Conceptions Of Success [continued]

The previous entry was way too long and so I decided to split it up into two entries so that it will not be too long-winded for everyone.

After having identified that Barack Obama was someone whom I deem to be successful and inspirational, I would now like to proceed and identify someone that is dear to me. This person has known me throughout my life. She knows me best and she is the only one that I can talk to, share my truest feelings and laugh with. She is more than a best friend, more than a confidante and more than a loved one. She is my loving mother.

My mother comes from a very small family. Most of her relatives are not locals and they come from Penang, Malaysia. My mother has a very intersting background. Her father, my grandfather, has Indian blood whilst her mother, my grandmother, is a Eurasian. All of them are Muslims though. My mother really has unique looks judging from her diverse background. My mother has 4 other siblings, 2 sisters and 2 brothers and she is actually the middle child.

My mother was very hardworking and diligent whilst she was studying. She had proved to many of her other peers that she was dedicated and took pride in what she did. However, my mother was not that fortunate. She was able to pursue her studies after the 'O' Levels exams but her family could not support her financially. My mother then decided to work with Singapore Airlines (SIA) as a flight stewardess. She truly loved flying all over the world on board a plane, gaining many new experiences as well as exposures of the vast and diverse cultures all round the world. My mother worked for about 2 years before she got married and had ME, as her first child...

My mother is successful in any part of her life. She is a wonderful mother to my younger sister and I, she is a devoted wife, she is a remarkable daughter and she proves to be a very supportive sister. My mother is really dedicated in the upbringing of her children and she stands proud up till today to see how far we have come in our lives. I strongly believe that my mother has already accomplished a lot in her life but she is still determined to do more for my family and her parents. Everytime I look at myself, I see a reflection of my mother. She is the one that I attribute my life to. Everything that I do has all been because of her. My success is truly because of my mother.The values she had inculcated in me, the advices that she gave to motivate me as well as the helping hand that she often had whenever I was stuggling. She had always picked me up whenever I fell...

My mother is inspirational based on how she is as a person. I look up to her and I see this lady filled with drive, love and determination. She is very strong-willed and goes all out in what she believes in. My mother has mnay good admirable traits that I see in her. She is someone who is very self-motivated and dedicated in what she does.My mother is a go-getter and she never gives up on anything. She lives and abides with her principle, "Work hard and play just as hard". The devotion that my mother has is undescribable and she just simply puts in too much effort in my sister and I. It is all for the better in future but she has such a powerful drive that is just unstoppable. My mother is somebody whom I admire and feel proud. She is the best thing that could ever happen to me and I feel blessed to always have her with me. It is simply incredible and amazing to have somebody with so much love, care and guidance for you.

ATTAINING MY GOALS THROUGH XSP

I was keen on joining this programme as I felt that it could give me a headstart in achieving my goals. I feel that through this programme, I definitely can gain a lot more exposure and I can probably acquire new skills, that can benefit me in the long run. The XSP would give me the opportunity to participate in many other programmes that may help me in future since I will be well-equipped. This programme may also give me an upper-hand since I can attain more experiences. To sum up my sentiments, I have high hopes for this programme and I would not let myself down. I will try my best in everything that I do or encounter and I will truly not give up. I believe XSP will change me for the better, in one way or another! =]

Conceptions Of Success

What does success mean to me?

Is it the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted?
The attainment of fame or prosperity?
A favorable or desired outcome?


Well, success to me mainly revolves around the first definition.I truly feel that success is something that we should be proud of due to the hard work and endeavors that we have struggled to put in. In return, all our efforts have paid off, leading to a favorable outcome which may be bring about factors like wealth and fame. Success is being linked to two very important qualities- Perseverance and Determination. With these two qualities, anybody can be successful if they put their heart and soul in achieving their goals. Success actually shows us how far we've come in challenging ourselves to never give up and continue to persevere and excel in whatever we do. For me, success does not have to mean attaining fame and prosperity but it is more of what you have attained for yourself, what you have dedicated your passion to and the desirable outcome after putting in all the blood, sweat and tears in what we strongly want to succeed in.

For me, I feel really inspired when I think of Barack Obama, America's new president-elect for the year 2009. Recently, he won the elections held throughout all the states of America. I would like to elaborate more on his amazing biography.

Biography: Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.

Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.

Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D. studies and then returned to Kenya.

His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.

Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).

He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African–American.

In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.

After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.

After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s South Side.

I strongly believe that coming from a background with a multiracial heritage, Barack Obama must have had to overcome a lot of obstacles based on the social perceptions people gave him. Racism was something Obama had to battle throughout most of his years in school as a student. Despite all this along with the poor family life he had-divorced parents and half-siblings, Obama still persevered and had a very strong mindset about himself. He never failed to give up on his dreams and ambitions.

After gaining all the votes from the various states of America, Obama won by quite a landslide. All his rallying efforts could have won the hearts of many Americans and judging from his charismatic self, Obama was clearly deserving to win the elections. Despite all the hardship he had undergone throughout his life, he did not let anything hinder his dreams of becoming the next president.

Was it the political Science degree he had attained?

Was it his determination to prove to others that even African-Americans can make a great difference in the lives of others?

Was it his lack of family support and misleading childhood that had actually led him to change for the better and prove himself to the rest of America?

These questions certainly proves the aspects of Barack Obama's success. The elections would affect global situations and not only America. I feel that he is a hero to many for what he has done and what he promises to do in his presidency term. Obama is an inspirational man whom I perceive can change the lives of many in one way or another. I feel that Obama has already accomplished his goals and dreams and all he has to do now is to live it. Barack Obama is truly admirable and I think many can look up to him and kearn a lot from his remarkable self, in terms of actions, attitudes and thinking.

Scholarship & Service

In this entry, I would like to answer a few questions based on what I perceive scholarships and services are being defined as. I hope these questions will prove to be a step-by-step guide to ensure that everyone knows how I feel about these two important terms.

§ What does scholarship mean to you?
- I see scholarships as a source of motivation. They actually help you to highlight the noticeable potentials that you have within. For me personally, I perceive that scholarships are not just money grants given for rewards sake, but they actually prove to oneself how determined and self-motivated they are in obtaining any goals and they seek to get a scholarship to acknowledge their hard work and persistence of what they have accomplished. Scholarships actually fulfill the definition of achieving success through the utmost perseverance of one's capable potentials.

§ What responsibilities does a scholar have?
- A scholar's responsibilities I feel ought to be portrayed in one's character. A scholar should display good morales mainly. I truly believe that a scholar should be diligent and persistent, takes pride in whatever he/she does and a scholar should have a very steadfast mindset. A scholar has to be sure of his aims and goals and should set a role model for everyone to look up to. A scholar should be admirable regardless of his background.The accomplishment of goals to the fullest as well as other attitudes like being humble and understanding, makes someone well-loved and respected, otherwise known as a devoted scholar.

§ What are some of the obstacles you think you will face?
- Obstacles are never-ending in this course of life. It will come and go but it is up to us how we choose to handle and deal with certain situations, and overcome them. Being a scholar, one definitely has to be open-minded. One can never simply eliminate the opportunities just like that, no matter how peculiar it may be. Another illustration that I can cite could be the on-going pressure from society. Others are constantly going to keep a lookout on us and they truly will have high expectations. We ought to make sure that we live up to them and at times, this can be very draining and tough. Thus, throughout my journey as a scholar, I anticipate tons of obstacles but I am not going to let them hinder my progress in any way. I will take it in good stride and try my very best to tackle the problems. I will come out as a much better person and so there is nothing that one can lose by overcoming challenges.

"Obstacles cannot crush me, Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind"
-Leonardo DaVinci

§ Is a scholar also a leader? How so?

" Leadership is the ability to establish standards and manage a creative climate where people are self-motivated toward the mastery of long term constructive goals, in a participatory environment of mutual respect, compatible with personal values."
-Mike Vance

- A scholar is a leader and even more. Every single human being portrays a sense of leadership within themselves. Like how the principal mentioned," Every single one of us will have to be leaders in our lives". If everyone else ought to be leaders, how can scholars be an exception? A scholar has all the necessary qualities for everyone to admire and so he/she should make use of that and bring others to soar to even greater heights. As a leader, the scholar can put all the attitudes, actions and thoughts to good use and influence people for the better. Scholars should make use of their positions and make a difference in the lives of others. That is leadership.

"The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been."
— Henry Kissinger

§ Who and how do you intend to serve as a scholar?

-I would like to serve everybody and anybody as a scholar. I want to show the world that I am a source of motivation to many out there. I want people to be inspired by what I do. The most important people of all would be my family. I want to prove to them that I am recognized for what I do. I can make a difference in somebody's life and I will be determined and go all out to achieve it. I hope that one day, all my efforts would be reflected on the upcoming generations. The world is getting really old and people have lost that sense of pride in what they do. I will endeavor to bring that back for the future of my country as well as for the future of the world.


I would like to end of with a really meaningful quote which I think any scholar should take note of. I hope everyone enjoyed reading my posts and I really am glad to be able to share all my thoughts and opinions with everyone.

"Consciously or unconsciously, everyone of us does render some service or another. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and it will make not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large."
-Mahatma Gandhi

MBTI- Personality Test

I found it really fascinating to know that my personality type is ISFJ.

Introverted (I) 75%	Extroverted (E) 25%
Sensing (S) 68%	Intuitive (N) 32%
Feeling (F) 75%	Thinking (T) 25%
Judging (J) 77%	Perceiving (P) 23%

ISFJs are characterized above all by their desire to serve others, their "need to be needed." In extreme cases, this need is so strong that standard give-and-take relationships are deeply unsatisfying to them; however, most ISFJs find more than enough with which to occupy themselves within the framework of a normal life. (Since ISFJs, like all SJs, are very much bound by the prevailing social conventions, their form of "service" is likely to exclude any elements of moral or political controversy; they specialize in the local, the personal, and the practical.) Admittedly, the problem is sometimes aggravated by the ISFJs themselves; for instance, they are notoriously bad at delegating ("If you want it done right, do it yourself"). And although they're hurt by being treated like doormats, they are often unwilling to toot their own horns about their accomplishments because they feel that although they deserve more credit than they're getting, it's somehow wrong to want any sort of reward for doing work (which is supposed to be a virtue in itself).

ISFJ- The Nurturers.

Characteristics:-

-Highly observant and aware of people's feelings and reactions
-Excellent memory for details which are important to them
-Very in-tune with their surroundings - excellent sense of space and function
-Can be depended on to follow things through to completion
-Will work long and hard to see that jobs get done
-Stable, practical, down-to-earth - they dislike working with theory and abstract thought
-Service-oriented: focused on what people need and want
-Likely to put others' needs above their own
-Take their responsibilities seriously
-Extremely uncomfortable with conflict and confrontation

ISFJs are go-getters and use their exceptional people-observation skills to determine what people want or need. They use their excellent organizational abilities to create a structured plan or environment for achieving what people want. Their excellent sense of space and function combined with their awareness of aesthetic quality also gives them special abilities in the more practical artistic endeavors, such as interior decorating and clothes design.

Suitable Professions and Career Paths for ISFJs

-Interior Decorators
-Designers
-Administrators and Managers
-Child Care / Early Childhood Development
-Social Work / Counselor
-Office Managers

http://www.kisa.ca/personality/

Reflections- My thoughts and feelings;
I truly feel that this personality test has enabled me to clearly understand my traits and the qualities in me , whether it may prove to be good or bad in the long-run. This has definitely changed my perspectives and I feel more determined to prove to others how successful ISFJs can be. After reading the various descriptions, I am utterly amazed that some traits fit my personality perfectly! I feel that some of these qualties really fit my ambitions as I aspire to become either a chemical engineer or an ambassador between Singapore and France. I will leave everyone with two qualities that I feel best describes me after taking this engaging personality quiz. Dedicated and Self-Motivated. =]

Till my next post, have a pleasant day!