Skip to main content

"Different Reviews" by Stella Park

By

Recently, I’ve been spending my free time reading quite a lot of books. With the end of the school year approaching, I’ve found that simply flipping through pages and reading words is quite calming and entertaining--especially amidst project deadlines and quick assignments. As I’ve been reading a lot more lately, naturally, I have also spent time reading book reviews. And it’s made me think about perceptions.

I had recently finished a lengthy novel and was curious to see what other people had to say about it. I fairly enjoyed reading the book and had a lot of positive comments overall. When I loaded up my computer to read some reviews online, I was quickly met with one that caught my eye: a review that didn’t seem to enjoy the book as much as I did. I read through parts of the review and I had a few laughs here and there (whoever wrote that review wrote it very humorously). Though I personally liked the book, I could see that there could be multiple different perceptions. People have all sorts of different preferences and dislikes so it’s hard to please everyone. Of course, reading reviews about anything in particular is supposed to harbor a range of reactions. You’ll have some people who love or absolutely hate whatever you’re writing a review about. Again, it’s hard to please everyone.


Whenever my peers and I are assigned something to read for school, I frequently ask what they thought of it. As expected, there are all sorts of different opinions even though people read the same source material. You’ll see some people like the plot, but have some conflicts with characters. You could also see some people interpreting the work one way while others disagree with that interpretation or just thought of it differently. It’s difficult to see a singular reaction to a book.


People can look at the same thing and have many different perceptions about it--graduating is no different.


“I think it’s just another exciting journey. Well, I’ve loved going to school for twelve years but it has been twelve years, so I can’t wait to start new routines,” Sharon Baek (12) remarks.


“I feel like as a person who doesn’t like change, it’s very difficult for me to be optimistic about graduation because I feel very nervous for my future. It feels very unpredictable cause I’ve been doing the same routine for twelve years and to go outside of that feels like I don’t have a ground beneath my feet,” says Audrey Chan (12).


Some people are really excited to be graduating and going off to university and experience a new environment. Others are sad to leave and part from the relationships they have built during their time here. Certainly, there’s many people who feel both. As the end of the school year approaches, it feels bittersweet. But I am looking forward to new experiences after graduating high school.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

By Anonymous
Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...
6 comments
Read more

"Spikeball, Swimming, and Sickness: The Remnants of Senior Sneak" by Ee Rynn Ong

By
“Guys, I think we’re here,” said Jonathan Ooi (12) as he peeked out of the lorry to catch the first glimpse of our Senior Sneak location. This year’s Senior Sneak was held in Nomad Adventure, Gopeng, and the organizers planned many activities for the Class of 2026, ranging from traditional games like congkak and batu seremban to adrenaline-pumping ropes courses and whitewater rafting. These scheduled activities proved to be some of the best highlights of the trip, but top of that, the seniors were also given some daily free time to chat, explore, and relax. Josh Stevens (12) had come prepared for this with two spikeball nets, which immediately attracted attention from people eager to spend time in the outdoor sun. The next five days saw spikeball veterans and newcomers alike, spending their precious one and a half hours daily around the unassuming circular net, smashing the yellow ball in hopes of a victory.  Caleb Evans (12) was one of the newbies to spikeball, learning how the g...
Post a Comment
Read more

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

By
While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...
Post a Comment
Read more