Why Do People Have Idols?

You know how all those fans scream their throats out at concerts? I've always thought that a bit silly, but now I've taken the time and compassion to understand, and I finally got an explanation.
Of course, mostly people admire superstars, all that glamour and fame... but different people like different idols, right? Everyone is different, and everyone has a different definition of what they lack.
Get it? Most people aren't satisfied enough with who they are, and one way is to find a role model, which young kids and teenagers usually do. When I hear my friends gabbing about this idol, that idol, this pop star, that actor... I feel like rolling my eyes...there they go again!
But I realized that these friends really do not love themselves enough to be satisfied. They're always complaining and saying they can't do this, that...to escape most of the time, but they manage to convince themselves they aren't good enough to achieve things.
So some people may see something in this star that they don't have. Example: Confidence. It's very hard for a kid to have confidence if everyone is saying all these nasty and dis-empowering things to them. So they turn to an idol--someone who won't say anything bad to them because they probably will never meet them. As they grow and develop self-confidence and independence, don't they grow out of that? :)
But of course, other people like the idols for something else...their music, their movies...so not everyone is the way I explained it!!! :)

Time Flies!!!

Time Flies!!!

Doesn't it seem that just the other day you were doing this...

And now you're doing that?

Time flies if we're unaware and not living in the present.

How do we stop time flying? Take the batteries out of the clock? Yeah, right.

We can't stop time. The most we can do is make full use of it. It would REALLY be a waste if we let our life flow through our fingers just like that...
THINK THINK and THINK...

What can you do to make a difference in this life? It may be too boring now, but staying boring doesn't help...at all.

Try to figure out the things you can do which will help this world. Maybe you can get up and do a bit of exercise. Yes, that will help. We need as many healthy Violet people in this world as we can have! I mean, how can you contribute if you're on the verge of collapsing?

Then, we can also stop slouching around and write our journal...This can be a great contribution as well. This could be a piece of history...or a valuable fragment of our era... :D
The conclusion is, lying around just helps time go by faster. So get up and DO something!!! Take action!

I Did It!

Yeahhhhhhhhh!!!

I did it!!!

I got into the finals in a storytelling competition!!!

What I want to share about is that I was a nervous wreck before I went onto the stage to tell my story. I kept on having illusions, that I would goof up, do it wrong, forget my lines...

But who knew? I took many deep breaths, summoned up my courage and told myself I'm okay. I'd done this many times, right?

So all that worrying for nothing!!!

We really need to spend more of our lives in an optimistic mood!!

Now I'm getting ready for the finals...

WISH ME LUCK!

CV Changes Lives (from a kid's point of view)

by Sarah and Natalie AND Nana

Natalie: Before CV, I used to read the WHOLE day. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. I read 2 quarters of a day, at least. I read about 200 books a year, if my calculations are correct.
What's wrong with that? Well, reading too much consumes a LOT of your time, especially when the book is so enthralling that you can't bear to put it down. My family was always nagging me to put down the book, and take a look at what is behind those pages, to spend time with them. (My sister and brother had this serious opposition against books then) Stories can be real or pure fiction, but either way it is NOT real for you. It may be real for the author, but not for you. Sorry to disappoint you, but reading too much doesn't necessarily help you gain knowledge. Everything has to be in balance.
Sarah: Before CV, I, like Natalie, was also a bookworm. That time, only my father went to CV. He is almost like begging me too put MY book down, or take my eyes off the TV. Whenever he took the book in my hand away, I always have a spare one on my chair, just in case. He asked me why I would want to read while eating. I used this excuse : rice is so boring to look at. But now I know that that time, I just wanted to ESCAPE. Escape from questions that my family may ask. That time, I used to hate CV because I thought CV is separating my father from us. But after I came to CV, I found out that CV actually pulls our relationship close. Although sometimes I still do read or watch TV while eating, we began having lively talks at dinner. One of the reasons we didn't do that before CV is because my father works so hard that he doesn't have time to have dinner with us. But CV truly changed his life. Now, he makes some space in his work so that he can have dinner with us. Even if he can't catch up with dinner ( since sometimes he comes home at about 8 something at night ), I still talk to him after I get ready, though it is not exactly like what we do in CV ( not even like what we do at the dinner table ), I don't mind. Being able to talk with my father, even for a short period of time, I feel good, really good. Well, I guess that it's right to say that nothing beats your family. No, I don't guess, I am 100% sure.
Nana: Hi, I am Nana. I am Natalie's sister. And my sister loves reading, but I am different. I love much other things. Thats why everybody is special in their own way.
I wrote an e-mail to my CV3 classmates and other people that I admire the most and love the most, and Linda even talked about it (in the bridge call). Wow! I can't believe it that such little things can make a whole difference. Cool! So I want to share what CV brought me.
First of all,they taught me that you shouldn't keep waiting until you regret because in my CV3 I don't want to share. I waited until the last day of CV ( The last day that I can see my classmates of CV3 ) then I only really go and share with my heart, without thinking . Haha...
Second of all ,is that you don't have to think to share what you feel because that sentence: 'What do you FEEL like Sharing' doesn't meant quickly think of what to share. You know that you need to use your heart to share. That is very important because on the last day of CV3 a classmate of mine asked me to tell her what I was going to say, and I answered that I don't need to think. She told me what she was going to say. I think she really gave me that strong awareness. Haha...
So now just till here cant go to far cause there is more coming up.
Love,Nana
Natalie: Other than being a read-a-holic, I had what I thought was shyness. I'd cower behind my parents when any guests came, when i was younger. Just before CV, when I was around 10 years old, I'd pretend that I was doing something else, or just hide. What it really was is this 'illness' called No-self-esteem-itis. I always had these visions that I'd screw up on every move in front of others. It must be some painful moment in the past that made me that way. I wonder what it is...maybe I hid it in myself. When I went to primary one, I could easily tell that I was way ahead of my classmates...but I didn't dare to actually show it. My English was better, because I went to an English kindergarten, but my Chinese was partially rotten.
So every day at school was very painstaking; I tried to suppress myself, not showing what I can do. I faked that my English is at the same level as theirs, and my Chinese is as good as them. No such luck. Teachers kind of see through you. They KNOW when you are faking, and when you are genuine. Do they teach that in teacher training courses? So they were praising me about my talents, and everyone was looking up to me. Sure, you think I enjoyed it. NOT! It was very very embarrassing for me back then. All these parents asking me questions, classmates borrowing my homework... All very overwhelming for a little girl. But after CV, I feel much more confident and I know how to deal with this...popularity. :)
We truly hope our perspectives help you.
Love,
Nat, Sarah & Nana

Believing in Yourself

by Sarah
I used to lack self esteem(I still do sometimes). After CV, I found out that I do that because I want to please people and have fear that if I do or say something wrong it'll make them mad and making them mad will make me feel lonely as I will have no friends.
I admire people that have lots of confidence, maybe the main reason is because I lack confidence in myself. They seem so confident in themselves when they do things such as speaking on stage.
There was once when my mother wanted me to say a short verse in church. I said "no" at once. I was afraid that if I said something wrong, I would become the laughing stock at church.
Now, I try to calm myself by making a mental note : They won't recognize me, anyway. They won't laugh at me because they are polite. I am glad I made that note although sometimes, I still can't help feeling scared when I am asked to say a speech alone or something like that. But you can bet that I won't go as shaky as a leaf nor pale as a sheet of paper when I have to speak on stage!
With CV tools, believing in yourselves is much more easier. >_*

Let Your Core Values Guide You

Letting your core values be your guide...

Sometimes, following your values is hard, especially when your environment doesn't support it. If your core values are suppressed, it is very very very hard to live a fulfilling, meaningful life.

You don't need any special analysis to find out your core value. Try figuring out what are the things you love to do, and the values that show up.

Example: You like gardening, because it makes you feel peaceful, and gives you a sense of calmness. Why? Do you like the atmosphere? Is it because you like to see living things grow? If it really is what you enjoy doing, don't stop. On the contrary, try to bring more of it into your daily life.

Don't worry if people judge you against the values you own. Their values are just different from yours!

Taking The Leap Of Faith

What does 'taking the leap of faith' mean?

I'm not so sure myself :) , but here's my version of explanation:

Taking a leap of faith means doing something you somehow KNOW will work out, and just doing it without hesitating or having second (third fourth fifth?) thoughts.

Some people are USED to doing it. But for most people, it's mostly a life-changing leap.

As Ko (a CV instructor) shares with us, 'Jump off the highest cliff and build your wings on the way down.' (I know, I don't have it EXACTLY right, but...:)

Oh, it doesn't mean I'm asking you to jump off a cliff or something. Just saying that making a leap of faith may work out great, or not-so-great, from your own point of view. But it happens for a reason, and you deal with the consequences as they come.

An example is this. When I'm blogging, I just write whatever that comes into my mind. Sometimes, I'm not that satisfied with my work. But, I just take the leap of faith...or 'click' of faith, and just click PUBLISH POST, deciding that not everyone in the world will see it as I do. It may not be perfect, but I always hope it helps someone in the world out there. I'm going to take the click of faith now...

Using your talents fully

Hello everyone!
Last week, my teacher asked me for a favor.
She heard from someone that I am very good at decorating (I wonder who told her) and she asked me to decorate the computer lab. It was a bit surprising and..well...pleasant. I had the awareness that people really believe in me more than I believe in myself.
I finally agreed to help, because what is the use of having talents if you don't use them?
So I told her I'd tell her my ideas, and then I started thinking of what to decorate it with... Love? :)
I realized that when we are pressured to do something, we don't do it as well as we do when we are doing it willingly. At least that's my theory.
So now, I'm still stuck on ideas... and the 'deadline' (well, I know they don't actually exist, but I gotta keep my promise) is Monday!!! Oh, well. I can do it!!!
-Natalie

TRUST

Trusting something or someone is something that is easy... or hard.
To trust someone takes great courage... and it feels great to trust, too. But if you trust blindly, it will be very ugly...
Trusting may be hard after someone you trust betrays you. But if you forgive and forget, and slowly build the trust, you will feel relaxed and much better.
Then, getting people to trust you takes a long time to build up. If you take that trust for granted, they will just stop believing in you, and it will take an even longer time to build up the trust.
So, choose who to trust carefully, and guard the trust that others give you.

CV Event of the Century!!!

Wowowowowowowow!!!
I just heard some great news!
In Kuching's CV this time around, there will be 11 CV graduates who are under 18, which means only kids.
There will probably be 3 kid Logistics: me, Emily and Sian.
Then, the other kids who will be attending CV4: Nana, Sarah, Delphine, Bryan, Mabel, Angel, Eric and Elwin.
I think this will probably be a very special event, because I think so far this is the first time more than 10 kid CV graduates will be on the scene. Wow!! A true historical event!
I hope you will be here to witness it!!!
See you there!
Love,
Natalie

Everything Happens for a Reason

Don't get mad at the world for sending you the 'wrong' thing. The universe works in mysterious ways, so everything that happens, happens for a reason.

For example, you could be looking for a book but the bookstore didn't have it. So you randomly pick up a book from the shelf, and that turns out to be a life changing book...

You may think this is very strange, but this is really the law of attraction. This was meant to be. So the reason you have this incident happen to you affects you or those around you sooner or later in life.

So, make the right choices, for it will determine your future. There will come the time when you look back on that choice of yours, and be so grateful... or resent it. Either way, everything that happens in our life is significant. Be careful what you choose!

Spice It Up!

Do you ever get the feeling that there are classes that make you want to go to sleep? I don't know about you, but when the teacher starts going into all the facts and stuff we are supposed to memorize, I feel like dozing off...
Do you know what our class does? We know all the others are probably bored out of their socks too, and the ones who really listen are straining very hard, and they wouldn't mind a bit of fun, too.
We look for an appropriate subject to come up with, for instance, if the teacher is talking about... let's say something about ambitions. Then someone or other would ask her what her ambition was when she was young. I discovered that one of my teachers actually wanted to be a nurse... but she didn't get accepted for the job... and how she got to be a teacher.
These little conversations we have with the teachers really spice up our classes. We are practically conversation striking pros! :)
But sometimes, the teacher doesn't like so many questions. They might quickly change the subject, or get angry. We're so lucky our teachers don't!
This method of spicing up classes makes us learn things better... and get to know the teachers better. And after we ask more questions, the teacher is actually more open to these conversations, knowing that what she says is good for us and we like to talk about things that are different and more interesting. Say goodbye to all those sleepy-time classes!

Time Management

This is a request of a CV kid... :P

Time Management may sound like a big word, like something only grown-ups do. But it is really simple, and sometimes kids master it better than adults.

Ingredients:
Discipline
Memory/ A way to remember what to do
Knowledge of telling time

First, you need to know what you want to do. If you didn't know that, forget about managing your time because if you aren't clear of your intention, why manage your time?

After you clarify all you need to do, quickly give it a rating:
Which one needs to be done first? Homework, games or the house chores?
Calculate how much time you have to do all that, and
Give yourself a time limit to accomplish this thing. But don't pressure yourself!!! That's the last thing you need in time managing!

Then, do it! Don't procrastinate, and don't forget what you need to do. This method of work is soooooooo much more effective than just rushing around and getting things done the stressed way! Did I mention you feel so relaxed after you finish your job?

Hope this helped!!!

Change the World

Many people want to change the world... but they think they don't have the ability to do it. Well... the truth is... you can!

You can help by doing big things, but little things make a big difference!
Picking up litter, donating a few coins, helping someone you know or don't know... even SMILING can make the world a better place!

Of course, no one is stopping you from doing bigger things. You can organize visits to Children Homes, Old Folks' Homes, Animal Care Centres... Just to brighten up their day, and add a little bit more joy to the world.

But the best hing you can do to help make this world a better place... is to Live, Love and Laugh! Send your great energy all around the world!!!!

WHAT IS JEALOUSY?

Jealousy comes mainly from dissatisfaction towards yourself, and comparing yourself with others.
Some people are jealous because they think others are better than themselves. Some are jealous because they think they lack something that others have.
People react to jealousy in different ways. Some hate the person they are jealous of, some work hard to get what they are jealous of, some just keep it inside and feel angry all the time.
How do you deal with jealousy? Of course, tell yourself no one is perfect, and the person you are jealous of has something you don't, but you have something they don't too! Love yourself.

Birthday Party in Awareness

A few days ago I had this huge birthday party at my house. The only words to describe it are: 3M,and wonderbrilliantly awesome!
Let me give you the play-by-play version:

I woke up so early in the morning, cause I was so excited. I mooched around for a while, waiting for the seconds to tick by. Then, I got my parents to organize a treasure hunt. While they were planning it, I kept interrupting them, but they told me to TRUST TRUST and TRUST. I finally did, and it turned out...good!
Around 8, there were phone calls of impatience from my friends to my dad, asking when he was going to fetch them from our school. Since the treasure wasn't hidden yet, my dad told them to wait.... and I realized that kids can get so impatient when they're excited!!!
At last, the treasure was carefully hidden away. We went to fetch my friends and boy, were they a busload!
We had to split into two rounds, and I got left behind with two of my friends. They were complaining about this other girl, and I kinda got sucked into that energy... oops... but I quickly caught myself on this one!
When my dad came back and brought us home, I was preparing to take my friends on a tour of the house. But boy oh boy... greens work so efficiently!!! Nana had already brought them around the whole house!!! Yikes!!!
We hung around and played a few games, threw a ball in the pond accidentally, finished half a box of juice, ate all the crackers... we did anything we could think of to occupy ourselves. Time sure crawls when you are excited!
After waiting...waiting...and waiting,m the second batch of kids arrived. Then, the teachers came! We formed a line and welcomed the headmaster (he actually cared enough to show up!!! and he's planning another trip!) and the teachers. Only then did we start to eat.
We cut the cake, and did the usual birthday business. Then... the highlight of the party: the TREASURE HUNT!!! We were split into 2 groups; East and West. I was the leader of the West group. We searched high and low for the clues. we found clues 1, 2 and 3... but the wind was so mischievous... if you get what I mean! But guess what? The East team found the treasure first, because they found the 4th clue without bothering about the first ones. The 'Grand Prize' was RM 100, and we had to do something in a group with it. So we got into a 'campfire' or 'Alignment Circle' to decide what to do next. We threw around about 2 suggestions, until someone talked about donation. That of course, was a Green who beat me to it.... guess I'm not green enough :P
'Who agrees?' I asked. We couldn't forget the team members, because only an unanimous decision is an official and fair one.
Guess what? All 23 people raised their hands! Kids sure operate fast! I think, that if we were adults (and unaware), we'd be talking about... I don't know. But we'd be bickering.
After that we played hide-and-seek and got an older guest to perform some tricks. I was aware that some people really believe this magic, probably because of the way they are brought up. Some parents use scary fairy tales to force their kids into becoming good. This just increases their fear.
After that everyone went home. Some had so much fun they stayed behind longer.
All I can say is, that is a birthday worth remembering, and a time worth re-living!