Student Essay - Tony Kim June Cheol, Year 11, Sayfol International School - “I’d fought them for so long.”

Tony Kim June Cheol, Year 11, Sayfol International School

“I’d fought them for so long.”

It was time. I’d fought against them for so long. For 40 years, I never thought or sensed that there would be an end to this fight. This fight continued infinitely without any benefit but caused so much loss. I didn’t have any close friends since they were all dead. My heart was too scared to make any more friends. 

“Sir, our army is ready,” said one of my soldiers and it brought me back to the situation now. I was sitting on my red horse, Stinger, holding an old, stylish sword. 

There were thousands of soldiers behind me, who had spent more than ten years with me. Many of them were injured but at that moment, the fact that this fight was their last fight made them rise to the challenge, determined to win. At the opposite side, where we were facing, was the army called Nocxus. Both sides were totally fed up of fighting. I held my horse tightly. After a moment of deep silence, there was a loud blaring of the horn.

Immediately, a loud roar blasted from both sides. All the soldiers dashed towards the other side, swinging their swords to achieve final victory. As I made contact with the enemy, my eyes met with the one eye of Porter, the enemy leader. His other eye was missing because of me. The scar on my chest caused by him seemed to hurt when I saw him. We stormed towards each other the same way we had done for a dozen years. We already knew each other’s fighting style too well. 

The clash of metal filled the atmosphere. Blood was splashing everywhere. Porter and I passed each other more than fifty times, producing glaring sparks. All the soldiers beside us, either friend or foe, stopped fighting and stepped back, forming a big circle. Their fight couldn’t be compared to ours. They were watching their leaders fight without a word. When Porter made a big swipe with his sword, I barely dodged it. I quickly straightened my sword. That was my chance.

My heart was bumping very fast. Suddenly, I realized my sword was coloured red. I was also aware of the cheers and yelling from my surroundings. Our army had won. We had finally finished the fight. I shouted and yelled like a mad man, sunk into the moment of victory. I had never felt happier than at this moment.

Student Essay - Shin Woo Tak, Year 11, Sayfol International School - My journey through life

Shin Woo Tak, Year 11, Sayfol International School

My journey through life

I was born in Seoul, Korea. I was born without arms. My parents never left my side and they told me they never regretted bringing me up. Even though they went through hard times, they never gave up on me. When I was six, I was watching the Olympics on television. I decided I wanted to be an athlete. The Olympics inspired me to have a dream. 

At the age of eight, I entered primary school. All the kids looked at me and they were shocked. They looked at me as if they were disgusted. They would run away from me and would not talk to me. A few days later, they started to tease me for not having arms. The teasing became worse and kids started to bully me. They started to hit and abuse me. I endured the pain and finally entered a school for disabled athletes. Inside the school, there were a lot of people like me. All the students, teachers and the principal welcomed me. The environment was very different and much friendlier. 

They taught me how to run and jump. The coaches were very strict. Our aim was to join the Paralympics 2016 in Rio, Brazil. We had dozens of exams but I had great results. When I turned 16, I was able to participate in some small competitions. I won almost all of them. A few weeks later, a letter came. The letter was an invitation from the Founder of the Paralympics. My coach and I were very excited.

We decided to work extra hard. We still had a lot of time left to prepare. Finally the Paralympics arrived. After several wins, I made it to the semifinals. I was nervous and suddenly could not feel my legs. I started to breathe heavily. The referee fired the pistol and I ran as fast as I could. I fell down onto the ground. I had a bad cramp in my leg. I still got up and ran as fast as I could and came in second. I was very disappointed in myself because I could not make it to the finals. A few hours later, there was an announcement that the winner had been disqualified due to the usage of drugs. I was appointed to the finals!

The day arrived and I was extremely nervous. I couldn’t think properly. The referee fired the pistol and I could not remember anything. I was the first South Korean to win the gold medal. I was proud that even a disabled person could achieve such a great achievement. My dream hadn’t been easy but it was definitely worth it!

Student Essay - Roy Kim Do Eui, Year 11, Mutiara International Grammar School - Fireworks

Roy Kim Do Eui, Year 11, Mutiara International Grammar School

Fireworks

The vibrant colours dance in the pitch black night sky. Bright yellow, cyan and lilac flames synchronise perfectly as if it had all been planned beforehand. It was like a choreographed dance on stage. Fancy lights explode dynamically with accurate coordination. As the firework disperses beautifully, spectators clap in response. Their pleasure was obvious. Childish, loud, playful children cannot seem to wipe the smile off their faces and adults cannot stop chatting as if they were discussing about the most important topics in the world. 

Boom! Boom! Boom! It sounds like planes dropping explosives. The deafening sounds attack people who cover their ears with their hands. However, the mood is a festive one. The cheer from the spectators is almost as loud as the fireworks. Children are either crying or laughing, adults happily cheering, dogs barking – all of which combine and create a chaotic and confusing environment; but a delight to the senses. 

The piercing smell of smoke caused by the fireworks mixes disgustingly with the stench of sweat. However, the fragrance of flowers and picnic food neutralises the stench. The scent of the grass and the trees help people to feel relaxed and peaceful. A gentle breeze brings a whiff of fresh night air which gently cools down the spectators’ thoughts, relaxing their minds. 

The humid environment is getting everyone tired. The dampness of sweat makes it hard for people to breathe. The flaming, firework brings the heat up until everyone finds it almost unbearable. As time passes, it becomes a deeper night and fortunately, there is a refreshing breeze which cools everyone down, making their eyelids heavy. 

The night is as nectarous as a honeycomb. Everyone returns home with deliciously big smiles on their faces.

Student Essay - Roh Ye Jin, Year 11, Taylor’s International School - The exploration and development of safe alternatives to fossil fuels should be the most important global priority today.

Roh Ye Jin, Year 11, Taylor’s International School

The exploration and development of safe alternatives to fossil fuels should be the most important global priority today. To what extent, do you agree?

Would you like to provide your next generation with a better environment to live in? Nowadays, one of the most important global issues is that fossil fuels are running out. Finding new energy sources such as water, wind and solar energy is an important issue for today’s world but there are other problems, such as poverty and wars, that are equally important if not more so. Therefore, I do not completely agree that the exploration and development of safe alternatives to fossil fuels should be the most important global priority today.

It is important for the world to develop renewable energy from wind, water and the sun. It is because we can save the earth by reducing global warming and pollution as there will be less concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which traps the heat. If we do not develop an alternative energy source, we will have lots of problems. The earth will not survive as it will become warmer and that might lead to the end of the world. Moreover, we will not be able to provide a good life to the next generation because there will be no electricity or transportation. All modern devices such as television, phones and computers will be useless and life will be inconvenient. There will also be no modes of transportation such as aeroplanes, cars and trains because there is not enough fuel left so we will have to go back to a primitive lifestyle in which people walked from place to place, delivered messages using pigeons and rode horses. Therefore, developing an alternative energy is an important global issue today. 

However, there are other problems that are equally pressing. For example, people in Africa are suffering from poverty and the world must help them out. The death rate is increasing as people are dying of hunger, thirst and poor medical treatment. People, including young children, are suffering from various diseases due to malnutrition and the lack of clean water. The children are poorly educated and people do not have enough money to feed themselves. Therefore, children over the age of six start to work and earn money instead of attending school. They are humans just like us and we must help them because they have the right to live in better conditions and a person’s life is more important than electricity or transportation. Thus, in my opinion, improving living conditions for the poor is the most urgent global issue today.

Furthermore, there are wars going on in today’s world and there are strained relationships between countries that could lead to conflict. Due to war, many people are dying and some are living in fear. The countries in bad relationships must always be prepared and alert for future attacks. It is because they do not know when their enemy might attack them and they could die at any moment if they do not stay alert. A war can be a disaster because if a war takes place, hundreds of people can die in a second and families will be separated. In addition, a person might lose part of the body or gain a disease which cannot be cured and separated families might not be able to meet one another for a long time, if at all. Hence, keeping peace is more important than finding an alternative energy source as it deals with millions of lives.

In conclusion, developing an alternative energy may be an important global issue but it is not the most important one as there are other things such as poverty and war, which are also important, if not more so. However, these matters could be solved if we work together. People from all four corners of the earth should help one another to make the Earth a better place to live in.

Student Essay - Park Sung Min, Year 11, International School @ Park City - Do we learn better from people of our own level or from someone at a higher level?

Park Sung Min, Year 11, International School @ Park City

Do we learn better from people of our own level or from someone at a higher level?

Who should we learn from? Nowadays, people are more and more eager to learn. This is because the more they learn, they more chances they have of success. As the demand for knowledge increases, there are more and more ways to educate ourselves. For example, we can learn from our families, friends, teachers or the internet. Out of the many methods of learning, the two main ways are learning from people at our own level or from people at a higher level. Which is better? In my opinion, we learn better from those at a higher level. 

To begin with, people at a higher level at more knowledgeable. They have more information and knowledge. As they are better than us, their knowledge would be more accurate and the content would be more comprehensive. So learners can learn many things. Compared to the people at a higher level, information from people at our own level might be inaccurate. It is because they might not have covered or learned the whole topic before teaching it. Therefore, people at higher level are more reliable teachers.

Moreover, teaching is the profession of those at a higher level. They have been trained to teach. Their job is to teach or to train those below them. We can learn things more easily from them. This is because they have gained a lot of information and experience as they have been teaching regularly. They can also provide their students with more study resources, such as question papers, than those at our own level. Thus, people at a higher level can guide us better because they are more prepared.

Last but not least, we might not be able to concentrate when learning from someone at our level. When we learn from friends or colleagues, we get distracted easily. They might stop teaching us and start playing games or chatting with us instead. We will not be able to focus on learning. However, teachers are usually strict while teaching, so we can concentrate on our studies. Furthermore, experienced teachers can make their students concentrate well because they have taught many different students. Hence, discipline is an important reason why it is better to learn from teachers or supervisors.

In conclusion, learning things from both levels are useful and helpful but in my opinion, to learn things in more detail, it is better to learn from people at a higher level as they are more knowledgeable, experienced and firm.