Monday, July 16, 2007 Long time no blog liao.Anyway,this post is gonna be quite long la cos i am going to post my pens award essay here.So please give your most truthful comments about it!The mandatory title of the essay is "How i made a difference"-A rather title given for this year.So anyway,here it goes.By the way,it was to be a real life event. How i made a difference "Good afternoon. Is that Mr Aloysius Chan on the line? I am calling from Divine Peace Hospice. I regret to inform you that Madam Lim Ah Kum passed away this morning in her sleep. There is a funeral held in the garden of the hospice on the 30th of June. You are cordially invited to attend the ceremony." 'Thank you for informing me. Yes, I will be there." Tears, like morning dew on the leaf of a plant, rolled down my cheeks as I tried to accept the facts of the situation. I reached into my wallet and fished out a small stamp-sized picture of Madam Lim and I smiling happily. 'What is the matter son? Something bothering you?" Mother walked into my room with a comforting smile on her face. This smile had comforted me in the past by just looking at it, however today it was an exception. "Madam Lim.She...She... passed away this morning..." Mum looked out of the window and spoke in a gentle tone. "Life is like that. Death is apart of life. There is no reason to be sad over a person's death as death is but changing of our robes to wait in wedding garments at the External’s gate. I believe that Madam Lim's life was a happy one. Don’t' you agree? If my memory serves me right, I recall you telling me all the fun activities that you had done together with Madam Lim. Am I right?" Mum was right. Madam Lim and I been through happy times. I recall the time when we first met. It another one of those community involvement programmes organised by the school. I could still remember the first day I met Madam Lim as if it was yesterday… Magnolia clouds dotted the skies as the wind caresses the jade green leaves that hanged on the branches of the sycamore trees. The navy blue swallows which freely gaily around the bus, contrary to how I was feeling. I was feeling rather lethargic that day, as community involvement activities were rather boring. Soon we reached our destination the caretaker of the hospice came up to the bus and greeted us warmly. “Welcome to the Divine Peace Hospice! Come in come in!” The caretaker then brought us into the lecture hall where he gave us a briefing before sending us to do our jobs. Other students were allocated jobs like watering the plants in the garden of the hospice. However I was allocated the job of talking to the elderly. I walked into a small bedroom gingerly and found an old lady sitting on a foldable mattress. Numerous wrinkles were engraved on her face, evidence that she has been through the test of time. Her neatly tied hair, together with her crease free clothes, informed me that she was a neat person. She was facing the window, looking at the horizon, her mind deep in thought. I knocked on the door courteously to attract her attention. However, her eyes were still fixed on the setting sun, and she was oblivious my presence, acting as though the world only consisted of her alone. “Hello Madam.” Her eyes were finally torn off the sun and her body language suggests that she had noticed me for the first time. Her eyes scanned my body and her serious face broke into a smile. “You look exactly like my grandson.” The wrinkled elderly lady fished an old crumpled photo out of her pocket. A picture of the old lady in younger days clutching a young boy by the hip rested in her palm as she continued talking about her life. The elderly lady introduced herself to be Madam Lim. The warmth in her radiant smile melted all the ice between us as she began to tell me about herself. “I was brought here by my daughter-in-law as she did not want to let me live with my family. I remember how she treated me. She treated me well in front of my son, but badly behind his back. I remember how she will beat me when too much time taken to do house chores or when the standard of my work is not up to par. I remember how she would call me names and humiliate me in front of my own grandson. I remember how she restricted me from visiting my own grandson and my son. She would not even allow me to see my own flesh and blood.” Tears welled up in her eyes as I tried to comfort her. The tears started to dry after I comforted her. She choked back her tears and started to speak once again in her gentle and soothing voice. “Thank you. Thank you young son for driving away my loneliness. Will you be coming back to visit me? I hesitated before answering, as I had to carry out my word. “Yes. Yes I will return.” That trip had changed my perspective on community involvement programmes and soon I began to enjoy them. I even visited Madam Lim on my own accord. Whenever I faced social or emotional problems at school or at home, Madam Lim, matured in age and saturated in experience and wisdom, would be there to lend me a listening ear or give me some advice. I treated Madam Lim like my natural grandmother and she treated me like her grandson. “I believed that Madam Lim had enjoyed spending time with you.” Mother’s words interrupted my thoughts and jolted me back to reality. “A person’s final days are a great influence to the person and the people around the person.” Tears rolled down my cheeks as mother’s voice echoed in my mind. “Madam Lim’s life could either be filled with misery and loneliness or could be filled with love and warmth that only a loved one could provide. And it was you who made the difference.” So after reading it i am sure that you know the main reason why mine compo did not get accepted-cos it was fake.Given my personality,would i actually do what the guy in the compo did? LOST at 8:25 PM