So far, in my approximate 20 months or so in Hwa Chong, academically things have been pretty smooth for me. I didn't really worry too much about any tests whatsoever, and I wasn't actually extremely nervous about the results after the test. However, just recently, I had possibly the most difficult test so far.
It was a math test, and I just took it two days ago, on Wednesday. It was about geometry, more specifically congruence and similarity of triangles, and certain circle properties. All along, geometry was one of my weak areas in Math, as I found it hard to be able to look at the diagram and visualise to solve the question. Therefore, I was pretty nervous and worried for this test, and I studied rather hard for it.
Now, I have this extremely bad habit in math; when I encounter a difficult problem in any test paper, I tend to panic during the test, and as a result am unable to concentrate on the other questions, costing me precious marks in the test. Fortunately, the first two questions were mildly acceptable, and I was quite relieved that I was doing pretty ok in my weakest area of math. However, when I reached the third question, I was stumped. I managed to comprehend the diagram, but when it came to answering the questions, I was absolutely befuddled. I had the feeling I was missing something, but I just couldn't put my finger on it! I tried to look at the question from multiple angles, but it was to no avail. The question seemed like absolute gibberish to me, and I made the bad mistake of working on the question for a long twenty minutes. Even after twenty minutes, I still failed to solve the question, and even worse, it was already 11, and the test ended at 11.30; I also had 4 more questions to go, excluding the question I was stuck on. By that time, I was already extremely panicky, and to add to my woes, Question 3 was worth a whopping 12 marks, and as the test was upon 40, losing the full 12 marks would seal my fate to an A2 at the most. The next 3 questions were manageable, but the last question, Question 7 was another mind-boggling problem. Like Question 3, I simply could not find the solution to the question; I felt that I was missing something painfully obvious, but I just couldn't spot it. By then, there were about 5 more minutes left, and knowing that I would not be able to solve these two problems within the short span of time, I hurriedly did some working on the paper, hoping to salvage some method marks to increase my grade. Although there were only 2 difficult questions out of 7, the painful irony was that these two questions accounted for 19 marks, which was almost half of the total 40 marks of the test paper. Therefore, it is easy to see why I got so panicky during the test.
Although I was extremely frustrated and disappointed during the test, after the test, I felt like this was a wake-up call, and a rather apt one too. Admittedly, I was probably playing more than I was supposed to these days, slacking a little more on my studies, even in Term 3, which can be described as the final hurdle before the end of year examinations. This test helped me realise that academic life wasn't as smooth-sailing as I had previously thought, and in order to consistently succeed, I needed to put in a great deal of hard work. Soon after the test, I reasoned to myself that the test was already over, and there was no point harping over something that cannot be changed. The test was over after all, wasn't it? What's the point of being all sad and moody over something that cannot be changed? I decided to get over this disappointment and work towards the next test. I'm expecting a B4 or so, worst case C5, but I have decided not to be too demoralised by this. The most important thing now, in my opinion, is to actually get over this, and work even harder for the next test. Most of my classmates also found the test extremely difficult, but for me, I do not see this as a hindrance to my school life. Rather, I see this as a stepping stone for me to work harder, and for me to do even better in future tests, regardless of subject.
Cheers,
Roystan
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Visit to Terracotta Exhibition at Asian Civilisations Museum
Two weeks ago, on Sunday, I accompanied my family to the Asian Civilisations Museum. We made our way day because of the special exhibition that was being held there. In fact, this exhibition is still at the museum at the time of writing, up till 16th October.
First, let me introduce this exhibition. The name of this exhibition is Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor & His Legacy. The show comprises of around 100 artifacts loaned from 12 museums in China's Shaanxi province. What is more remarkable is that this is the first time that authentic and not replica pieces of the famous terracotta warriors will be shown in Singapore and South East Asia. The terracotta warriors were first discovered in 1974 outside Xi'an by a group of peasants. To my understanding, the tomb was ordered to be built by China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and he believed that with the tomb built, he would be protected by the warriors and the horses in the afterlife.
The museum wasn't extremely crowded, even on a Sunday morning, and that rather surprised me as I expected more people to turn up, seeing how this was a temporary exhibition. Anyway, after paying the entrance fee, we went in, and the first thing that greeted us was small clay figurines, masterfully crafted by the people of the past dynasties. The clay figurines were based on different professions and animals from that day, like storytellers, entertainers and tigers and dogs. One thing that stood out was the expressions and depicted actions of these clay figurines. It was easy to tell that the people who made these figurines put in a lot of effort and time, to recreate all the expressions and actions, and they were depicted perfectly, even though the clay figurines were static and stationary. There was also a section depicting how the workers made the clay figurines. In the next room, there was also a special exhibition, named rather aptly "Life after Death: An Installation by Justin Lee". The exhibition consisted of a self-constructed terracotta army flanked by maidens holding modern technology like laptops. In fact, the terracotta warriors was wearing headphones! There were also Singapore emblazon flags rising above the army. This exhibition is basically just showcasing a blend of Western pop art with traditional Eastern imagery, creating an interesting exhibit, and in the ACM's words, "decidedly Singaporean".
The next exhibition was the star of the show. In it, there were displays of the different varieties of clay warriors that were found in the tomb. There were officers, cavalry men, archers and more. What was unique about this was that each of the different type of soldier had their own distinguishing feature, which made them easy to recognise. For example, the officers wore a tunic, instead of the normal battle armour that soldiers wore. Like the first exhibit, this truly shown the hard work and meticulousness of the workers that made the figurines. Like what many of you know already, each warrior has a distinct expression on his face, thus making the terracotta army even more astounding. This, coupled with the fact that it was estimated that there were around 6000 warriors and chariots inside the tomb, makes it clear why the terracotta tomb is seen as something out of the ordinary. Speaking about chariots, a life-sized replica of a chariot, pulled by 4 warhorses is also included in the exhibit. The reason why the authentic one could not be shown is because it was simply too fragile to be transported overseas. On a side note, there was also an iPhone app made by the ACM, that had a feature that allowed users to use it to view the figures "move" when the phone was facing the figurines. I did not manage to use it so I cannot really comment much on it.
My trip to this exhibition was truly fulfilling, as I had a first-hand look of the terracotta warriors, and could see in person the terracotta warriors that can be described as a historical marvel. Although I had read up quite a bit on the terracotta warriors and the background of the tomb, nothing beats actually going to the exhibition in person and actually looking at these life-sized figurines yourself. Only then will one begin to understand why these terracotta warriors have been the center of much discussion among historians all over the world, and why the tomb has been regarded as an archaeological treasure by many. I really recommend everyone to take 1-2 hours to go down and view the exhibition for yourself. If I do not remember wrongly, the entrance fee isn't too expensive, costing $8 for an adult and $4 for students. There is also a special offer for families of up to 5 people, which costs $20. That was the amount my family paid when we visited the museum. Go visit it, and savour the atmosphere and the vast history surrounding you!
Cheers,
Roystan
First, let me introduce this exhibition. The name of this exhibition is Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor & His Legacy. The show comprises of around 100 artifacts loaned from 12 museums in China's Shaanxi province. What is more remarkable is that this is the first time that authentic and not replica pieces of the famous terracotta warriors will be shown in Singapore and South East Asia. The terracotta warriors were first discovered in 1974 outside Xi'an by a group of peasants. To my understanding, the tomb was ordered to be built by China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and he believed that with the tomb built, he would be protected by the warriors and the horses in the afterlife.
The museum wasn't extremely crowded, even on a Sunday morning, and that rather surprised me as I expected more people to turn up, seeing how this was a temporary exhibition. Anyway, after paying the entrance fee, we went in, and the first thing that greeted us was small clay figurines, masterfully crafted by the people of the past dynasties. The clay figurines were based on different professions and animals from that day, like storytellers, entertainers and tigers and dogs. One thing that stood out was the expressions and depicted actions of these clay figurines. It was easy to tell that the people who made these figurines put in a lot of effort and time, to recreate all the expressions and actions, and they were depicted perfectly, even though the clay figurines were static and stationary. There was also a section depicting how the workers made the clay figurines. In the next room, there was also a special exhibition, named rather aptly "Life after Death: An Installation by Justin Lee". The exhibition consisted of a self-constructed terracotta army flanked by maidens holding modern technology like laptops. In fact, the terracotta warriors was wearing headphones! There were also Singapore emblazon flags rising above the army. This exhibition is basically just showcasing a blend of Western pop art with traditional Eastern imagery, creating an interesting exhibit, and in the ACM's words, "decidedly Singaporean".
The next exhibition was the star of the show. In it, there were displays of the different varieties of clay warriors that were found in the tomb. There were officers, cavalry men, archers and more. What was unique about this was that each of the different type of soldier had their own distinguishing feature, which made them easy to recognise. For example, the officers wore a tunic, instead of the normal battle armour that soldiers wore. Like the first exhibit, this truly shown the hard work and meticulousness of the workers that made the figurines. Like what many of you know already, each warrior has a distinct expression on his face, thus making the terracotta army even more astounding. This, coupled with the fact that it was estimated that there were around 6000 warriors and chariots inside the tomb, makes it clear why the terracotta tomb is seen as something out of the ordinary. Speaking about chariots, a life-sized replica of a chariot, pulled by 4 warhorses is also included in the exhibit. The reason why the authentic one could not be shown is because it was simply too fragile to be transported overseas. On a side note, there was also an iPhone app made by the ACM, that had a feature that allowed users to use it to view the figures "move" when the phone was facing the figurines. I did not manage to use it so I cannot really comment much on it.
My trip to this exhibition was truly fulfilling, as I had a first-hand look of the terracotta warriors, and could see in person the terracotta warriors that can be described as a historical marvel. Although I had read up quite a bit on the terracotta warriors and the background of the tomb, nothing beats actually going to the exhibition in person and actually looking at these life-sized figurines yourself. Only then will one begin to understand why these terracotta warriors have been the center of much discussion among historians all over the world, and why the tomb has been regarded as an archaeological treasure by many. I really recommend everyone to take 1-2 hours to go down and view the exhibition for yourself. If I do not remember wrongly, the entrance fee isn't too expensive, costing $8 for an adult and $4 for students. There is also a special offer for families of up to 5 people, which costs $20. That was the amount my family paid when we visited the museum. Go visit it, and savour the atmosphere and the vast history surrounding you!
Cheers,
Roystan
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