Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The Odd One Out

This is an article written by my daughter when she was in Form 4 at SMK King George V, Seremban. She contributed the article for her school magazine. I retyped the article, without her knowing it, for I feel it was splendidly written and worth sharing with. Enjoy.
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I used to like school when I was younger. I loved having my parents send me to school every morning. How excited I felt whenever it was lunch time. I even remembered all the pranks my classmates and I pulled on our teachers. I guess when you were young and innocent, school seemed fun because it would mean you didn’t have to be stuck at home playing video games with your younger siblings. Now, I dreaded going to school.

My school days didn’t seem to be as fun as they used to be. I found myself hiding away from everyone thinking they wouldn’t want a person like me to be their friend. Group work was the worst. Somehow to me, those in my group did not like me to be in theirs. So I always kept quiet and ended up feeling sad for not particiapting. I kept quiet because I was scared that if I voiced my opinion, people would think it was stupid and hilarious. Maybe it was just me who felt this way but who could tell?

There were a lot of strange people out there within the school environment. Frankly, I did not think of myself as one but sometimes I could not help but wonder why of all people, God picked me. Being extremely shy, I could not remember the last time I went out with my friends to watch a movie. Come to think of it, I had never gone with my friends to watch movies. I had always felt uncomfortable alone since that was the kind of environment I grew up in.

Being a shy person made me a loner. Which was what I considered myself was. I went teverywhere alone whether it was to the canteen, the toilet, the laboratory or to the assembly ground. Some might think it was odd, but to me it was natural. But as a ‘normal’ human being,I became envious whenever I saw a group of friends walking, talking and laughing. So I decided to form a group of my own, for only the shy people.
As it turned out, no one in my school was as shy like me. Well, not shy exactly but a little scared to communicate with others. I had met a few though who were at a loss for words as I was when meeting somebody. When I talked to them, I felt a special bond among us. Robably because I felt at ease when talking to someone who had the same problem as I did. Surprise! They were normal too.

Shy people like us felt ashamed of ourselves because we could not seem to blend in with the people around us. All we could do was blend in with the wallpaper at parties if we ever got invited to one.
Feeling sorry for ourselves was our daily routine. Mine anyway. Everytime I came home from school I always asked myself why didn’t I do anything to change myself? It was not easy.

Being the odd one out in almost everything I did or participated gave me a clue as to how sad and lonely it felt to be one. Sometimes, when I came to school, I felt invisible. I tried being pleasant and friendly, but no one seemed to notice. I bet no one in my class knew me.


The reason for writing this is because I feel the need for all of us to appreciate everyone’s existence. Who wouldn’t want to be acknowledged? Some of them only remember others when they are in need of help. They take things for granted like for instance borrowing stationary items or money. There are people around us who are never never considered anything but a spare part. Just call us when you don’t have anyone else. That’s a little harsh but that’s how I feel.

Maybe when one grows up to be more mature and ‘adult’ it is ‘cool’ to be friends with those who remain ordinary boring or normal. Maybe in order to be accepted in the ‘cool’ crowd one needs to be popular, or own at least three pairs of tight fitting jeans, listen to ‘hip’ music, speak a different linguo, and ‘hang out’ in places that are trendy.

Right now I’m trying my best to be friends with everybody even if they don’t like me. Sooner or later, there will be shy people around and no one feels left out anymore. I really think that it is important to make others feel needed so that they have a sense of belonging.

Never let anybody feel that he is the odd one out because it will only make one feel ashamed of one’s existence and sorry for oneself. Do you want to know how I feel being left out? Well, it’s like ‘You don’t stand out and yet you don’t fit in! Maybe someday others would understand.


... Nurhafiza (2001)


Sunday, July 12, 2009

My Idol

I read this article in the Sun UK today about ManUnited stars naming their heroes. ManUnited present stars chose their footballing heroes ranging from Maradona to Peter Schmeichel to Robson and Roy Keane. But what surprised me was the fact that none of them mentioned and idolised George Best or even Bobby Charlton or Cantonna. Sir Alex Fergusson chose Dennis Law as the hero and inspirational guy in his footballing career (being a Scot himself, he has chosen another Scotsman!).

It was unbelievable needless to say that no one from the present United team had worshipped and idolised George Best. Man United was at its greatest time during the days of George Best. They won the European Cup then and he even won the prestigous European footballer of the year award!

And for them not chosing Cantonna is also dumbfounded!. Cantonna took and changed the United team and led United to its glory years and the present state. It was the buy of the century and the catch of the season when Fergusson bought Cantonna from Leeds. He had such an influential season with Leeds then and when Leeds agreed to let him go to United. that was the beginning of the end of Leeds United. Now that Man United has brought in Owen to Old Trafford. Will Fergusson be able to revive Owen's career and bring him back to thye England set up? God knows but I believed Fergusson may have just the right tonic and ways to tap Owen's flagging career!.

Like Giggs, I had always looked for left footed footballers as my idol. Players like Hoddle and Ricardo Villa (of course from Tottenham Hotspur), and Gascionne. My earlier idol was Revelino (Brazil), the footballer famous for his powerful left-foot shots and superb ability from free-kicks. Ever since he scored that goal in the 1970 World Cup from an indirect freekick, after a flicked by Pele, I have been worshipping Revelino like crazy. I used to practice his 'freekick' and try to emulate his style of play.

Then came Martin Peters. When Peters joined Spurs after the World Cup in 1966 from West Ham United, my love and support for Spurs grew stronger ever than before. To me, Peters was the perfect footballer, on and off the field. England won the 1966 World Cup and it was mainly due to England's midfield trio of Allan Ball, Bobby Charlton and of course, Martin Peters!. He truly inspired me!

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ALEX FERGUSON said: "Denis was my hero. I idolised him. When I first met him I was so excited. It was at a game in Paris, he had played in the first half and we went for a cup of tea afterwards. I thought, 'This is it, I've made it!'
"He epitomised everything a Scotsman is about. He was daring and courageous, he had that bravado about him and he had style. He was a truly fantastic footballer."
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Martin Peters

Three footballers rank at the top of the football cards league ladder for appearances between 1965 and 1980: Alan Ball, Martin Peters and Bobby Moore. The themes which link them are obvious: (1) they were members of the 1966 England World Cup winning team, ensuring their appearance on many cards from 1966 onwards and (2) their careers continued on well into the 1970s, meaning that they continued to be featured on cards of that period too.

Martin Peters was born in Plaistow, London on November 8, 1943. He began his football career as an apprentice at West Ham United in 1959, before signing on as a professional in November 1960. This was an era when West Ham were considered to have, on paper, one of the best sides in the league but never quite seemed to challenge for the Division One titles.

Peters made his England debut in May 1966, which makes it more remarkable that he was chosen for, and played a key role in, the World Cup Final victory. The World Cup final was only his 8th cap for England, and he went on to earn 59 more after that.

Peters' first appearance on a football card during the period covered by this site was in 1965/66 when he was featured in the Barratt & Co. A13 series of Famous Footballers.

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Tuesday, July 7, 2009