Tell us what you have gained by reading The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson.
Tell us what you would love to do in the world of creative arts between 2021-2025.
Tell us why you enjoy basketball and some of your favourite memories from playing it.
Tell us why you would love to work for the UN Compact one day.
Tell us about what’s been happening in Formula 1 over the last five years.
Tell us what you think about the managers Manchester United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Tell us what you like about short stories by either Haruki Murakami or Ernest Hemingway.
Tell us about the sport of archery and about your own achievements in the sport.
Tell us about six things a holidaymaker visiting Magelang should do and see.
Tell us about Orange County, California.
Tell us about your love for listening to music.
Tell us what was the TV series you have most enjoyed watching so far in 2020 and explain why you liked it?
Tell us why you like Japanese anime.
Tell us what you think your classmates need to know about living in Malaysia.
Tell us what it was like being the leader of the student organization in your high school!
Tell us what being active in your school’s scout organization involves.
Tell us about your dream of setting up an international company.
Tell us about your experience of playing rugby.
Tell us what would be interesting for an Indonesian visitor to Hanoi.
I had been struggling when it comes to accepting failures since I am a perfectionist person, I like to go things according to plan and one of my weakness is that I care too much upon the society's opinions; in reality it doesn't matter, instead it is toxic towards me. My mother was actually the ones who recommended me to read this book. It took me 3 days to read the books because it was just answering most of the struggles that I was facing.
ReplyDeleteThis book has many good massages into it, including trusting your own ability to reflect, grow and being generous towards yourself and others. We can't deny the fact that there's nothing perfect in this world, so why are we expecting perfection?
Failure is part of nature. For instance, we all don't want to get sick but that's part of life. In fact when we were young, our immunity gets stronger after being sick.
We can't hinder difficult obstacles but we can face it and get through it. We may succeed or fail, but atleast we grow. That's what makes our life meaningful. Life indeed is a journey.
My Favourite part: “We can't deny the fact that there's nothing perfect in this world, so why are we expecting perfection?” This is an excellent rhetorical question for perfectionists to remember when their own obsessions are frustrating them.
DeleteMatter arising: Was there anything in the book that suited the culture in which the writer lives while perhaps not suiting Indonesian culture?
Vocabulary tip: “This book has many good massages in it”. I am fairly certain that you mean “messages”.
Grammar tip: “This book has many good massages into it, including trusting your own ability to reflect, grow and being generous towards yourself and others.” You will see why, but I suggest “growing” rather than “grow”.
Thank you Mr. Adrian for correcting my work and yes, indeed having a perfectionist personality is a gift and a curse *sigh*.
DeleteThere is one thing Indonesian culture that may not suit the writer's lives which is being happy. In my family, my mother always criticized me for not smiling in public or even I'm not allowed to be sad in front of anybody to express my feelings I am inneed of "help" and "attention" so you have to be happy because it's spread positivity and also failures considered as an "unacceptable sins". In the other hand, the writer's believe that in order to be a stronger person is to stop forcing yourself to be "positive" everytime and failure in fact considered as a growth for you to be a better person.
The world of creative arts… where do I even start? From an auditory facet, I plan to produce sonic masterpieces that will change the state of the culture in the world one way or another and revolutionise the music industry for good. These musical pieces will draw influence from my largest inspirations, such as Kanye West, Arctic Monkeys, Travis Scott, and A$AP Rocky. I am open for different methods of writing and producing these records, whether it shall be live recordings of musical instruments, full digital production, or a hybrid of both. The themes and feel of the songs i put out will depend on my mood and the inspiration I am drawing from the world that sparked the idea in the first place.
ReplyDeleteFrom a visual standpoint, I wish to creatively cultivate and transform my emotions or a certain atmosphere into a piece of visual artwork. The ways that I will achieve this is through a variety of mediums such as paintings, drawings, sketches, digital art and clothes to produce different products. These products can be portraits of someone, an album cover, abstract art, minimalist pieces, or even the way I design the interiors of a certain space and the clothes I wear. These are all the ways I can transform a certain feeling or idea into a visual and tangible product. Thus I am able to express myself and also inspire others through bold statements and aesthetically-pleasing products to mold the visual perspective and culture of individuals worldwide. A bit ambitious, I admit.
My Favourite part: “Thus I am able to express myself and also inspire others through bold statements and aesthetically-pleasing products to mold the visual perspective and culture of individuals worldwide.” Well, well. A bit ambitious think’; but you do admit it.
DeleteMatter arising: Can most of what you are talking about, nowadays, be achieved with a laptop?
Vocabulary tip: “From a visual standpoint” is good. So how about you mirror this earlier in your piece? Here: “From an audio standpoint”.
Grammar tip: “I am open for different methods of writing and producing these records, whether it shall be live recordings of musical instruments, full digital production, or a hybrid of both.” You don’t need the word “shall”. There is already ‘future meaning’ inferred by the sense of the sentence.
I love playing basketball since the age of 14, to be honest I’m not a very talented one. I love to play because I was motivated by the basketball player named Blake Griffin he’s on the Los Angeles Clippers at that time, my favorite basketball team. Even though I played basketball everyday my talent doesn’t improve that much. I have one special skill that is jumping very high, I realized it when I was at the 10th grade when I was trying to grab a rebound and I outrebounding 3 of my opponents, my height is only 178 cm though and doesn’t grew at all ever since I was 16. I started to practice dunking at the late 10th grade and succeeded at the early 11th grade, all of my friends were impressed of how high is my vertical leap was. Until one day at one of my school’s scrimmage game I tried dunking at one of its fastbreak. I jump so high and I forgot about the landing part. So I tore my left ACL and couldn’t play basketball for 2 years. I still love the game of basketball and still watches a few of the games, especially my girlfriend is a great basketball player he went to the conference semis in the Honda DBL Java series. Maybe someday hopefully I could play again
ReplyDeleteMy Favourite part: “Until one day at one of my school’s scrimmage game I tried dunking at one of its fastbreak. I jump so high and I forgot about the landing part. So I tore my left ACL and couldn’t play basketball for 2 years.” A nice bit of horror!
DeleteMatter arising: Do you still follow the NBA? Are you still a Los Angeles Clippers fan?
Vocabulary tip: the numbers 3 and 2 should be written as words.
Grammar tip: “I was motivated by the basketball player named Blake Griffin he’s on the Los Angeles Clippers at that time, my favorite basketball team.” [1] Full stop after Griffin and then a capital letter for “he”. [2] Alternatively, you vould write it like this: “I was motivated by the basketball player named Blake Griffin who was with the Los Angeles Clippers at that time, my favorite basketball team.” Note: “with” rather than “on”.
Arundati
ReplyDeleteTell us why you would love to work for the UN Compact one day.
Ever since I found out about the United Nations as well as its goal to create human peace around the globe, I knew that I had to work there one day. I didn't necessarily know how I was going to get there, but I was and am determined to become a part of that organization in the future. Human rights, especially the protection of women and children around the world is something that I'm passionate about. During the limited time that I lived in Indonesia, I've come to realize that Indonesia is a long way from implementing basic human rights. Racism, sexual harassment, domestic physical and mental abuse, human trafficking are just some of the problems that continue happening in our country. Sadly, most cases go unnoticed because many victims are afraid to report these cases due to the fear that they will be judged and blamed by society. As I did more research into these human rights violations, I straight away knew that I wanted to contribute and help those who feel as though they are voiceless. I had originally thought that the only way I could reach the United Nations was through becoming a UN Lawyer or a diplomat. However, through further discussions with my mother, I became aware of the fact that there was such thing as a UN Compact, that's basically where the dream started.
My Favourite part: “I didn't necessarily know how I was going to get there, but I was and am determined to become a part of that organization in the future.” I like this sentence. There is both humility and ambition and it also gives a sense of how important the organization is to you.
DeleteMatter arising: In a more fractured and fractious world, and with U.S. leadership in decline, what does the future hold for the U.N.?
Vocabulary tip: “Sadly, most cases go unnoticed because many victims are afraid to report these cases due to the fear that they will be judged and blamed by society.” It would be nice to avoid the repetition of the word “cases”. How about this: “Sadly, most of these abuses go unnoticed because many victims are afraid to report their cases due to the fear that they will be judged and blamed by society.”
Grammar tip: This is not for Arundati; this comment is for your classmates:
Look at this:
“I had originally thought that the only way I could reach the United Nations was through becoming a UN Lawyer or a diplomat.”
Question: why did she decide to use the PAST PERFECT (Subject + HAD + verb III) in this sentence. It turns out that the point in time (in the past) that she has chosen to express the perspective FROM was her conversation with her mother (in the next sentence). So BEFORE that, she though X, but after the conversation, she thought Y. hence: “I had originally thought X. However, after taking to my mother, I became aware of Y.” This is exactly the right way to use the PAST PERFECT tense.
This introduction is a bit different. In a good way of course. I would like to tell you guys about what’s been happening in Formula 1 over the last five years. As I wrote in my introduction, I have always been a supporter of Ferrari. However, these past five years could have been their worst performance, especially in 2020.
ReplyDeleteFive years ago, would be the year 2015. Formula 1 cars were equipped with new engines and design. They went from a high revving V8 engine to a muted single-turbocharged V6. Even though the cars were faster and more aerodynamic, the lack of noise made Formula 1 seemed a bit tamed. The Nevertheless, these past five years gave fans mixed emotions. From the retirement of Fernando Alonso in 2018 to new talented drivers that are approaching from all around the globe. As an Indonesian, I had a proud moment when Rio Haryanto entered Formula 1. Although he managed to race for 12 races only, he is the only Indonesian driver to compete in Formula 1. Most of the fans felt that races had been boring lately with Lewis Hamilton or Mercedes dominating the game. I stand with those opinion. However, I am very excited to see what the future of Formula 1 has to bring with their promised “competitive races”.
My Favourite part: “As an Indonesian, I had a proud moment when Rio Haryanto entered Formula 1. Although he managed to race for 12 races only, he is the only Indonesian driver to compete in Formula 1.” Why? Because I has no idea about this so it was very interesting to hear.
DeleteMatter arising: Why doesn’t F1 appeal to the U.S. market to the same degree as it does just about everwhere else in the world?
Vocabulary tip: “The lack of noise made Formula 1 seemed a bit tamed.” The word you are looking for is “tame” rather than “tamed”.
Grammar tip: “Most of the fans felt that races had been boring lately with Lewis Hamilton or Mercedes dominating the game.” You need to use the PRESENT PERFECT here because the perspective (as indicated by the word “lately”) is from the present, looking back. “Most of the fans felt that races have been boring lately with Lewis Hamilton or Mercedes dominating the game.”
Tell us what you think about the managers Manchester United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
ReplyDeleteWell, it is kinda hard and sad to talk about this topic. Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester United have not been very consistent in any competition. First, we have David Moyes, I think he is really bad. He does not have the charisma or experience to handle a big club. Then we have Ryan Giggs as the caretaker after David Moyes was sacked before the season even finish. I cannot determine whether Giggs is good or not, because he only lead the team for 3 matches. After that, the management appointed Louis Van Gaal. In the pre-season, he gave us a big hope by winning the pre-season tournament called International Champions Cup. He also introduced us to some young talented players like Rashford and Martial. He also gave us the 2016 FA Cup trophy. But the inconsistent of the team also cost him his place at Manchester United. Then we have Jose Mourinho, I think he is the most promising coach to handle Manchester United after Sir Alex retirement. He has the experience and charisma to handle a big club. During his first season, we got a “treble” winner which are Community Shield, FA Cup, and Europa League. In his second season, we finished second in the premier league. Then, in the third season, Manchester United become Inconsistent and he also had a bad relationship with the players, which lead to his dismissal in the middle of the season. Then we have Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, under his leadership, Manchester United got some pretty good results. But, the team become far more inconsistent under his watch. I think we cannot change to a new coach again, we just need to give Ole the opportunity to change the team for good.
My Favourite part: “Then, in the third season, Manchester United become Inconsistent and Jose Mourinho also had a bad relationship with the players, which lead to his dismissal in the middle of the season.” I don’t like him. So I do like this sentence!
DeleteMatter arising: If I said, Manchester United will not win the EPL in the next ten years, would you admit I might be right?
Vocabulary tip: “…it is kinda hard and sad to talk about this topic”. “Kinda”? No! No!
Grammar tip: “First, we have David Moyes … Then we have Ryan Giggs… Then we have Jose Mourinho… Then we have Ole Gunnar.” It really should be “we had” because it’s all in the past and they are not the manager anymore. Then, because he is the manager now, “then we have Ole Gunnar” is right.
Tell us what you like about short stories by either Haruki Murakami or Ernest Hemingway.
ReplyDeleteErnest Hemingway is famous for using his technique called the iceberg theory or the theory of emission. Essentially what he does is strip everything other than the bare essentials in his stories and novels. Although using simple dialogues, readers can feel the tension between the characters as well as sift through the meaning of their conversations. Therefore generating their own conclusion. Hemingway strongly believes that stories are stronger when conveyed through subtext (an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing) rather than explicit words on the page. As he believes, “the more a writer strips away, the more powerful the iceberg, or story, becomes”. This is one of the two reasons why I love Hemingway’s short stories. The simplicity of the narrative gives the readers so much room to try and figure out what the characters actually mean when talking to one another. Another reason as to why I love his short stories is his use of symbolism. Most if not all aspects he mentions in a narrative has a deeper meaning in the story. Take the story titled, The End of Something published in 1925. The story begins with a brief description of the town the characters are in, Horton’s Bay, an old town that used to thrive but is now abandoned. This actually symbolizes the relationship of the two characters, Nick and Marjorie, and how their relationship is no longer what it used to be. It’s no longer beautiful. From Hemingway’s use of descriptive language and direct dialogues, readers can use their imagination and analytical skills trying to read between the lines.
My Favourite part: “Hemingway strongly believes that stories are stronger when conveyed through subtext (an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing) rather than explicit words on the page. As he believes, “the more a writer strips away, the more powerful the iceberg, or story, becomes”.” I did not know this. It is very interesting. I have only read Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” and the message or depiction in the story is “persistence, mental toughness, and resilience. Santiago, the protagonist, is a seasoned fisherman who has not caught a fish for 84 successive days”. It is very simple sparse kind of storytelling but it is very powerful too.
DeleteMatter arising: I wonder if the environment Hemingway lived in affected his storytelling.
Vocabulary tip: I cannot find anything to complain about!
Grammar tip: “From Hemingway’s use of descriptive language and direct dialogues, readers can use their imagination and analytical skills trying to read between the lines.” It should be “to try to” rather than “trying to”. Some people use the expression “to try and”.
It actually did sir! He trained as a journalist earlier in life (he was a writer for the Kansas City Star newspaper) which resulted in his direct and simple writing style. Some people even says that one of his character, Nick Adams, is a reflection of Hemingway himself.
DeleteTell us about the sport of archery and about your own achievements in the sport.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in junior high school, I joined archery as my extracurricular and I become an athlete for South Tangerang. I chose archery because it is one of three skills that is suggested by Prophet Muhammad. Beside that archery is an extraordinary sport that we rarely see that often. Archery is a sport that requires a lot of focus and upper body strength. There are three classes in archery, the basic class is the standard bow, the next class is recurve bow, and compound bow. I choose standard bow because there are a lot of competitions and it’s quite easy to win. The standard bow and recurve bow are basically the same, recurve bow uses metal and standard bow uses wood for the bow. The techniques use in standard bow and recurve bow are the same.
There are many elements attach on the bow, the most essential elements are limbs, handle bow, string, and arrow. The other elements needed to make a complete bow for competition are sight, stabilizers, and clicker. Archery is a kind of sport that’s quite expensive because the equipment is made with high quality materials.
I have won a lot of archery competitions when I was in junior high school, I have won four gold medals, six silver medals, and 6 bronze medals in different kind of level start from the city level and up to national level.
My Favourite part: “I have won four gold medals, six silver medals, and 6 bronze medals in different kind of level start from the city level and up to national level.” I like that you withheld this information until the end rather than starting with it.
DeleteMatter arising: Have you stopped doing archery? If so, why?
Vocabulary tip: “I joined archery as my extracurricular”. The word “extracurricular” is an adjective. The noun is should go with (and which you must write also) is “activity”.
Grammar tip: “I become an athlete for South Tangerang.” Rather than “for” here, you need “representing” or “who represented”. The word “for” works like this: “I become an athlete who competed for South Tangerang.”
Tell us about six things a holiday maker visiting Magelang should do and see.
ReplyDeleteMagelang is a small city, two hours drive from Jogjakarta. This city have been used by Indonesian government as military area for decades. Here are some places you might like if you are interested in the army. As soon as you arrived in Magelang you will be able to see the military academy. Inside of it, there are more than a thousand young people educated and trained to be a commisonioned officer. Not far from there you will come across a school. This semi military based highschool was founded by former Indonesia National Army (TNI) commander Leonardus Benny Moerdani. Some of the people outside Magelang escpecially junior highschool students oftenly came by just to look around. Apart from all of that, Magelang actually is one of the city that have a ex-7 wonders world site. It is the Borobudur Temple, worlds largest Buddhist temple. Consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central done. Considered as the most attractive tourism destination built with the history of Buddhism religion and culture in Indonesia. These two recommendation are places suitable for advanture and photography. Mount merapi, here you can see a lot of historical sites, experience jeep tour and all of the same things you can do with all mountains. But keep in mind that merapi is a sleeping volcano mountain. There have been view times that it erupted and cause quite big problems to society and environement around it. Tourist can also taste various kind of local foods in Kopi Klotok. This place is actually in Jogjakarta but not to far from Magelang and I really recommend this place. There are dosens of places to eat in Magelang something like Ayam Goreng Kya-Kya is also worth to try.
My Favourite part: “Magelang is a small city, two hours drive from Jogjakarta.” This is a sensible way to start: locating the city relative to Yogyakarta (where UGM is and I am!)
DeleteMatter arising: “Magelang is a small city, two hours drive from Jogjakarta.” Does it really? I thought it was more like 45 minutes, right? I suppose it depends on the traffic. If you arrive on the outskirts of Yogyakarta at about 5 pm, it might take an hour to reach the city centre.
Vocabulary tip: “Mount merapi”. The names of mountains are always capitalized. “Merapi is a sleeping volcano mountain.” The word you need here is (I think) “dormant” (which means “asleep”… similar word “dormitory” is a place where people sleep). “Merapi is a dormant volcano.” However, this is not true. As far as I am aware, Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
Grammar tip: “Magelang actually is one of the city that have a ex-7 wonders of the world world site”. After the expression “one of the”, the noun that follows must be plural abut the verb that then follows must be 3rd person singular. Examples: “One of the things I like about Yogya is the lack of tall buildings.” Or this: “Indonesia is one of the nations that offers leadership in the ASEAN region.”
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DeleteTell us about Orange County, California.
ReplyDeleteWell I can’t really say much since I am only counting on the memories of when I was a child, but I will do my best. Orange County is an area in California which is known to be one of the most popular places for tourists. It is sad that this beautiful place is not as commonly known as Los Angeles despite also being a part of the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. Even though it is not as populated and well known globally, it is still one of the best places to go in California to have a good time.
One of the more popular attractions in Orange County includes Disneyland which is not only a wonderland for children to go to, but for adults as well. People from all over California and even neighboring states take the time to drive there just to experience the joy of fairy tales coming to life. I was fortunate enough to experience this myself and it was absolutely stunning. The rides and attractions there really made you lose track of time.
Another major part of Orange County is the Honda Center which is famous for their hockey team, the Mighty Ducks. This team is really symbolic in the sport of ice hockey in America since there were also movies that were made in their name. If you are not a hockey fan, then have no fear because there is also the Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the home of baseball team, Los Angeles Angels. I personally only experienced going to the Honda Center and it was freezing in there.
Other than just the major tourist hotspots and places where sporting events are held, Orange County is also a great place to live out your life due to the peaceful atmosphere and overall layout of the county. There are many well known schools and universities which check out educational means. The cost of living here is also not as high as a major city like Los Angeles while allowing you to work there due to the short distance. I personally want to go back there myself and I hope that you guys can be able to experience it as well.
My Favourite part: “Well I can’t really say much since I am only counting on the memories of when I was a child, but I will do my best.” This is a good way to start as it tells the reader something about your relationship with Orange County and it also points out that you are working from memory. It also ties in well with the final sentence of your paragraph.
DeleteMatter arising: You could have perhaps mentioned the population size and the distance from Los Angeles city centre. Just a thought.
Vocabulary tip: You can avoid mentioning “Orange County” too many times by referring to it as “the county” (note the small C for “county).
Grammar tip: “The rides and attractions there really made you lose track of time.” I am not sure if how the way you have written it is an error, really, but I think there are two alternative ways to say the same thing that I’d prefer: [1] The rides and attractions there really made me lose track of time.” (Past tense: talking about when you were there.) [2] The rides and attractions there really make you lose track of time.” (Present tense: talking generally about it, and where “you” basically means “people who go there”.)
Tell us about your love for listening to music.
ReplyDeleteMusic is an important part of my life as it is a way of expressing my feelings as well as emotions. I listen to a variety of music, including slow rock, alternative rock, blues, progressive rock, pop, and even classical. I find a different emotions for each of those genre.
Progressive and alternative rock makes me feel aggressive and attentive. Especially metal, since I pay attention to all the instrument being played and notice the change in the chords being played on the guitar.
Slow rock and blues makes me relaxed. It's sounds smooth and refreshing. Those two are the kinds of music that I'd play while just chilling in the back of my house.
Pop is fun to listen to. Basically, mainstream pop today has no lyrics to reflect onto. But it is easy to sing along together because the music is known to everybody because its just pop (popular).
And finally, classical. I love classical music. My favourite composer is Frederic Chopin. For some reason, listening to classical music kind of makes me feel smarter. It does seems silly but in fact, I often listen to beethoven's sonata while working on my math problems and just felt like I am Albert Einstein.
My Favourite part: “For some reason, listening to classical music kind of makes me feel smarter.” This made me smile.
DeleteMatter arising: What kind of music would you like to make if you were a professional musician?
What do you think of this guitarist (instrumental guitar pieces a.k.a. solos)? https://tinyurl.com/y6e5r2xz
Vocabulary tip: “Slow rock and blues makes me relaxed. It's sounds smooth and refreshing.” (This is a grammar tip, actually)
Grammar tip: “I find a different emotions for each of those genre.” It’s either “a different emotion” (singular) or it’s “different emotions” (plural but no indefinite article “a”). I don’t think we “find emotions”, but instead we “feel emotions”, or you could say this: “Each of those genres makes me feel different emotions.”
When it comes to TV series, the first thing that comes to mind is Friends. For those of you who are left in the dark, Friends is a sitcom about six 20-something friends living in New York. I have known the show for quite some time through syndication on TV, though I never give it a go to watch the whole thing until quite recently. The thing that makes it interesting for me is that I have not seen any show with this kind of format before,(although there are a few since), plus the fact that it’s a comedy, because I am not really a fan of drama. Another thing that I like about it is the fact that you just cannot get enough of it with just one episode, at least for me. I’m not going to tell you a whole lot about it here, because it’s just going to ruin the surprise for you guys, but For those of you who never watch it or even worse, never heard of it, or just want to watch a funny and feel-good flick, I suggest you look it up, most of the episodes are really entertaining
ReplyDeleteMy Favourite part: “Another thing that I like about it is the fact that you just cannot get enough of it with just one episode, at least for me.” I like this because I know exactly what you mean!
DeleteMatter arising: If you could create a TV series set in Indonesia, what kind of series would it be?
Vocabulary tip: “For those of you who are left in the dark, Friends is a sitcom about six 20-something friends living in New York.” To be “in the dark” is different from being “left in the dark”. “In the dark” means not knowing something whereas “left in the dark” mean that some people have not told you something (with the implication that they have done so).
Grammar tip: “The thing that makes it interesting for me is that I have not seen any show with this kind of format before, although there are a few since.” [Parantheses not necessary.] The second part of this sentence should read: “…although there have been a few since.”
If anyone were to ask me why I like watching anime, my most immediate reaction would be that I don’t know. When I was a kid, maybe it was all the unrealistic actions and complex magic incorporated into the plot that makes me drawn to them. I’m a sucker for fantasy and these shows gave me an imagination to play with. Even then when I basically couldn’t understand any of the stories, I appreciated the beautiful yet also illogical fiction characters that were created. That alone kept me intrigued.
ReplyDeleteNow, rather than just enjoying all the different characters and eye-catching actions, I’ve also come to love the detailed animations each producer spent years planning and perfecting. One of my favorite producers is Ghibli Studio. They never fail to amaze me with all the attention to details they put in each and every one of their movies. Not only the details, they always manage to come up with an original and unique plot which kept us, viewers, engaged. Some of you might actually know or heard some of their iconic movies like Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle; but back to the main question, why do I love watching anime? Well, they aren’t afraid to introduce new ideas and concepts beyond any of our imaginations. They also aren’t afraid to produce shows that might only appeal to some groups of people. Most importantly, anime is the type of show I grew up watching and I guess in a way you can say that I have become too familiar with it. In a deeper sense, it’s a part of my childhood that I do not want to part ways with and I’m sure most of us also have that similar kind of attachment to a thing or a show. Sometimes, it’s actually therapeutic to trace back into our childhood and remember what played a role in shaping us into the person we are today.
My Favourite part: “If anyone were to ask me why I like watching anime, my most immediate reaction would be that I don’t know.” This is a quite original way to start a piece: by (kind of) admitting that you don’t know the answer to the question. Here’s another sentence I like: “In a deeper sense, it’s a part of my childhood that I do not want to part ways with and I’m sure most of us also have that similar kind of attachment to a thing or a show.”
DeleteMatter arising: You said: “It’s actually therapeutic to trace back into our childhood and remember what played a role in shaping us into the person we are today.” I am curious; have anime storylines, situations or characters actually shaped you in any ways you are aware of?
Vocabulary tip: “all the attention to details”. Usually, with this expression, we use the word “detail” (singular).
Grammar tip: I think your (excellent) writing would benefit from more commas here and there, but I won’t go into it on this occasion.
Tell us what you think your classmates need to know about living in Malaysia.
ReplyDeleteBefore I moved to Malaysia, I’ve always been very curious about the rivalry between the Indonesian and Malaysian people; but after residing there for some time, it became fairly obvious why. Some Indonesians like to say Malaysia steals their culture, but in reality, both countries share the same cultural roots and heritage. This makes Malaysians quite reasonably upset. So, while living in Malaysia, it's best to keep that in mind to avoid any uncomfortable situations.
On the positive side of things, living in Malaysia quite nice. It has a familiar environment, however also has more prominent cultural influences from the Chinese and Indian cultures. This is most noticeable in the foods and language.
As for food, you can find quality Chinese restaurants, for very reasonable prices, all over the place – especially in the big cities. There are also Muslim-Indian restaurants called “Mamaks”; where you can literally find anywhere in Malaysia. These Mamaks are frequented by all the different ethnic groups and races in the country, and is mainly used as a place to hang-out and relax with your friends, family or coworkers while having a nice-cheap meal. My personal favorite foods are chicken rice, from the Chinese restaurants, and Roti Canai from the Mamaks.
Besides food, many people in Malaysia still speak their own ethnic languages, aside from speaking English and/or Malay. This means if you make a lot of friends from different backgrounds, more likely than not, you will start picking up little bits of new languages. For me personally, I became decently familiar with Chinese, and oddly Korean (there’s quite a large Korean student population in Malaysia.)
Too be honest, I can’t fit everything you guys need to know in one article, but hopefully this short bit of writing can be a good summary of what it’s like to live in Malaysia.
My Favourite part: “Some Indonesians like to say Malaysia steals their culture, but in reality, both countries share the same cultural roots and heritage.” A very reasonable thing to say about an issue which is the first thing to come into many people’s minds.
DeleteMatter arising: Is the variety of Chinese spoken in Malaysia different ot distinctive from other forms of Chinese?
Vocabulary tip: “As for food, you can find quality Chinese restaurants, for very reasonable prices”. The word “with” works but “for doesn’t”. “For” makes it sound like we are talking about buying restaurants.
Grammar tip: “while having a nice-cheap meal”. No need to hyphenate “nice” and “cheap” but you do need to separate them with a comma.
"Tell us what it was like being the leader of the student organization in your high school !"
ReplyDeleteBeing the leader of a student organization is not as easy as you would think, because there are responsibilities you have to bear. Moreover, I still have an obligation as a student to study and do all my assignments. But having all that ‘weights’ doesn’t mean it’s unpleasant, you can have so many friends and realtions both inside and outside your school. Sometimes you came home late because you have so many meetings in a day to talk about our next projects and events. Even though it can be really tiring, doing it with your friends and colleague can bring some smile. You can share stories and get to know each other really well.
From my two years of experience, the hardest part was at the end of my term. We have an annual event called AVASSCO, where we held nine competitions of arts, sports, and science. I remember we only have a couple months to find sponsors and get as much as 300 million rupiah for the event itself. But with a crew of 120 and a lot of hard works, we finally got things done and the event went really great.
My Favourite part: “Even though it can be really tiring, doing it with your friends and colleague can bring some smile. You can share stories and get to know each other really well.” A nice sentence to end a paragraph about how tough the job is.
DeleteMatter arising: How did you manage to get selected or elected for this job?
Vocabulary tip: “having all that ‘weights’ doesn’t mean it’s unpleasant”. The word you want here is “weight” or “burden” and not “weights”.
Grammar tip: None today. This is much better than last week’s.
Tell us what being active in your school’s scout organization involves. It involves a lot. Part of my school’s Scout organization is a special Scout troop trained for competition. I will talk about it chronologically. It started in August 2017. The first event I attended was called PTA (Penerimaan Tamu Ambalan). From there, I started to raise an interest in Scout therefore I joined the special Scout troop. The training was tough and took most of my time and energy. A lot of exercise was done to develop my physic. It was necessary because the activities were physical. The activities are training and competing. The trainings include pionering, marching, first aid, Scouting technique, and Scouting knowledge. I specialized in pionering and Scouting technique. Pionering is about using sticks, ropes, and knots to make strong, useful, and beautiful structures. It is different to pioneering because pioneering is like leadership as I was told. Scouting technique is about sending and receiving codes, building tent, making maps and so on.
ReplyDeleteIn March 2018, I had my first competition. My team was representing my high school, SMA Negeri 4 Surakarta. It consists of eight Rover Scouts. In that team, there are smaller teams for each specialty. In my first competition, I didn’t specialize in both pionering and Scouting technique. I specialized in news presenting and public service advertisement because those were contested and turns out, I was better there. It went great for me and my team because we were the champion, and we get the chance to compete in Semarang representing Surakarta. It was also great for my news presenter team and public service advertisement team because we were in the first place.
For my second competition, it was in August 2018. I specialized in pionering, Scouting technique, and news presenting. The theme for pionering was a set of table and chairs. It was harder than it sounds. The amount of sticks and length of ropes were determined. And using 5 metres rope to tie a single knot is quite a difficult thing. Fortunately, we earned fourth place. As for the Scouting technique, my team and I had to finish a series of challenges. The challenges are navigating through woods to find checkpoints, making a map of the route we took, answering questions, and solving codes. My team earned third place for the map challenge. And last, the news presenting. I and my colleague presented a news about Asia-Africa Conference, but turns out one of the representatives were assassinated. My team earned fifth place in that competition.
My service in Scout organization doesn’t stop there. In September 2018, I decided to be the trainer for the special Scout troops in my school, and I became the treasurer of my school’s Scout organization until September 2019. I’d say I was quite successful as a trainer because the team I coached earned first place in a prestigious competition.
My Favourite part: “In March 2018, I had my first competition. My team was representing my high school, SMA Negeri 4 Surakarta. It consists of eight Rover Scouts. In that team, there are smaller teams for each specialty. In my first competition, I didn’t specialize in both pionering and Scouting technique. I specialized in news presenting and public service advertisement because those were contested and turns out, I was better there. It went great for me and my team because we were the champion, and we get the chance to compete in Semarang representing Surakarta. It was also great for my news presenter team and public service advertisement team because we were in the first place.” This whole paragraph is good storytelling; it’s compelling.
DeleteMatter arising: What does scouting lead on to after one’s formal education finishes?
Vocabulary tip: “using 5 metres rope to tie a single knot is quite a difficult thing”. “5” shoild be written as the word “five”.
Grammar tip: Don’t capitalize “scout” or “scouting” apart from when it’s part of the official title of something. So, I think “Rover Scouts” is Ok. But here: “the special Scout troops” and “Scouting technique” it should be “scout”.
Tell us about your dream of setting up an international company.
ReplyDeleteI have a dream since a child to be a person that can bring positive impact to the society especially Indonesia and bring it names proudly to the international world in the in the future. In order to achieve that, I really interested to gain more experience and knowledge here in UGM, to be precise at Faculty of Economic Business and Management in management major. I feel enthusiastic about learning this management major because I want to run my own business in the future and hopefully with this education, it can make me understand more about business management and prepare me to be better leader. I also take the international program to broaden my network in global environment and get more insight about global business and economic.
I’m aware that Indonesia is a rich country on its natural resource, and I’m really interested to distribute it directly and globally. I don’t know yet what kind of thing that I would like to sell in the international market, but my aim is to make enterprise that will provide work opportunities, train the employees to be more skilled, and help their economic condition to be better. Hopefully with this I can both beneficial to the Indonesia’s name and economic also bring positive impact to the environment.
My Favourite part: “I don’t know yet what kind of thing that I would like to sell in the international market, but my aim is to make enterprise that will provide work opportunities, train the employees to be more skilled, and help their economic condition to be better.”
DeleteMatter arising: Could you achieve your aims by working for a corporation whose mission and vision you admire or do you feel the need to be your own boss?
Vocabulary tip: “the international world”. Sounds repetitive. Just write “world” (by it’s very nature, it’s “international”) or “the international stage”.
Grammar tip: “I’m aware that Indonesia is a rich country on its natural resource”. This is better: “I’m aware that Indonesia is a rich country in terms of natural resources”
Tell us about your experience playing rugby.
ReplyDeleteThere are still many people who don't know what rugby is and yes, it's different from the Rubik Cube. Rugby is a well-known and in-demand sport in New Zealand. rugby football may look similar to American football, but it's actually different. Rugby football has less safety levels than American football and the type of ball used different. The players' positions in the rugby union game are divided into two general positions, attacker and defender. Maybe many of you will be surprised if you watch a rugby match, because you could say the game is a bit sadistic because it is much more aggressive than normal football. Usually rugby players are muscular because muscle is a rugby player’s body armour. When I was in New Zealand, me and my friends often play rugby during break time. But the type of rugby games that’s played was just rugby touch or just pass and catch due to its minimal contact. the tackle is just touching between the knee and shoulder, rather than tackling each other to the ground to get the ball. It's been a while since I played proper rugby games so maybe I can't be as good as before the pandemic.
It looks like after I’m submitting this writing I will check my rugby ball which has been sitting under the bed for quite a while. I hope he's okay.
My Favourite part: I like the closing line.
DeleteMatter arising: “But the type of rugby games that’s played was just rugby touch or just pass and catch due to its minimal contact.” Do people get hurt somethimes, nevertheless?
Vocabulary tip: “Rugby football has less safety levels than American football and the type of ball used is different.” The second “football” would be better as “code” or “version” or “game”; like this: “Rugby football has less safety levels than the American version and the type of ball used is different.”
Grammar tip: Be careful with your capital letters.
I think what Indonesian visitors would find most interesting about Hanoi largely depends on what city they’re from in Indonesia. As I have only lived in Jakarta - the city with the highest crime rate in the country - I think what I find most striking about Hanoi is its safety. There have been countless occasions when I went home from a friend’s house past midnight for the sole reason that I don’t fancy sleeping in a bed other than mine. My mother would always ask me what time I came back home the next morning. Whenever I told her it was sometime past midnight, she would always make the same remark: “You can’t do this in Jakarta.” I never really understood the purpose of her telling me that over and over again, since I’m already fully aware that Jakarta isn’t a safe city. I’m sure Hanoi isn’t 100% golden either as everything has its faults, but I do believe that the safety I feel and the freedom I have when going out in this city, whether it is during the daytime or nighttime, is something that most people from Jakarta would find appealing.
ReplyDeleteMy Favourite part: “I think what Indonesian visitors would find most interesting about Hanoi largely depends on what city they’re from in Indonesia.” A great start that made me curious.
DeleteMatter arising: Crime Comparison Between Hanoi and Jakarta https://tinyurl.com/yy2a8685
Vocabulary tip: “I never really understood the purpose of her telling me that over and over again, since I’m already fully aware that Jakarta isn’t a safe city.” Either “understand” and “I am” OR “understood” and “I was”.
Grammar tip: “everything has its faults”. “Every city” or “every place” are better than “everything”.
I have still got five to go. I will do them as soon as possible.
ReplyDelete