My 12-Week Journal - Week 5

Hello, it's me again.

I am really sorry for the late update.

After the exam was over, I continued working on my research project once again. Unfortunately, there has been obstacles, errors and problems with my work. But, I believe the long-awaiting results will come to me one day, as long as I work hard enough towards achieving it.

I attended a seminar organized by one of the research centres in the Department of Chemistry last Friday. The speaker is currently a professor from RMIT University, Australia and his name is Professor Suresh Bhargava. The title of the seminar was "Innovative Balance between Creativity and Productivity: Nano Engineered Sufaces for Sensing and other Applications".

The seminar was quite informative and Professor Bhargava has demonstrated the successful research findings of his team. The seminar has also demonstrated successes that we could achieve in the future. 

I will continue working on my project during this semester break and attend seminars whenever I'm free.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for the next update.

  

My 12-Week Journal - Week 4

Hi, it's me again. 

Sorry for the late update as I was having a camp in the past two days.

I have moved out from my hostel and am now living with my seniors. It has been quite fine staying at my new place of stay and I am progressively used/adapted to my current living place now.

As mentioned above, I attended a camp organized by the Buddhist Society of my university. The camp comprised quite a lot of activities like station games, "Amazing Race", and others. The objective of the camp was to provide a medium for all the campers to get along with one another as we are going to organize a series of activities as organizing committee when the school reopens. 

The camp has also given me a chance to boost my spiritual/religious values. During the camp, I have gained more understanding about Buddhism through some lectures/talks by our "shi xiong" (seniors) and "shi fu" (teacher). I was also exposed to the morning and evening chanting sessions, which helped to guide us when we were praying during the session.

All in all, the camp was fun and meaningful in that it has helped us to forge friendship and bonds with one another and this will be helpful in organizing our future activities.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for the next update.

My 12-Week Journal - Week 3

Yesterday night, my friends and I helped in moving the belongings of our orchestra to a new place. It was quite tiring as we had to move a lot of things last night. After around 2 hours of moving the things, our orchestra has successfully got itself a new home!!! Although the new home is not as big as the old one, it still marks the start of our next journey in the upcoming semester.

And today, I have visited my future second home. I will be moving out from my current hostel very soon and will live with my seniors starting from July. And we were having a welcoming session just now. The session was great as it allowed me to get to know the seniors who are currently staying there. So next week will be the last week of my stay in my residential college. 

The residential college has given me a lot of experience during my one-year stay in the college. It is where I had a chance to make new friends. It is also where I set my current goals and my dream. In addition, it is also where I started living on my own and develop my current mindset and perspective. All in all, the residential college has offered me a wonderful (and of course, tiring) first-year undergraduate life.

I guess that's all for today's sharing. Stay tuned for the next update. 

My 12-Week Journal - Week 2

Sorry for the late update.

Last Saturday morning, I went for a walk around the campus and have been to the so-called "Bukit Botak" once again. This is the third time I have been there. The scenery of the KL city in the morning was, as usual, quite beautiful in that the city looked peaceful in the morning before everybody woke up and began doing their daily routines.

It took around 1 hour to reach the "Bukit" from my hostel and it was not really an easy task as I needed to walk for a very long distance and climb the “Bukit" to reach the top.

One more week to go before my final ends. I had a test for Calculus I today afternoon. I did quite badly and the time was not really enough. In the end, I left some parts blank. Well, let's hope that I can get at least B+ for the subject. So, wish me luck.

Stay tuned for the next update.

My 12-Week Journal - Week 1

Last Thursday, I attended a PhD candidature defense seminar given by one of my seniors in the Department.
The topic of the seminar was related to my current research project and the seminar was helpful in broadening my perspective in my current research field, i.e. computational chemistry.

Basically, the seminar discussed the application of computer software developed by scientists to solve chemical problems around us. The results we obtain from the field are most often helpful to provide further support to experimental evidence which has been found earlier.

My final is going to start next week. It is going to be a really rough challenge for me as I haven't really fully prepared myself for the coming final. Anyway, stay tuned for the next update.

An Apology for No Updates in the Past Two/Three Weeks

Hi all.

I am sorry for not updating the blog for almost three weeks as I had been having a really tight schedule to complete all the assignments before the semester final begins.

I will start updating the blog again. So, stay tuned for the next coming update. The next update will mark the start of the task "My 12-week Journal".

Regards,
Soon Kit

RSS Wrap Up Session - An Awesome Ending, A Start for the Next Journey

Yesterday was the RSS Wrap Up Session organized by SERU and Abang Mirul.

To me, the session was awesome!

During the wrap up session, I heard from others about what they have learned from the coaching sessions conducted previously. All of us have learned different things and lessons from the sessions. Listening to the responses given by other members have helped me to broaden my perspective once again.

The end of the wrap up session marks the beginning of the next journey, My 12 Weeks Journal. We were given a log book or "journal" at the end of the session. In the book, we are expected to record down all the readings/activities we have done/joined every week. Also, we are also expected to post them on the blog. This is to ensure that all of us are able to continue developing ourselves in our life.

In conclusion, the session was meaningful. And I hope to meet all other members again in the next session.

So, stay tuned for the next update. Thanks.

   

A Chance to Lead

Hi, it's me again.

Last week, I have been assigned by the seniors to organize a musical concert as the chairman. This is the first time I have ever been given a chance to become a chairman/president of an event or activity.

To me, it's not about having the glamorous title of a chairman. It is about the chance of being able to lead the organizing committee with our own unique and personal leadership style.

Indeed it is a long way to go to organize an event successfully. But I will do my best in making this a success. And I will surely take this opportunity to develop my leadership style and personality and more importantly, to discover what leadership really is. 

That's all for the sharing today. Thank you.

Punctuality - Tackled

Hi. I have a good news to share today. I have finally tackled the problem of punctuality, at least for one week!!! Hooray...

In the past few weeks, I had been late to the classes for most of the time (5 mins late), although I had identified the problem earlier. I felt frustrated and angry with myself last week, and so I tried to get myself ready and prepared earlier for going to the classes. And it worked!!!

Important lessons learnt: There is a will, there is a way. As long as we are determined enough to solve a problem, the problem will be solved eventually. Also, being punctual in every occasion is a key element of professionalism.

That's all for now. Thanks.

Wheel of Life

Last week, I attended the third RSS (REAL Sahabat SERU) meet-up with my seniors. In the meet-up, I learnt about the Wheel of Life. The Wheel of Life is actually a wheel consisting of 8 different aspects of life, namely studies, money, health, friends and family, spiritual wellbeing, personal growth and learning, fun, leisure and recreation, physical environment or any other thing that you think is important in your life. In the meet-up, I was assigned to rank all the aspects in my current life according to the scale of 0 as the lowest rank and 10 as the highest.

It is actually quite difficult to describe the Wheel of Life here. Haha... But let me just tell me what I have learnt from this wheel. 

This message given by this Wheel of Life is that life is unpredictable and bumpy. There are always highs and lows in our life. But, it is through this bumpy and unpredictable life that we learn to grow up and develop our personality. 

To tell you the truth, I have a melancholy personality in which having an organized and uninterrupted timetable is always important to me. However, unexpected problems and events always get in my way and I will sometimes feel frustrated. Haha... But, one important lesson to take note from this is that timetables are only guidelines and they should be flexible instead of being rigid and static. As the saying goes, "Plan less, do more". I guess I am still not flexible enough to get this into practice, but I will always remind myself of this.

That's all for the sharing today. Stay tuned for the next update. 

An intensive-learning yet enjoyable mid-semester break

Last week was an enjoyable mid-semester break as I had been given a chance to learn about conducting research activities. I had been learning intensively from one of the lecturers in the research group I have joined, namely the computational chemistry research group.

Computational chemistry is one of the fields in chemistry which focuses on applying theoretical and computational models to solve real-life problems. So last week I learnt how to conduct simulations of chemical compounds to somehow "mimic" the interactions between the compounds that would likely occur in experiments.

All in all, I had an enjoyable and challenging learning experience. According to the lecturer who taught me last week, I might have a chance to go to Thailand to give a technical presentation on the things I have learned. I truly hope that the day will come in the future.

Now that the school has reopened, I have to get back to my assignments which have been stacked together before the break. I have to work harder now to compensate for the time I have spent on learning computational chemistry. 

Move forward!!!

Passion (continued)

Hi, it's me. Sorry for the delayed posting once again. The flu had been playing with me last week, so I couldn't post it in time. Fortunately, I am feeling better now.

Today I would like to share with all of you my dream and my current goals. Actually, my dream has always been the same, that is to become a teacher in the future. I do not really mind about the level of education at which I teach. However, after having been through one and a half semester in the university, I have finally finalized my dream and goals. By current goals, I mean goals that are to be achieved in my undergraduate years.

My dream and my current goals have actually been incorporated into my weekly declaration speech. You can take a look at my speech here:

"I, Wong Soon Kit, hereby give my vow that I will strive to become an educator in chemistry, delivering all the knowledge I have to future students and inspiring them to become chemists of future generation. Therefore, I shall become a professor of chemistry and the Head of Department of Chemistry of my university, improving the quality of chemical education offered by the Department, to make it become on par with world class education.

My long term goals towards realizing my dream are as follows:

1. To achieve First Class Honours Degree

2. To obtain CGPA of 3.90 and above

3. To become the Top Student in the Department of Chemistry

4. To maintain active participation in extra-curricular activities

5. To display leadership qualities

6. To explore my interest and develop my fullest potential

7. To stay happy and energetic throughout my studies

Acquiring the true qualities of an educator has always been my passion while learning and exploring chemistry is my interest.

I do not long for luxury and I do not long for glamour either.

This shall constantly be my driving force towards realizing my dream.

I will succeed no matter how hard the path is going to be.

Thank you."

Every week, I go to one of the empty lecture halls in the lecture hall complex to give my weekly declaration speech. Well, someone would say that this is silly, but yeah, this is what I do every week and this is also what I hold to all the time. All these goals have been keeping me focused on working towards my dream. As I mentioned before, whenever I think and talk about education and becoming an educator/professor, my whole body becomes energized and I will become more confident in myself. 

Most people would question my sincerity as they think that I just want to earn a good living by becoming a lecturer or professor. Yeah, they have the right to question my sincerity, but they will never be able to imagine the joy teaching/education can bring to me. To me, they have been part of my life so deeply that I can never separate myself from the education career.

Nowadays, many people (specifically, the young adults and students or friends of my age) hope to become lecturers so that they can earn a good living and have an easy life. In my opinion, it is perfectly fine to have such a goal in mind as everybody knows the salary of a lecturer is really high. BUT, are we really able to improve our country's education system by having only this in mind? My answer is definitely, NO.

A lecturer or professor, as an educator, has the responsibility of improving the education system to ensure that our future generation is well-trained and can make contribution to the society. Therefore, we should never take the responsibility lightly. 

Indeed, I am still far away from achieving my dream and goals and I might not even be in the right position to say all these. However, I truly believe that my passion and my dream will always be guiding me, teaching me and helping me in making my dream a success.

And I shall stand before everyone as Professor Jackson Wong Soon Kit and the Head of Department in the future.

That's all for now. Thank you.

Passion

Sorry for the delay, everyone. I was sick last week, so I couldn't update my blog in time. I have been getting better now, fortunately.

To compensate for the post which should be done last week, I shall post twice this week.

But before that, let us turn back to what I said in the week before last week... PUNCTUALITY!!!

Concerning this BIG PROBLEM, it has been getting better.... at least by 5%!!! Yeah, I know it's still far from the target, but I am sure that I will overcome it one day...

Okay then, let's turn back to the topic of this post... PASSION.

Last week, I read the book titled "Passion2Income" written by Abang Mirul and Kak Elin. The book is an enjoyable and nice book to read and it is motivating.

The book primarily focuses on how to turn our passion, the things we love to do, into our source of income. The authors Abang Mirul and Kak Elin have even included their own experience to show that the ways really work. 

I recommend those who would like to venture into business career to get a copy of this book and read it. You won't know what you will get from the book until when you actually read it.

As I mentioned above, the book is really a nice book to read and it has given me another perspective on passion.

To me, there are some passion or hobbies which cannot be turned into sources of income. Actually, my passion is to teach. This has always been my passion since when I was still studying in primary school. This passion started growing stronger and stronger when I entered my pre-university programme (STPM). It has been leading and guiding me throughout my studies. With this passion and my goal in my mind, I managed to achieve 5As in the STPM examination held in year 2011 and was one of the top students among the science students who took 5 subjects in the same year. This achievement has reflected the effort I have made in my studies in the past and I am very happy and proud of it.

To me, I would not want to turn my passion into my source of income. Education is never a business and we can't use education to gain profits, in any way.This has always been my belief and I will definitely hold to it. The joy of being able to educate future generation and help develop their mind or perspective is really immeasurable.

I believe that this passion will continue guiding me to develop myself into a better and capable person so that I can become the light for the future generation in the future.

Haha... This is only my personal opinion on passion. No offence.

I think that's all for now. Since I have started talking about my passion, I should perhaps discuss it further in the next update, agree? So STAY TUNED for the coming update.

Punctuality - A Big Obstacle in My Life

The issue of punctuality has always been one of the obstacles in my life, even though I have been finding ways to address this problem. I do not usually arrive late to the lectures or classes. It is just that most often I get into the class just in time. This always cause me to feel stressed up because of the fear of getting late into classes. This issue can also be observed from the way I complete my assignments. As in the case above, I always hand in my reports just in time. The fortunate thing is that most of my assignments are quite complete and often offer me nice grades. However, the speed at which I complete my assignments and other stuffs is questionable. 

According to a book I read previously, there are three types of people in the world in terms of the way of handling deadlines: deadline-beaters, deadline-meeters and deadline-misser. 

1. Deadline-beaters refer to those who always manage to complete all the assigned work and duties ahead of the deadline. In other words, they have complete control over their time and they possess the ability to complete all the work in a fast and efficient manner.
2. Deadline-meeters are those who complete their work and assignments just in time. They do finish what have been assigned to them according to schedules planned, but most often their work are done in a rather hasty manner. They would miss deadline if there are unexpected events/problems which suddenly fall on them.
3. As the name implies, deadline-missers are those who are not able to complete the assigned duties within the given time. As a result, they are seldom given important tasks by the management committee as the committee would think if the tasks are really suitable for them.

Well, to tell the truth, I have a combination of traits of both a deadline-meeter and a deadline-misser. The ratio is fortunately, 70:30. 

Anyway, I think it's about time to tackle this issue so that I can have a better control over my time and over my study and work progress. So I have actually devised a small plan to address this problem. From now onwards, I shall make sure that I arrive to my classes at least 10 minutes earlier. In order to accomplish the plan or "mission", I shall stick to my companion, Mr. Alarm Clock. This shall become my mission for this semester. Indeed, I do know that arriving 10 minutes earlier to any occasion is really not enough to tackle completely this issue. But, I hope that by doing so it will become the first step towards making myself become a more punctual person.

This time I shall make this a success and I am sure that this issue will eventually be solved in the future.

Wish me all the best.

Regards, 

Soon Kit 

AN AWESOME SEMINAR ATTENDED

I attended the Discover Yourself Seminar (DYS) organized by Real Leaders Solution yesterday. The seminar was fun. I have learned quite a lot of things and lessons from the seminar. One of the lessons that are most important to me is that there are no challenges in the world which cannot be tackled. As long as we put in enough effort to overcome the challenge, it will eventually be solved. Other lessons include the importance of personal grooming, our personality and colour preference and so on.

The seminar was meaningful and it was worth the time and investment I have put in. I have made some new friends during the seminar as well. Looking forward to improving myself to a better and capable person.

Thanks, Abang Mirul and Kak Elin.

Welcome to the first blog in my life!!!

Welcome to my blog!

Hi, I am Wong Soon Kit, currently an undergraduate student studying at the University of Malaya. In this blog, I will update my experience of personal development and growth from time to time.

So stay tuned for the next coming update.