:

And so it repaid. It gave back everything it could provide. For only the loyal ones…oh yes, it did.

It made sure to. It never went back on its word. It dislikes depts and hence it paid them off.

Bright, livid colors. It was beautiful, an euphoric high of treasured happiness.

Face flushed, a shining complexion.

A morbid fascination.

Like a small kitten discovering the outside world for the first time.

Happiness?

Is this…real happiness?

Does it really bear the fruits of goodness?

No.

Nothing but an illusion. Nothing but an illusion.

FOR THEM:

The crowd flowed away, pushing through the burning gates of Hell. They left.

Not a single glance was spared, not a single tear was shed.

The clock turned, seconds ticked and hours flew.

The single drop of rain, the breeze winding through the grass, caressing the broken petals of fallen flowers.

A silence which is not of King Midas’ property.

The teeth were disappearing, bit by bit, covered up with quivering lips.

Lips which once stretched so far and wide.

Like a single survivor in a bloody battlefield.

Like the ugly duckling cursed to never grow.

Like the dying bird in a iron cage for display.

Desolated, despaired, abandoned and alone.

Returning back to the plain creature it was. Shrinking, slowly but fast.

The degradation, the humiliation.

The high shrieks when it fell from the tallest tower it once strutted on.

The cruelty of loneliness.

More than one can handle. More than one can think of.

The cold wind blowing its tangled mane into its eyes.

It shook. It fell over itself, shivering in agony.

Choking on its own tears, unseen and trampled by countless oblivious feet.

Thunders roared and lightning shouted.

Conceal. Conceal. Conceals itself far beneath originality.

Hiding. Shamed and embarrassed.

Like a plant left on the shelf unwatered in the burning heat.

It was dying, rotting.

No longer a thing that existed.

Not a trace at all.

Not even the sound of the final desperate scream.

Blown into nothing.

Nothing.

XXX

When you have a bad habit…

Do you feed it?

Or do you ignore it?

A bad habit is like a plant on the shelf.

Left uncared for, it will die.

Water it, and it will strive.

You choose to reign over it, or it reigns over you.

A fight is unnecessary, the struggle is useless.

The best is to never give it an opportunity to grow.

And it will turn to nothing.

2nd: Priya Lakshmi, 16, TKGS

I am Alpha Centauri

I look up from my balcony to see Alpha Centauri,twinkling about the dark,stygian night sky.  He told me that the light from this star came from thousands of years ago. For all I know, this star could be dead now. But, there is this familiar sense of poignancy when I look up to it. It was because of this star that I attempted to change.Has there been any change in me? It seems ridiculous to think that I have gotten over it. Gotten over THE habit.

It wasn’t but six weeks ago when my secrets were spilled.I spilled it. He made me spill it. It felt like being skinned.It was a painful ordeal; a part of me stripped bear for my parents to know what was going on.

Glass shattered.Lips trembled. “For the sake of God, what got into you? Oh my poor baby.Why didn’t you just tell me? Tell your mother…”

Tears flowed freely; a valley of emotions poured out to cleanse the soul and start anew. All because of him – my blessing, my curse. My Dylan. My aggravatingly good looking, quick-witted, 6’3 Dylan. His sparkling blue eyes; always bright,always brimming with honesty. He asked me and I told him.  I had to tell him. It was either that or delving even more into THE habit. Self-inflicted wounds. My bad habit. Yes, it may seem stupid but it seemed like a better outlet compared to spending agonising nights without sleep. Muffling my sobs into my tear-stained pillows.

Tasting my own salty tears. Just wanting to feel happy. Happiness which I thought I can never get.  He saw the scars on my thighs. I had that gut feeling to not wear shorts that day but I did anyway because who am I kidding, Singapore is really hot. I had made it a point to put concealer on the pale pink lines that stretched across my upper thighs but that didn’t really work out that well. Dylan had wanted to meet me at the park behind his housing area because he wanted to tell me something important. And so I made my way to him but not before feeling sick to the stomach, looking myself in the mirror, feeling dreadful as always. It was impossible to not notice my flabby arms and large thighs and the folds of my stomach.  I set those thoughts aside and set out to meet Dylan. All I kept thinking about that evening was that I have never seen him as preoccupied and fidgety as I had then.

“Dylan,what is going on?”

“Well..It’s just..I think..umm”

“What,cat got your tongue? Because I am relatively free today. Maybe I can help get your tongue back”

“Well,aren’t you a funny kitten. Okay, I had wanted to tell you this from the start of this year but I just didn’t have the guts. I like someone and I really want to be with this person. And

I’m planning on asking her out today.”

Silence. I was smiling but inside I am breaking down. My one, sole source of comfort is gone. Because having my parents divorced isn’t enough. Because having them fight day in and day out because of me isn’t enough. Because having teachers putting so much hope in me to do well in every exam and every competition isn’t enough. Because having to meet everyone’s expectations despite it being ridiculously tiring isn’t enough. Because never being able to feel content with the way I look or think or do things isn’t enough. Now, the one person who understood me is gone. Well, at least ‘that’ girl is a lucky girl.

“Oh, good luck then. She must be a very lucky girl,” I said, not recognising my own voice, suddenly surprised with the composure I had. He wasn’t looking at my eyes as I spoke. He looked at my thighs and I knew that I couldn’t put up a pretence anymore. This perfect wall that I had built is a goner. The look he gave me spoke thousands and seeing the concern in his eyes ripped me apart. I didn’t deserve it.

“You don’t deserve anything,” said that tiny voice in my head. “You will never be good enough. Never.” Mere words once uttered by my mother but boy did it cut so deep.

I collapsed in a heave and let it all out. He just held on to me and let me cry in his arms.

He coaxed everything out of me.And I told him. How I can’t even look my self in the mirror without feeling wretched.How everything my mother says keeps ringing in my ears. How everything feels like a blow to my stomach,knocking the air out of my lungs. How easy it would be to take all that pain away with just a slit across my wrist. My tears stained his denim shirt.

“Hey,look at me. Look me in the eyes.Yes,it may seem easy to just go away but did you ever think how it would be for me without you? What happened to the dream of becoming a paediatrician? You don’t want to help children anymore? And how can you be so daft?

You’re the girl. You’re the one I want to spend all my life with. You’re gorgeous and smart and you know me best.Never have I seen anyone as caring and honest as you. Just looking into your eyes makes me feel better. Makes me feel complete.Tessa, please stop doing this to yourself.You’re a strong girl.”

We sat there till nightfall. Holding hands. Lost in our own worlds. A lone star shone brightly.

“Hey Tessa.”

“Hmmm.”

“Did you know that the light from this star came from thousands of years ago? It’s Alpha Centauri. It is my favourite star. Do you know why?”

“No. Tell me why.”

“Because it reminds me of you. It is as bright as you are. It lights up the sky just like you light up my world. And its light never dims despite its distance. I want that to be you. I want to see you fight your demons, and pull through. I want to look at Alpha Centauri be reminded of the strong you. Put away your bad habit. Be a star.”

For him, I will be a star. I am Alpha Centauri.

3rd: Sonali D/O Anandan

Bad Habits

No one expected this horrendous habit to be the one to dig a grave for Elisa; earpiece that was the object that killed her. Of course there might be a doubt about how a simple mechanism could actually take someone’s life in reality. This bad habit started when Elisa got her special birthday present when she was 13. A smart phone paired with a pair of earpiece was her dream come true birthday present. Elisa felt on top of the world and over

joyous to be qualified as the modern teenager with a smart phone with her wherever she goes.  She started to download all her favourite and mainstream songs onto her phone. Her phone and her earpiece was her life companion. The one she breathed and lived with. Every single minute that was available was spent solely on listening to music with loud volume. Even after being reprimanded several times by both her parents and teachers, Elisa turned deaf ear to it. It was almost impossible to separate her from her phone and earpiece. One day this turned out to be a fatal habit for her.

It was a banal day for Elisa. The sun was beating hard on her making her perspiration crowd near her temples and ready to slide down. However, Elisa paid no attention to that and continued to plug her earpiece in her ears, the volume cranked up so high that even a passer by walking beside Elisa could hear the booming of the music. The passer by shot disapproving looks at her with keen eyes but Elisa was drowned in her own world of music

to notice the sign of warning.

Once, Elisa reached close to her house, she arched her neck and looked up at the sky, squinting as the sun rays were glaring at her. She took the decision of jay walking across the busy main street to reach the other side of the road instead of using the traffic signal to cross the busy road. This was not the first time that she tried jaywalking in a heavy traffic road. Hence she was careless enough to think that accidents would not occur at roads such

as the one she was crossing.

Little did Elisa know her end was approaching and there was not anything that she could do to save herself. She browsed through her vast collection of music to keep herself occupied while crossing the road. Moreover, Elisa cranked up the volume even louder, enough to shut down the sound of the world. The empty road before was now being filled by fast approaching cars that just whiz past you.

There it came; the car kept accelerating towards Elisa until there was no chance for it to slow down and stop before it could hit Elisa. Only high pitched screeching sounds of the wheels were heard before the still environment was filled with Elisa’s horrified screaming as she went flying through the air dropping a few meters away from where the car hit her.

Shock filled faces surrounded around Elisa’s body which was spread out as if it was a doll chewed up by a ferocious creature. Help was called but it was to no avail as Elisa was painfully taking her final gasp of air before her eyes became soulless… It was too late now and forever for Elisa to realize her deadly mistake and her bad habit…

EXTENTION!

Dear aspiring writers,

Wonderful news to all! The date line of the submission has been extended to 18 July 2014. Continuing to send in your wonderful essays before 18/7/2014 to "iloveessay@gmail.com"

Winners for the theme: Betrayal

1st: Luo Wen

Hilson Nim curled up into a ball, sat at one corner of the dim room and began crying his eyes out. On the floor, the bills were scattered messily around as the light flickered untimely. He was at the end of his tether already, the debts from his gambling problem snowballed into a hot mess. He had no one to turn to, his parents had sworn to break all ties with him. Now, it was just the lonely him battling against the fate of bankruptcy.

He suddenly heard the door opening. “Brother,” the man at the door cried out. Hilson stared at his beloved younger brother Jason Nim with those inordinately ruddy eyes. Jason was Hilson’s blood-related younger brother. When the whole world was against Hilson, Jason was the sole person who continue to be on his side. Jason visited Hilson fortnightly with his parents in the dark, much to Hilson’s comfort.

Jason dropped the groceries bags and scampered over to the tear-ridden fellow. He took notice of the bills on the floor and his lips trembled. “Brother, we will settle these debts together!” Their fingers interlocked as the warmth lingered in each other’s heart. Hilson sighed with despair and stood up wobbly, so did Jason. “Brother, I have an idea.” Jason suggested and Hilson raised his eyebrows. Jason leaned closer and whispered something into Hilson’s ear. Hilson’s eyes dilated.

*

Hilson’s hand wobbled as he picked up the new cheap mobile phone he had just brought. He bit his lips. “Once this phone call is dialed, there’s no turning back.” He muttered to himself. His fear augmented like never before. It was a new stage of horror and apparently his physical body couldn’t handle the pressure. “Brother, just do it. Trust me, everything will be alright.” Jason’s voice was hoarse and shaking as he placed his hand on his older brother’s shoulder for reassurance. Hilson forced a curl of his lips, but the relief was so hollow that he could crumble down anytime. He hesitated and stared the mobile phone once again uncertainly. “I’m ready, Brother.” Jason said.

*

The office lights were switched off and not a soul was seen working. Mr Nim, the father of the Jason and Hilson, shut the door which was imprinted with the word ‘CEO’ and walked out, preparing to go home when his mobile phone rang saliently among the eerie silence of the dimmed room. He checked the caller ID, but it stated ‘Unknown’. He picked it up.

*

“Dad! Dad! Help me, I am kidnapped!” cried Jason as he groaned. The menacing laughter then shadowed over the whimpers of Jason. “What’s up, Mr Nim?” Hilson bellowed, voice deceptively firm and arrogant. Jason looked concernedly at Hilson whose voice was shaking terribly. Hilson pursed his lips and gritted his teeth nervously. He felt overwhelmingly guilty for doing this, but he was in dire straits. Jason’s hand held Hilson’s, and he gave an reassuring look. “Go on,” his mouth moved silently. “We need to get Father’s money.” Hilson closed his eyes and sucked in a big breath before he cleared his throat.

*

Mr Nim nearly had a heart attack as he used the wall for support. His breaths quickened and he couldn’t believe a single syllable he was hearing. However, at a situation like this, all he needed was to keep calm and agitate the kidnapper. “What…what do you want?” he enquired and fiddled with his fingers fearfully.

“Money, of course. Drop $35 000 in the Gillton Park’s rubbish bin beside the entrance and go. Your son will come back 2 hours later. If you contact anyone else, prepare to hear the last scream of your son.” came the reply. The line then went dead.

The night was chillingly cold.

*

Hilson fell on his knees and stared into space. Everything seemed like a blur to him. His actions were incredulous, even to himself. “Brother, good job.” Jason complimented. He frowned and walked to the window and gazed upon the moonless sky. They waited in an abandoned house in a remote location, waiting for the arrival of time.

Hilson stood up in a blur. “Is this right?” he asked. The hoarse voice alerted Jason who was immersed in the beauty of the sky. “It is too late already, isn’t it?” Jason replied and paced forward. “It’s not, it’s never too late.” Hilson clenched his fists. “I can’t drag you down with me, Jason. I can go forward and confess that it was a one-man doing.” Hilson said, much to the dismay of Jason. “Or, you can stick to the plan. You get the money, I return to Father and convince him not to pursue the matter. We promised to be in this together, you won’t betray the promise, right?” Jason forced a smile after saying that. He was a bundle of nerves, and he tried all his might to conceal the fact that he was scared too. Hilson allowed the question go unanswered.

“I will go outside for a walk. Stay here.” Hilson said and shut the door.

*

Mr Nim held on to the pack of money dearly as he hurried to Gillton Park. Then, he swiftly dropped the money into the rubbish bin as told. He succumbed easily, losing his son wasn’t an option. “He better uphold his promise,” muttered Mr Nim before he took his leave.

*

Hilson had a destination. He started running. He ran past the park, the rubbish bin. He had made up his mind. He couldn’t err anymore, so he decided to stop before everything explodes by nipping it in the bud. He arrived at the police station, sweating like a horse. “I’m sorry, Brother.”

*

Jason waited but Hilson had never came back. He called his phone, but to no avail. He knew what Hilson could have possibly done, but he was too afraid to think about it. He stood up and ran to the police station too. He had a glimmer of hope that he could thwart him as he approached the counter.

“Did someone by the name of Hilson Nim come here?” He asked, wishing the answered would be a negative. “Erm..yes we did, just not long ago. He confessed to a crime and claimed to had done it alone. Is there a problem?” Jason’s worst fears came true.

*

Hilson did not betray his brother, but he betrayed something even more important. He betrayed the promise Jason and him had made. Jason’s face went pale as he seethed in anger. “How can you…” Jason’s eyes began to well as he bit his lips. He deliberated. “Since you betrayed me first…”

He looked at the officer at the counter. “I would like to confess to a crime.”

2nd: Nicole

Piles of worksheets were sent flying to the ground like the autumn leaves, leaving Andy sitting in the midst of the devastation, sighing to himself while carefully bending over to pick them up.

“Not again…” mumbled the anonymous people who strolled by, peeking over their shoulders as they watched Andy clear up the mess. Way ahead a young boy hollered, “Eat my crap, Andy!” while sticking his tongue out in mockery. Andy briskly walked away miserably, with his head down, to his “quiet corner” in the canteen while dwelling in self misery and rubbing the sore spot on his elbow where he used to break his fall after being jostled out of the way by Roger.

Just a year ago, well 351 days to be exact, Roger and Andy were a newly formed duo, like two peas in a pod. Not only did they look alike, they spoke alike and even dressed alike, and even liked the same things. Those who did not know would have thought that they were twins. If they were dashing and sporty like the other boys, girls would have surged onto them and showered them with attention. However, they were both avid readers and were very fond of baking. While the boys were anxiously racing after the soccer ball, Andy and Roger would sit on the benches and read their favourite “Divergent” trilogy.

The worst part was, the both of them liked the same girl – Raechel, as well.

Raechel sat in front of both of them in math class back in grade 8, and since then, both of them have been immensely in love with her.

Also, to the most popular and boisterous clique in the school, these two geeky boys were definitely on their list of “most played”. There was nothing wrong, of course, with being studious but to the clique, they were an outcast, a lower race, like a bunch of cattails in the midst of a bouquet of lavenders – they just didn’t fit in.

To everyone in the school, Andy was a reserved and well-mannered boy and so was Roger. Despite being constantly bullied by the clique of popular guys, they merely ranted and consoled each other that their seniors were simply being playful. For the following months, insults got harsher and the physical abuse got stronger. The more the boys gave in, the stronger the bullying got. They say “give an inch and they’ll take a mile”.

“ANDY! LISTEN TO ME!” exclaimed Roger and a wave of superiority and authority took over the atmosphere. Roger desperately tried to explain to Andy that they should not take it laying low but instead fight back. To Roger, it was the only way they would be able to set out of their current predicament. On contrary, to Andy, one should be forbearing and not blow matters up.

On the three hundredth and forty eighth day, Andy received a well decorated card, embellished with pretty ribbons and fancy fonts. It read “Hey Andy, see you at the soccer field at 9pm. Love, Raechel.” Andy’s mouth was agape, tears were welling in his eye sockets, he leapt with joy and screamed. He could finally be close to Raechel, the girl he had always wished was his. For months, he had been dropping notes in her locker and sending her flowers and chocolates, hoping to one day catch her attention. However, he knew, she was smitten with Roger, who too had a hopeless crush on her since the beginning of the term.

Sensing that something was amiss, Andy carefully threaded towards the soccer field. Before his eyes, was Raechel, weeping sorrowfully. Despite knowing that Roger and Raechel had been “together” since last month, he raced over to her and threw a bear hug onto her. He felt triumphant and jubilant as he thought that he could take the chance to win her heart.

Twenty metres away stood Roger, appalled and furious, who raced over and threw a heavy punch onto Andy cheek. Outraged by the actions of Andy, he threw countless of punches against bench, baring the whites of his knuckles which instantly became red.

“Betrayer!” bellowed Roger, who was close to breathing fire.

“True shame, Andy. What a great friend you are.” whispered Tom, into Andy’s ear before breaking out into chuckles of laughter again.

Andy stumbled away carelessly, holding onto the bruised spot on his cheek.

The entire series of events came too quickly to Andy who was still completely taken aback. When he regained his composure, he then realised that Tom had put their friendship to a test and in the meanwhile took the chance to break up the duo. He was engulfed in regret and shame as he sprawled against the cold, hard wall of his dormitory. Flashbacks of the times he had spent with Roger in the past 342 days and broken trust and friendship they had fostered along the months. Andy knew, no amount of apologies could patch their strained relations and no amount of guilt could make up for the lost friend.

All of these came to naught.

3rd: Amoz Low Xu Jie

I was once a refined and handsome boy. I was adored by many, in fact too many. I was praised by many people for my good behavior. I always thought that real beauty lies in our hearts, like our parents who care so much for us, like God who loved us so much that he gave us his only son. I thought everyone thought the same, until one fateful day, when I ran into an accident.

The accident left a huge scar across half of my face, which needed 40 stitches. Many of my friends were standing outside of the examining room, waiting anxiously for me. Though I was sad, I knew I would always be beautiful to my friends. When I was pushed out, I said to them,

“I’m alright, I’m fine. God gave me another chance! My wonderful friends, I’m alright!”

“Friend? How could I be your friend when you look like this? People would think I’m crazy if I’m close friends with you”, they replied curtly and left after that. I was devastated and at the same time disappointed and hurt at my friends’ reaction. Father and mother tried to comfort me but I could not help it but cried for days.

I was always being bullied every day since then. Of course, some people still care for me. I soon decided that I try to prove my friends wrong about their vision of me. I tried topping the class, asking the teacher more questions and helping my friends with their homework but to no avail. Soon, once again, I met with another accident, this time, I had finally proven them wrong.

One Friday afternoon, I headed to the bus-stop to wait for my bus. I saw my once “closed” friend, Michael, who had betrayed me by distancing himself from me since my accident. He was walking across the road, engrossed with his phone. All of a sudden, a car came rushing in round the corner. Shocked, I threw down my bag and bolted to the open road. I pushed him aside with all my might and took the hit. I flew into the air and landed on my head. Michael, traumatized for a moment, called for the ambulance. Soon the ambulance arrived. The paramedics quickly but carefully lifted me onto a stretcher and rushed me to the hospital.

Hours later, I was pushed out of the emergency room. I was once again surrounded by the same group of friends who had shunned me earlier due to my new ugly look. This time, however, guilt was written all over their faces.

“I never thought you still cared for me. Thanks so much for saving me!” Michael exclaimed. The rest of my friends were also guilty for shunning me and apologized to me.

“So long as you know that beauty lies in the heart, I’ll forgive you,” I replied.

Now, as I looked back, I was glad my friends realized their folly and learnt a valuable lesson that will remain etched in their minds for a long time.

A.C.T.S Essay Competition 32nd theme:Bad Habits

Let's put our hands together and welcome the 32nd theme:BAD HABITS.

Entry opens on 28/6/2014 and closes on 11/7/2014

Send your best essay in less than 1000 words before 11/7/2014 to "iloveessay@gmail.com"

Extension

Greetings to all aspiring writers!

How have your June holidays been so far? Due to vacation period, we will be extending the submission date for the BETRAYAL theme to 27 June 2014.

Send in your best essay before 27 June 2014 to "iloveessay@gmail.com".

Winners of 30th theme:WEATHER

1st: Carrie Tam, 14, TKGS

Weather

I am a loyal friend who is willing to grow with you, go through good and bad times with you and be there for you all the time.

I am everywhere. I can be found at grassy fields, nourishing dry lands, watering growing flowers, admiring life, the universe and everything. When they need me, I will quietly come down, make them all soaking wet, and then hide away in fits of giggles…

The living things that I enjoy observing the most are humans. This is because they are from all walks of life and have different stories to tell.

When I see the romantic scenes when lovers are together, I will fall down from the sky gently and softly, careful of not making any noise, so that I can eavesdrop the sweet words exchanged between them.

When I see a girl crying piteously because her romantic relationship has ended, I will dance around her at a loss, hoping that I could soothe her soul.

When I see cold-hearted parents abandoning their child cruelly, I will pound onto the ground lividly, loud and clear, in the hope that I can pound awake the conscience of that pair of parents.

When I see a harmonious family, I will cleverly hide away, and let the Sun to take my position, allowing her to warm that family.

Sometimes, when I am tired, I will just drop into the rivers, travelling in the “public bus” towards the vast blue sea. When lying in the river, I will look up at the sky, and unconsciously going to sweet dreams. When I am awake, I will return to the sky, staring down at the mother earth, looking for the next location to rest at.

My life seems beautiful and carefree, but actually it is not. I always feel very lonely, and have few friends whom I can actually talk to. I don’t dare to be near the Sun because he is scorching hot; Neither do I like the moon because he seems too cold. All I can do every day is to help the flowers and trees to grow and observe the lives of humans.

Until one day, I met the Cloud…he is gentle and understanding, and accepts everything that I am. No matter how playful and mischievous I am, he will always watch me quietly and wait for my return patiently. He observes humans with me and have reflections on their lives with me. He can help to overcome all my difficulties and fears, and as days pass by, I find that I become more reliant on him and we cannot leave each other anymore.

I changed. I do not like the trees and flowers anymore; I no longer observe humans. I prefer to float in the air with the Cloud, and not care about other things. At that point of time, I only indulge in a life of pleasure and comfort, however not knowing that I had done the biggest error in my life.

Until one day, my father, the God, gives me a good dressing down. He ordered me that I can only meet with the Cloud one hour before I reach the earth. I don’t understand why my father will do that to me, and kicked up a big fuss. But my father only left me with one sentence:”You look at what you have done yourself.”

The once fast-flowing rivers are drying up, the crops are dying in the hot sun, people are facing hunger almost everywhere. i watched these with tear-filled eyes, feeling like there are thousand knives piercing through my heart.

Short meetings with the Cloud do not reduce my reliance on him. When I am in the rives, I look up at him; when I am a vapour, I encircle around him; when I fall from the sky, I think of him. Although I am not as happy as before, but I feel that my life has become more meaningful.

I will work harder at fulfilling my task from today onwards and silently vow that I will not let the humans down again, but I also hope that you can understand me, enjoy me and admire me…

After all these being said, I forget to introduce myself.

My name is Rain, a trustworthy friend who will be there for you. Always.

2nd: Liu Kim

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere,to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy.Weather, seen from an anthropological perspective.There are socially and scientifically constructed understandings of what weather is, what makes it change, what effects it has on humans in different situations etc. Weather generally refers to day-to-day temperature and activity, whereas climate that is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time.[When used without qualification, “weather”, is generally understood to mean the weather of Earth.

Weather is driven by air pressure differences between one place and another. These pressure and temperature differences can occur due to the sun angle at any particular spot, which varies by latitude from the. The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the jet stream. Weather systems in themed-latitudes.As the Earth’s axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, which is incident at different angles at different times of the year. On Earth’s surface, temperatures usually range ±40 °C  annually. Over thousands of years, changes in Earth’s obit affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by the Earth and influence long-term climate and global climate change.

Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences. Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes due to differences in compressional heating. Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. The system is a chaotic system ; so small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole. Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout human history, and there is evidence that human activity such as agriculture and industry has modified weather patterns.

3rd: Su Qi, 15, TKGS

Rain

It was raining outside. I sat beside my window in my room, watching the annoying bad weather. I didn’t like rainy days, actually, I hated them. During these days, I could not go out and play, I could not enjoy the golden sunshine shining on me, I only felt cold and wet.

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was doing my revision for my final year exam. However the sound of the rain made me cannot remember anything. I was so angry and throw my books away, stood up and open my window. I put my arms outside the window; I waved them in the rain, trying to get it away, to ask it to return my peaceful Sunday afternoon. The rain was not very heavy, it was drizzling. It was not like the rain in Singapore, heavy but straightforward. The rain was as shy as a traditional Chinese woman, keeps all her emotion inside her brittle heart. The small raindrops drop on my arms, cooled me down. The cold air rushed into my room, dispersed the stuffy air.

This sense is not familiar to me, I had never opened my windows when it was raining before. I closed my eyes, trying to feeling the raindrops. They were so tiny, and cool. They dropped on my arms, gave me a temporary coldness and soon became warm because of my body temperature. I put my head outside the window also and breathe. Some raindrops also enter my nose with the cool air, cooling my trachea, my lung, and my whole body, disperse my anxiety towards my coming exam. “The rain seemed not to be so annoying!” I said to myself.

I could see my community from my window. The rain gave the world a silk quilt, made it look mysterious. It was so beautiful! I suddenly forgot that how I used to hate the rain. The rain itself was not annoying; I hate it just because I didn’t know how to find beautiful things in my life, in the world around me. Everything has pros and cons; we need to focus more on the wonderful things. Why? Because we cannot change the world, sometimes, we have to accept the things that make us angry. How? By finding their beautiful sides, by learning to love them. If we cannot do that, we will be angry and upset all the time. Whether I can spend my life happily or not, depending on how I treat the things in my life.

Half a year ago, I came to Singapore. I gave up everything I used to have: family, friends, honor, and of course, the gentle and magnificent rain in my hometown in the central part of China. Raining days are very common in Singapore. Here, the rain is unconstrained, no one can bond them. I miss the rain in China a lot, miss its softness, and miss its shyness. Now, the rain is not just rain anymore, it contains homesickness. I really hope that I can be a small raindrop, free and happy, running back to my hometown. However, I also know that I have no choice but to work hard in Singapore. Once the raindrop drops into the soil, it can never go back to the sky unless it suffers from evaporation to become water vapor, then, it can rise and go back. For me, I have to work hard because I don’t have a bridge of gold. I have to be good, to achieve my goal, and go back with honor and achievement.

I really like rainy days, though I used to hate them. They can remind me of my home town, remind me that what is my goal, encourage me to work hard. Maybe, someday, I will miss the rain in Singapore.

A.C.T.S Essay Competition 31st theme:Betrayal

Greeting to all writers!

The 31st theme BETRAYAL is offically released.

 

Submission of essay opens on 7th June and closes on 20th 

June.

Send in your entry to "iloveessay@gmail.com"

A.C.T.S Essay Writing Competition 30th theme:Weather

Great day to all aspiring writers,

the 30th theme of A.C.T.S Essay Writing Competition is now 
released. 

Opens 24/5/2014 and closes on 6/6/2014
Send in your best essay in less than 1000 words to 

"iloveessay@gmail.com" before 6/6/2014

Winners of 29th theme:My pets...my best friend

1st: Simran Ketan Rathod, 15, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School

 Tara

When I was 10, I made my mother promise me that she would buy me a pet dog if I got I got more than 85 marks for all my subjects. That year, I had studied all my subjects with full passion and determination. And I did it. I had fulfilled what I needed to do to get a pet dog. As a volunteer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), I had an eye for a particular dog that made my heart melt every time I saw it.

That dog’s name was Tara, a rather old Labrador breed dog. It only had three legs and was unfortunately abandoned by its previous owner. Sometimes I wondered how any human could be so cruel to the most precious thing they could ever have. I went to SPCA along with my parents to finally adopt the dog I always wanted.

After finally filling up numerous forms, I officially adopted Tara, a dog I could call mine at last. As I had taken care of Tara previously in SPCA, it was familiar to me and had returned affection that I showed to her. But it was unfamiliar to the surroundings of my house and grew slightly apprehensive. Luckily, due to the loads of love my family and I had given to her, she quickly became used to and comfortable to the surroundings. She finally had a home where she would be cared for as long as she lived.

The more time I spend with Tara, the more I fell in love with her. Despite the fact that Tara was not the most physically capable dog, it was still enthusiastic when it came to playing games with her. To tell you the truth, I had never been happier until she was mine. She was full of life, and that always made me feel better. That was when; I finally had a best friend.

So what is a best friend? It is someone, or something, that will always be there for you, no matter if you are in a difficult situation or not, and will never fail to make you smile. Tara had done everything that a best friend would do for you. She made me happy when I was upset with things that had happened to me. She was there for me no matter how I looked or what I did. She did things that no other people (except my family of course) had done for me.

One fine day, I decided to bring Tara to the park nearby my house so that she could play a game of ‘fetch’. My PSLE was coming soon and I wanted to play with Tara as would not be able to spend much time with her later on. Once I reached the park, I threw a ball so that Tara could catch it. Tara could not immediately catch the ball, but her determination to find the ball amazed me. Once she found the ball, she came running towards me, and hence I decided to give her dog treats. Happily, Tara waited for me to throw the ball again. But this time, Tara was standing towards the roadside. It did not occur to me at that moment that it might be dangerous for Tara, and instead threw the ball without thinking.

The next thing that happened made my head spin. The ball rolled so far that it went on the road. Tara did not stop and kept on running towards the ball. I screamed her name multiple number of times but it was too late. A car driving past speed limit was coming towards the dog. And that was it. The car had run over my precious dog, and did not even stop. On the road, I saw the crushed body of Tara and I could no longer take it. The sight of her dead body made me nauseous and I fainted.

When I gained consciousness, the first thing I saw were my parents. Their face was filled with worry and grief. I remembered Tara getting run over by a car and started crying profusely. I could not belief she was dead, gone forever from my life. I had a hard time explaining what had happened, to my parents.

Till this day, I still grieve over Tara’s death. Due to my carelessness, Tara had lost her life. If I had paid attention to my surroundings just for a second, maybe, today, she might be living.

My family has been telling me to forgive myself and move on, and I keep trying to. One day, I may move on from this incident and forget about my best friend’s death, but today is not the day.

I still have not found a friend like her, who has accepted the way I am. Maybe, when I go to a pet shop to look for another pet, as my parents had encouraged me to do, I may find someone that may remind me of Tara, my precious angel, my best friend.

2nd: Kim Min Kyung, 13, Tanjong Katong Girls’ School

Goldy

I have a pet name Goldy. It’s a golden retriever dog and I got my precious gold when it was my fourth birthday. He was another life to me. I did everything together with him; he was my pet, my family member, and my best friend. I still find his name funny because i named him when I as five and insisted that name even though my family said it sounded weird.

In Primary School, I was bullied by a group of classmates. It made me really stressed and I cried every night scared to go to school. I wanted to tell someone but my friends, I couldn’t trust them and I was worried my family members would be worried for me and my parents don’t really care. But one day as I was crying Goldy went inside my room and licked my tear off. He rubbed against me and licked my cheek. He looked at me as if he was saying,” What’s wrong? Don’t cry, tell me what happened.” I felt comforted and warm inside my heart something I never felt before. Even though I knew he would not understand but I told him everything that happened. I hugged him tightly and cried and cried and cried. But this time, I didn’t cry because I was sad but because I was happy, relieved, comforted.

In school, I would feel depressed but every time I come home it feels like paradise. My mom and dad are both busy with work so they never come home. Sometimes when I study hard and come back you hope someone would be there to welcome you, prepare lunch but that was not going to happen. Instead a dog wagging its tail happily every time it sees me makes me welcoming. I would come home and play with him, tell him what happened in school and a lot more.

When I’m very busy with schoolwork no time to play with him, he would bring out the leash climbing up my bed and pleading me. At times, I feel like pinching his cheek as he is so adorable. When I am upset and got an argument with my sister he would act cute and be playful which makes me happier again. But he’s not always lovely. When it comes to trimming of nails he would be a violent dog that you cannot imagine. He would bite me and I’m about to cut that I would bleed. Still, after all this chaos he could come around and lick the place he bit showing his apology. There are also times when he refuses to eat his food because I did not play with him which makes me very annoyed.

But when I turned 10, he was no longer in my life. He was ran over by a reckless car. He was whisked to the hospital but it was too late. I felt like my life was torn apart, shattered into pieces. I could not believe my best friend is gone, no longer there anymore. I wondered how I am tolerate the bullies, how am I going to be happy. Goldy was part of my life. He brought me happiness, love, and much more than you can compare. There would be no other pets like him and even though he is not beside me but he would always be inside my heart, a best friend.

3rd: Zheng ShiYun

 Pets

Man’s relation with animals is very old. They can be traced back to the beginning of civilization. Basically man is also an animal, but a rational and wise animal. Man is the best creation and measure of all things. However, his kinship with animals is well established. Darwin believed that man has evolved from monkeys. Thus, they are our ancestors.

The friendship between man and animals is more reliable and lasting. The pet animals respond better to our care, love and friendship. Man’s friendship with man may not last long, but it is of permanent nature with the domesticated and pet animals. Animals, birds and such other creatures are never ungrateful. Once friends, they are always friends. They will never turn hostile or enemies came what may. They are constant, loyal and faithful till the last. They do not know betrayal, deceit or foul play. That is why they have been so useful to mankind. Many of the animals are our real and true friends. They live in perfect harmony and friendship with us.

I never got any pets before, but I knew many stories between pets and their owner. Let me tell you a story about one royal dog. It happened on a dark Sunday evening in British Columbia, Canada, when Austin went outside to collect wood for his family’s wood-burning furnace. He noticed that Angel, his happy-go-lucky golden retriever, was acting much more cautious and guarded than usual. Within moments, a cougar tried to pounce on Austin from less than 10 feet away. Angel jumped directly into the big cat’s path and bore the brunt of the attack instead. “She was my best friend, but now she’s even greater to me. She’s more than a best friend now,” Austin said after the attack, which almost certainly would have killed Angel if a local police constable hadn’t managed to shoot the cougar. The 18-month-old dog had surgery to repair extensive injuries to her head. “I was just lucky my dog was there, because it happened so fast I wouldn’t have known what hit me,” Austin said. “I bought her a big, nice juicy steak.”

Not only dogs but also cats can save owners life. Some cats, like Baby the 13-year-old tabby, tend to be timid all their lives. But on a night in January when multiple lives were at stake, Baby’s personality changed.

Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalovsky — who was seven months pregnant with twins — had fallen asleep on the couch in their suburban Chicago home. The couple’s house was stocked with baby gear and recently assembled cribs.

A fire began in a back bedroom, and the house began filling with smoke. Baby jumped on Ornberg and woke him up. “It’s kind of embarrassing that I needed my cat to wake me up, but she was my fire detector,” Ornberg told PeoplePets.com. “She’s usually not a very social cat, but she jumped on my lap and was jumping around.”

The fire destroyed nearly all of the couple’s possessions and made the home uninhabitable for a time — but everyone survived. Wonder Lake Fire Protection Assistant Chief Mike Weber called Baby a hero. “We don’t know what the outcome would have been if not for the cat,” Weber said.

That is why I say that pets are my best friend, even though I do not have any pets. Through these stories, I saw the loyalty of pets as friends, I will not treat them as animals any more, they will be my friends, best friends.

Winners of 28th theme:My First Flight To Space

1st: Ashley Tan Yi-Shien, 12, TKGS

My Little Dream to Space

“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Was the famous quote that was said when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. From a young age, the moon, astronauts and space had always fascinated me. So sometimes, I would just sit in my room and daydream about my flight to space.

“ Recruits, we are planning to set off to orbit around the moon and space in a month. Since all of you have been chosen for this flight, I trust that you know how important preparing is.” The captain in charge said to us. I nodded along with the rest, trying to look serious, but on the inside I was bursting with excitement. I was honoured to be chosen to go on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and really couldn’t wait.

So for the next month, we had lots of preparations, although they were quite scary at times, I actually enjoyed them after awhile. My favourite one was when we went into a room and they would just switch off the gravity and we would just float around. Although it was a bit weird at first, I slowly became comfortable with the weightless feeling. We had lots of lessons too, like what to do if you ran out of oxygen, how to fix minor things on the rocket, and what to do in an emergency. We also had a lot of physical training, as going to space was not something for the weak-hearted. After all the tests, trainings, preparations were done, we got ready for the flight.

We were actually going to orbit around the moon, then land on one of the smaller planets there. I really could not wait. One month’s worth of training comes down to this, I really hope that I will not freak out and mess things up!

The day had finally come! We quickly put on our spacesuits and boarded the rocket. Lots of people came to see us off; we waved at all of them then set off.

The entire flight was amazing! I saw the moon with my very own eyes, and it was much bigger than when I saw it on earth, and it was very beautiful too! The planet that we had stopped on was supposed to be about the same size as the moon, but it felt a lot smaller as we only landed on one part of the planet, there was no gravity, so we could float and jump around. It was really fun I really enjoyed the floating feeling and was sad to leave. Now walking normally on earth is going to feel so boring after this, I thought to myself.

As we were slowly making our decent, I thought about the whole thrilling experience. I have really learnt a lot of new things, made new friends with the other recruits, my, normal life seems so uninteresting now!

We had just landed, and when we got out, we were greeted by the sounds of people cheering at us. I was basking in the praises when I heard a voice

“Dinner!” It was my mother. Rats! Sadly this was just a dream I have to go back and face reality.

2nd: Cheyanne Sim, 15, TKGS

 Spacecraft

For more than 50 years, I was an engineer, working with designing planes and the mechanisms in them. I loved this job a lot as every plane was different, and they can lead to new innovations and inspirations. Every day was a challenge to me, as there were different problems in different planes. We engineers have to put our brains together to create new solutions. We had to be alert at all times and be creative.

After every new inventions and changes we make to the plane, we had to make test flights. Although this may sacrifice our lives, we did not mind at all, as this is the only way we can ensure the passengers’ safety, and to improve the plane from best to perfect. I miss those feelings of fear and anxiousness, and the feeling of tension and stress when things go wrong, but I’m over and done with everything and I’m too old in serve as an engineer.

However there are moments that I reminiscence, when we are given the craziest and the biggest project—well that was what I thought. It was to create a spacecraft. We had never handled a spacecraft before, and there are so few of them that we couldn’t excess to one for reference, neither are we experienced. We had no idea how were we supposed to invent a spacecraft. We did numerous research and different drawings and designs, so that it is suitable for long hours of flight. The inventing process was long, and the mechanism part was confusing. We had to consider different factors of the possibilities of failures, and these processes took more than two years.

After the actual model and invention was confirmed, we started finding suitable materials to build it. Every single parts of the spacecraft was handmade, all of the hundreds of people of hard work. This spacecraft is now known as the Space Shuttle.

As the leader of the group, I was notified that me, together with five other people were given the privilege to ‘enjoy’ the flight test. Well enjoy is not the right word to use. Obviously we were not confident that the spacecraft would work. We may not survive it. Although it had passed all the safety checks, no one would volunteer to go. No one showed strong interest in going on this flight.

I did not regret going onto the spacecraft. It was the best experience in my life. We get to experience the only kind of food that can be eaten. After some time on the spacecraft, we find our faces slightly bloated, and before we knew, we were floating in the air. I know what you think, we sound like we are helium balloons, but no. It was just that there was the drastic drop of pressure in the air and the gravitational pull. We could apply all physics that we know as an engineer, and make improvements after we were done with this mission.

We are not the professional astronauts and what we were doing was just to enjoy the taste of an astronaut’s career and testing that the Space Shuttle. So what we were given was to land on the moon and get back to Earth.

On the moon, we see so many craters on the ground, everything was unbelievable. It feels like fantasy. While I was reading science fictions, everything felt untrue, but now my eyes had convinced myself.

The scene was so beautiful, and we were nearer to the star clusters, and we had some star gazing. This tells me that we had succeeded in this invention and this mission. All our hard work had paid off. Although this was a short journey, I would never had touched the moon or go to the space, if I wasn’t and engineer. I felt privileged. I was one of the trillions of the people who had visited the space.

Now we know that the spacecraft was safe, more people can visit the moon and enjoy their journey. After the visit, I decided to end my career of an engineer, and stepped down for someone else, to make a better spacecraft.

3rd: Shruti Ravindran, 15, TKGS

A New Home

The Earth was once a place full of green grass and huge mountains and blue skies. The sight was heavenly. However, that beautiful sight no longer existed and no one could remember how it looked anymore. The once blue skies had turned to the colour of ash. The air no longer smelt fresh, instead only the smell of polluted and poisonous gases let out by industries filled the air. There were no longer any junkyards as the streets became one.

The news reported the deaths of about 100 people a day around the world. Their deaths caused by their surrounding environment. Sunlight was no longer known to the humans as the clouds were so filthy that sun rays could no longer pass through them. In order to survive, people had to buy fresh air and fresh water from normal shops which would be sold as capsules.

The entire world was in ruins. Finally the United Nations made a decision to start a cleaning operation on earth, called- ‘Operation Earth’. It was the 30^th of December, the day of the start of the operation. Mammoth machines were moving around and clearing the huge piles of junk on every street. Aircrafts were high up in the sky busy trying to clean up the air above and remove the dense filth that filled the smoky dark grey clouds.

The humans had been evacuated out of Earth and into their temporary planet, Mars. It was like a sweet escape from the terrible earth they lived in. As the spaceship took off, it trembled violently and everyone was scared and their hearts pounded heavily against their chest. The spaceship finally left earth and was in space. It was the most peaceful journey for two best friends, Mark and Sam. They were 15 years old and were unfortunately orphans. They boarded the giant spaceship and gazed around. Their jaws dropped in awe as they had never ever seen such a huge machine and were fascinated by it.

The sight of the earth from space was a pitiful one as there were no longer bright colours on the Earth, only dull ones. However, space was an absolute contrast to Earth. It was colourful with bright meteors which were seen as stars from Earth. The stars no longer looked far away neither did it look small. They were humongous. The planets were like gigantic glow bulbs. The sun looked like a massive ball on fire. The boys put their hands against the glass of the spaceship and enjoyed the darkness outside which had many bright spots. They found that they were peering into a peaceful environment, so silent and yet so beautiful.

However, this calm moment of theirs was soon interrupted by a flashing big meteor heading towards the spaceship. Everyone was shrieking with fear. There was absolute havoc. Terror and fear had conquered the hearts of many. Sadly, the pilot was not able to get the spaceship out of the way of the incoming blazing meteor. Everyone’s heart stopped as it was just a little distance that separated the meteor from the spaceship, a fine line between life and death. Everyone’s hands gripped the handle of the chair tightly and at that point of time prayers were said.

However, just at the nick of time, the tense pilot launched a missile at the meteor. The meteor exploded just before it could have collided against the spaceship. The explosion was massive with bright colours shooting out all around.  It was the most beautiful sight anyone could have witnessed. The boys felt as though they were in watching a scientific fiction film. Finally, everyone took in a breath and became calm again.

After a few days the space ship reached Mars and all the passengers alighted. They were finally happy to be on ground, having spent days in the spaceship. The boys looked around but were too tired. They thought it would be nice to get back to earth after the UN would have cleaned it up, as there is nothing better than home sweet home.