Malaysian news: A six year old, William was kidnapped eight days ago.  
Last night, a corpse was discovered at a river, and today it was identified that it was indeed little William who died. 

Little William and his two siblings were left on the car while their parents went to buy a washing machine. His younger sister soon started crying for mommy, so William went down the car to look for their mother to calm his sister down. He was kidnapped there and then. For eight days, people in my country have been frantically sharing William's photo on Facebook, hoping someone would have seen him somewhere. Police have carried out a nationwide search, everyone was praying for the boy to be found and returned to his family safely. But no, he died, killed and dumped into a river. An innocent young soul, he left at such a tender age.

As a teacher trainee, I couldn't help but wonder what has gone wrong with our education system?  Was it family background, peer influence, media influence, or the failure of education that lead to such a murder?  What can I do as a mere person to help to change this?  What can I do to prevent such a case among my future students?  Or is it just beyond my control after all? -insert confusion and fear-

But people, I didn't just want to share a sad story with you today. (Though yes, indeed, it was a sad story.)

Today is a reminder for me that, 世界越黑暗，我们越要努力发光。
The more evil there is in the world, the more good we shall do.
To outshine evil with good, to use generosity to repay brutality, this is the challenge for you, and for me.
I say all this, feeling good again about the things happening in the world.
But if I were to be in William's parents' shoes, how is it even possible to not hold a grudge?

Have you ever thought of how shooting stars came to become? Here's a possible explanation:

Twinkle twinkle little star fell in love with John.  Knowing that it's impossible to be with him, Twinkie let her love burn, becoming a shooting star that scratched over the night sky.  Falling rapidly, Twinkie excitedly thought of how close she and John are going to become, finally on the ground together, no longer separated by a sea of darkness.  Twinkie didn't remember that to be on the ground, she had to first die as a star.  The people on earth who saw this true love could only wish upon a shooting star.  They say love is most beautiful just right before it dies off....

With globalization going on in our world, people have learnt to chase after what they want, even if it means leaving home.  My country, Malaysia, is starting to face problems because of this. Our youngsters pack up and run, when they realize there is more to offer in the outside world. Many of my friends are studying outside our country now, and many of them do not plan to come back. What will happen to our home, if excellent youngsters who are supposed to be future country builders, roam around the world, building other people's countries?

Here is a song I just discovered today, not a new song anymore, but still a great song.  It's a Chinese song, so scroll down if you need English translations!  :)  你家在哪里 by 阿牛。阿牛 is a great Malaysian singer and composer, forced to leave home to pursue his dreams to be a musician, as the Chinese music industry isn't hot in our place.  He also filmed his own movie, to share with the world the story of his first love.  Well, too bad the relationship wasn't successful.


Where is Your Home? by ANiu
Hey, little child playing with sand on the shore, what's your name? The village by the sea, is that your home?  To come here from the city, I've walked a long long way. I just wanted to see the blue of the sea, walk by the shore and count the clouds in the sky. I heard your Big Brother and Big Sister are all living the the big city.  You blink your clear eyes, and say to me, you wanna leave too, when you grow up.

Heyy, this sea is so beautiful, where else do you wish to go? The blue sea and the blue sky, are they too quiet for you? Heyy, if you really leave, no matter where you go, I wish that when you come back, you'll understand even more how truly beautiful this shade of blue is. Bring this shade of blue with you in your heart.

Some people will return home after some time, some people will leave forever. The monsoon season will still visit our seas, it will give our shores the same rain and wind. I am just a traveler, we met out of the blue. Every footprint I leave on this shore, the waves will gently caress them away.

This is not a perfect translation, there will never be a perfect translation, for each language is unique.  I just wish to share this with people who cannot understand Chinese.

今天妈妈打电话来要我上网查一下学校资料，课程纲要，看看有没有学费可以回扣，有什么东西要申请什么的。
放下电话后，阿嫲问我，妈妈说了什么？
当时，我觉得，老人家听不懂的事情，不需要花时间跟她慢慢解释，所以就随便带过，说没事。。

沉默。然后阿嫲就说：你现在好像不喜欢跟阿嫲讲话了。。

突然感觉被自己赏了一巴掌。
心疼。对不起哦。。