I’ve been sleeping like a log these days. Sleep, which is once considered a necessity has rather turned into a somewhat compulsive disorder, has begun to get the better of me. However it seems, I chose to view this serious addiction with a lighter, much positive perspective. Personally, I see it as a need to pay up my overdue ‘sleep debt’ by compensating with a daily 12 hour (or perhaps more) dose of sleep. A nice 10 hours sleep at night-time and another 2 hours of afternoon siesta are what I normally craved for. Is it hazardous? , perhaps not! I’ve been sleep-deprived ever since form 4, those who knew me since my secondary years would have noticed my significant dark-ring surrounding my big-brown eyes. Damn, no matter how long I slept of late, my eyes could hardly recover. Anyone has any suggestion? Please help!
So, hey, now it’s exactly the best opportunity to catch up on much-needed sleep so that I could pay up my sleep debt in time for my university intake. Perhaps it would be ever smarter to bank on future ‘sleep securities’ by sleeping more often now. I bet many of you might have never heard of ‘sleep security’. Well, it can be easily conceived as an early investment in sleeping hours to reimburse lost sleeping hours in future. Mathematically, if I sleep an extra 2 hours today, then I’m allowed a voluntary lost of 2 sleeping hours for the following night or so. Smart, right? Thanks!
In actuality, I used to perceive sleep as a waste of time, but according to a recent study, adequate sleep is crucial to maintaining good health. Shorter lifespan, cardiovascular-related disorder, and reduced concentration were most often associated to sleep deprive. To all folks out there who chose to down a cup of coffee just to stay awake without any consideration for your own personal well-being, do mirror yourself and consider the after-effects. It’s best to sleep adequately, rather than risking one’s health for it does no better than, err…killing oneself earlier (due to shorten lifespan) Sounds crappy, but I bet you won’t have time to redeem yourself once it’s too late, so make a wise choice and lead a healthier life.
Oh yea, occasional short, power naps also help to increase alertness. I often took naps in the past, since my school hours stretched from 8am till 4pm. I couldn’t imagine myself studying after school hours due to emotional and physical exhaustion. A good nap should range from 30 minutes till an hour; anything more is considered ‘sleeping’, moron!
Alright, that’s all for now. Time to sleep! Good night!
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Monday, 5 May 2008
Matriculation versus STPM
Eleven months ago, I was anxiously waiting for matriculation intake results to be released. All the excitement, thrill, joy and sorrow that ensued throughout my entire tenure as a matriculation student finally ended just two weeks ago. And for the coming two weeks, the stress and apprehensive feelings are set to overtake my mind and soul as my results for the second semester exam will be released, specifically on May 21.
Over the years, I’ve read from many sources that matriculation students are arguably unmatchable as compared to STPM students in terms of knowledge and self-discipline as STPM students are basically required to master a subject in more detail given the much allocated time frame (of an estimated one and a half year). Well, after graduating from matriculation, I can safely say that the matriculation program and STPM both have their pros and cons.
As a former matriculation student, I strongly believed that time management is the utmost important aspect to achieve success in this much-criticised programme. Since the commencement of the programme, I only had approximately 6 to 7 hours of sleep daily, just to make sure that I’ve completely revised whatever concepts that I’ve learnt or even did countless amounts of exercises to ensure strong understanding of a particular concept that I learnt. In a typical day, classes commence from 8 am and normally end at 4 pm. One has to properly managed time so as to have sufficient time to understand and know proper techniques of answering exam in the finals.
We only had short test during mid-semester and finals at the end of semester. No trial papers are allowed to be carried out as matriculation system is mainly based on the semester system practised in local universities. In nature, it teaches us to be more resourceful in finding out details and confidently elucidate a problematical issue to generate critical thinking amongst the students. However, it leaves much to be desired as this ideal culture was less noticeable in my college.
Needless to say, a student who has not properly adjusted to a totally new environment would surely face a stack of problems as culture shock is a prominent occurrence in matriculation colleges. Students are selected from a variety of backgrounds and across the nation, predominantly from west coast. We also had to adhere to specific dress code. All these are enforced to ensure no discrimination among students from poor and well-to-do family or different education background.
Others may agreed with me while some might oppose, whatever it may be, matriculation programme has been an integral turning point in my life. Although things might have turned out for better or worse had I undertook STPM, I’m still grateful for whatsoever experience in life that I garnered for embarking on this programme.
Over the years, I’ve read from many sources that matriculation students are arguably unmatchable as compared to STPM students in terms of knowledge and self-discipline as STPM students are basically required to master a subject in more detail given the much allocated time frame (of an estimated one and a half year). Well, after graduating from matriculation, I can safely say that the matriculation program and STPM both have their pros and cons.
As a former matriculation student, I strongly believed that time management is the utmost important aspect to achieve success in this much-criticised programme. Since the commencement of the programme, I only had approximately 6 to 7 hours of sleep daily, just to make sure that I’ve completely revised whatever concepts that I’ve learnt or even did countless amounts of exercises to ensure strong understanding of a particular concept that I learnt. In a typical day, classes commence from 8 am and normally end at 4 pm. One has to properly managed time so as to have sufficient time to understand and know proper techniques of answering exam in the finals.
We only had short test during mid-semester and finals at the end of semester. No trial papers are allowed to be carried out as matriculation system is mainly based on the semester system practised in local universities. In nature, it teaches us to be more resourceful in finding out details and confidently elucidate a problematical issue to generate critical thinking amongst the students. However, it leaves much to be desired as this ideal culture was less noticeable in my college.
Needless to say, a student who has not properly adjusted to a totally new environment would surely face a stack of problems as culture shock is a prominent occurrence in matriculation colleges. Students are selected from a variety of backgrounds and across the nation, predominantly from west coast. We also had to adhere to specific dress code. All these are enforced to ensure no discrimination among students from poor and well-to-do family or different education background.
Others may agreed with me while some might oppose, whatever it may be, matriculation programme has been an integral turning point in my life. Although things might have turned out for better or worse had I undertook STPM, I’m still grateful for whatsoever experience in life that I garnered for embarking on this programme.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
