A Child's Plea to Adults: If you don't know how to fix it, pls don't break it!

This is a speech made by a 13-year old Canadian, Severn Suzuki of Environmental Children's Organization @ the UN Earth Summit in 1992. 17 years later, people have forgotten. They ALWAYS do.

This is a very timely & thought-provoking message and I can't help but think about Holden Caulfield, the main character in the book Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger, 1951). A disillusioned & confused teenager who is entering the coming of age, Holden dreams of only one thing, and quoting an old poem by Robert Burns, he sings, "If a body catch a body comin' through the rye..." Quite pathetic but true- when we become adults, we lose something very essential. We become hypocrites. As we grow up (ironic huh), it seemed like we've undergone a 'processing' from the rye, which results in a manufactured, destructive mankind.


Anyway, back to the video. A memorable quote from Severn's speech:

"At school…, you teach us how to behave in the world, you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share not be greedy… Then why do you go out and do the things you tell us NOT to do???




My message: Children, remain in the rye (if there is a clean one left).

Out of My League.

Since it's Valentine's why don't I write about it? ;)

Happy Valentine's, everyone. Enjoy!

will you stop for a while

and let me catch my breath

tame this restless soul

that you have recklessly stirred

for that I require an apology

will you stop for a while

and hear me out just this time

your beauty made me a believer

the kind that draws me to the Creator

with eyes that burn a hole and brings me back to high school

my palms sweating and cheeks blushing

too frightened to test unknown waters

i will pass this chance of getting burnt

will you stop for a while

allow me to take in

the length of the gap

that's between me and you

your virtues and merits

your wisdom and your worth

my nose will remain pressed

against this glass

staring at an expensive gift

too much for me to afford

will you stop for a while

and bear with me a moment

i wonder what you're thinking

but im not qualified to know

the only available is that boyish smile

which makes me want to smile, too

i wouldn't mind

no not all

if you'll forever be mine

so what does it take

to come close?

In the mrt on my way back home, i wanted to talk to Dad. . .

Dad, can I just come to you right now...
Without asking for anything -
Wide-eyed with tears flowing as easy as water flowing from a hill...
No, I'm not about to yearn for a gift or anything fancy.
Can I just come to you and allow you to feel what I'm feeling?
I'm not looking for deliverance nor redemption,
I need nothing else.
I just want to occupy the space between your arms
And grieve for a while. . .

Will You cry with me?

I did my best...

But I guess my best wasn't good enough...

I just took the GMAT today for the 2nd time around, hoping my score would increase. But I guess I should have listened to people's advice: taking the gmat more than once is counter-intuitive... My score remained the same- below 600 :( . I was stumped; there goes my shot at a scholarship.

Now, I have mixed feelings. I would like to be optimistic about this and to not allow this brick wall to get in the way of my ambitions. But something within me also wants to yield and acknowledge that perhaps I'm not really cut out for this mba dream.

I don't know. All I could do is shrug and thank God because I'm not in this alone. He is still the captain of my ship. I want to be taken to greater heights, but if by being in this valley still will give Him all the more glory, then so be it.