Chapter 92 : 4 Reasons why you should start Volunteering

Lately, I've been really interested in volunteering for events and meaningful activities. I don't really know what has gotten into me but my heart's just been overwhelmed with giving. And no, doing your secondary school CIP does not count as much as doing volunteer work on your own time cause it just shows that you have to do it than you wanting to do it, there's a difference.

However, I have to admit that my spirit for volunteering started back when I was in secondary school and volunteered at the nearby kindergarten and worked with kids. Ever since then I've volunteered for a Children's Home as a tutor and events such as CaféFest and a Flea Market.

So in the spirit of volunteerism, I've decided to come up with 4 reasons why everyone should start volunteering for whatever cause/event they support.

1. It's a fun experience.
I know people who dread volunteering and shun when people ask them to do it, but that's only because they're too narrow minded to see the bigger picture. Volunteering can be a meaningful yet fun experience for everyone.

The experience can be even more fun with your friends because you get to learn even more about them in a different setting. But who says you can't volunteer alone and still have fun right? You can still meet new people and make even more friends, so why not? I've personally made a lot of friends through my volunteering exposures and learnt a lot from them.

2. A feeling beyond words.
At the end of the long day, volunteering gives you a wonderful feeling that you can never find anywhere else. It's just so hard to describe that feeling. Having to volunteer the entire day, putting in your time and effort and knowing it hasn't gone to waste just provides you with that sense of achievement that you did something meaningful and worthwhile with your life. I can also tell you that it's also a very different feeling from the school CIPs that you normally do just to pass time and get CIP hours out of it

Not forgetting that feeling you get when your help is being appreciated, whether is it by the event organizer or even strangers who you've never met but are appreciative of your efforts, it just means a lot to hear a word that we either loosely use or don't use that often. I never truly understood the value of a simple "Thank You" until I volunteered and realized how it was like music to my ears.

3. Giving back.
There's a saying that goes like this, "give more than what you take."

I admit that I think that I still try to take more than what I give but I'm still trying to change and it takes time. To me, volunteering is a way to give back to society. Knowing that your actions can actually make a difference or even enhance someone's lives is really impactful if you think about it.

For me, to be able to volunteer as a tutor and teach kids, most people would be like, "that's stupid, why don't you be a tutor and earn money from tutoring" but I honestly feel that education is really important and not everyone is able to afford tuition especially kids who come from families that are not as well-off and I remember during my secondary school days I had tuition and I was struggling with the fees. So this is is just my own little way to give back to the society through kids by providing whatever knowledge I have to them to help improve themselves, that's all.

4. Life values.
It exposes you to the world and let's you see the side of life that you normally don't get to see and be in the shoes of the person serving you. It becomes more of you thinking about others instead of it becoming about you. It teaches you life values and the importance of being humble.

Like what I said earlier, I've never appreciated the word "thank you" until I started volunteering. It teaches you to be humble and that even if nobody's appreciative of your efforts you just got to stick to what you truly believe in and just do what you have to do even if you don't benefit from it at the end of the day. I also feel like that's one of the major turn off for people and youths today, knowing that they are not rewarded for their efforts which loses the entire meaning of volunteering in the first place. Most people expect a physical reward such as reimbursement or allowance or CCA points from volunteering. I honestly feel that the main purpose for doing any volunteer activity would be the fact that it comes from the heart that you want to do it because you either support the cause or think that your actions can benefit and make someone's life better and not for you to treat it as a mission for yourself and get the reward that's waiting for you at the end of the day.

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If you agree with the 4 reasons I mentioned above, why not go find a cause that you support today or an event that you're interested in and start volunteering during your holidays and make it a meaningful one? :-)

Chapter 91 : Come Alive! @ The Alive Museum

<ADVERTORIAL>

So I had the opportunity thanks to Omy.sg to visit The Alive Museum down at Suntec City and I decided to bring a few of my polytechnic friends because what better way to enjoy a museum than with your friends right?!

Now, before I start spamming you with pictures of what The Alive Museum is, I'm sure some of you have no idea what the Alive Museum is or might think that it's actually the Trick Eye Museum at Sentosa...

Well, you're WRONG.

The Alive Museum is actually not even close to Sentosa, it's actually located at Suntec City Mall #03-372, between Towers 3 and 4 (1 storey above Toys"R"us). So it's considered that the museum is in the heart of town. Yes, some of you might be thinking isn't it still considered "trick art"? but you have to admit Alive Museum sounds nicer cause it makes it sound like the exhibits come alive which is also some what true, you'll find out what I mean in just in a bit.

"Alive Museum is Singapore’s brand new fun and entertainment destination. Suitable for people of all ages, be it families, couples or tourists, the Alive Museum infuses and modernizes the concept of art into fun and entertainment. Sprawling over 10,000 sqft, more than 80 artwork exhibits are brought ALIVE with 3D painting, shading and drawing techniques that create visual illusions."

For those of you who wanna instantly upload your photos you took at the museum on Instagram, have no fear because the museum has free WiFi access! Feel free to upload it anytime you are at the museum!

So feel free to upload as many pictures onto your social media platform while you're there and make your friends jealous or even confused while looking at all your pictures taken at the museum, leave them scratching their heads.

I brought three of my polytechnic friends over, as the saying goes, the more the merrier! 

Fact: The tickets give you a glimpse of what you can expect to see inside the museum!

Alright, so what I really like about this museum is that they always have these stickers on the floor, which acts as an indicator of where the best photo point is for every exhibit, it saves so much time trying to find the perfect angle and people can just queue in a fashionably order! They also have instructions just beside the exhibit on how you should go about taking your photos so you don't end up looking silly if you spend like 5 minutes wondering where you should stand!

Vinice was born with her bagpack.

At the end of the day you'll find yourself having lots of pictures of you trying to prepare yourself before the picture is taken, which we normally call them 'candid' photos which can be kinda funny!

This basically sums up my visit with my friends and we took a lot of photos that I'm just going to take my time to upload it onto Instagram! So if you ever run out of places to visit or hang out with your friends in Singapore, feel free to pop by The Alive Museum at Suntec City Mall! The museum opens daily from 10am to 10pm :) #comealive

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The Alive Museum is also having a promotion! If you visit them during this period till 30 September 2014, you are basically entitled to a free meal at Burger King, which is conveniently just beside the museum! All you need to do is to like their Facebook Page, Alive Museum Singapore, and purchase a full-priced ticket. It's that simple!

*Terms and conditions:

• Offer valid from 21 June to 30 September 2014. While stocks last.
• Present original Alive Museum Singapore ticket prior to ordering.
• Limited to one redemption per adult or child ticket at Burger King Suntec City only.
• Not applicable with other promotions, discounts and offers.
• Alive Museum Singapore and Burger King reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions without prior notice.
• Other terms and conditions apply.
• Photos for illustration purpose only.

Chapter 90 : Change

Change, it's inevitable. We all change at some point in our lives, be it wearing spectacles, getting a hair dye and haircut, the change in the way we smile or even changing taste in the clothes we wear. I guess it is really unavoidable because no one can really stay the same and to expect a person to stay the same is just unimaginable.

The only reason why we change is because of the experiences we faced and the situations that we've been through and decide, "Hey, you know what, it's time for a change, it's time to move on from this phase". We go through this over and over again without realizing that when we change we also lose a part of ourselves. It's sort of like a butterfly's life cycle, just that we have many layers to it before we become a butterfly. I've been through this stage of change so many times that I just keep losing a piece of myself.

I guess this is all just part of growing up but you want to know what's the scariest part of it all? It doesn't just happen to you, the people around you go through it too. You might know someone one day and they're a different person the next and sometimes you just end up asking yourself "Who changed?"

Chapter 89 : Hopeless Love

I know my last post was pretty unexpected but a lot has happened since my last post and I don't really want to talk about it anymore. (more like I'm tired to even talk about it) But since the last post was on the topic of love, I just thought I'd expand a little more on the topic.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a hopeless romantic. I love the idea of being in love and everything related to love.

Don't you just hate it when you see your friends in love and you're just there, yeah, just you, alone. That sucky feeling that you know someone in your life is missing and you just wish that person could be here with you right now, pronto. Or that feeling you get when you watch romantic movies and the male and female lead just seem so happy to be with each other, yeah I'm sure you'll say it's just onscreen romance and they're not dating in real life but I guess I'm just sucked into this idea of love, so much so that everything related to it just seem so real. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not some crazy lover, stalker or creep, nothing of that sort.

Is there a way to stop being a hopeless romantic?

I guess the only way is to just do everything and think about anything that's not related to love. It's not that I'm saying "No" to love but I guess I just need to get out of the game (not that I have any game in the first place) and focus on myself (not the self-obsessed kind) and realise the things that I want to really do before I decide to be committed since this isn't working out for me at all. It's just kind of funny how things change over the years, just 4 years ago, I made a blog post in my previous blogging saying that- 

"I don't feel the need to get into a relationship yet? Or maybe they just aren't my match? Although I may have said that I won't get a girlfriend until I'm like 17 or 18, I guess I might stick to it afterall." -Marcus Khoo, 2010

 And now I'm 18 turning 19, feeling the need to get into a relationship but nothing's happened, guess I'm just trapped in this twisted circle. I guess it's time to really focus on myself before I can make time for someone else, I just got to realise that it's not my time yet, not now and probably not anytime soon :/

Chapter 88 : Love, Love, Love

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."

- James A. Baldwin

In light of Glee Season 5's first episode titled "Love, Love, Love", I decided to name this chapter after it. That's right, ChaptersOfMarcus talks about his love life and all things about love.

What do you really want to know about my love life? How do I describe my love life? It's definitely a wreck and hectic mess. How many times have I been rejected by a girl? Plenty of times. But it doesn't mean that I was never in a relationship. I used to date this girl and I wasn't that into her as I thought I was. Turns out I made a huge mistake and emotionally hurt an innocent. I also nearly got into a relationship with another girl who I thought I was totally into her but I guess I got a tad too carried away with the way I felt that it scared the crap out of her. (Basically my love life is at its worst.)

Love can make or break a person. It's something that everyone needs, whether if it's the love from your parents, siblings, external family or even that someone special we're all looking for. Unfortunately I have to say that it didn't work out for me in terms of that someone special. Just like Miley Cyrus would say "I came in like a wrecking ball".

So here's some tips/advice from me to you guys out there from what I've learnt if you wanna make things right for you and that 'someone special' in your life. (You might want to take notes.) I'm no love expert or whatever, but this is just what I've learnt and noticed so far.

ChaptersOfMarcus's 6 Tips for Relationships

1. Treat her like a Lady

She's not a poodle, so you don't have to tell her that she's cute 24/7. Use the word "Beautiful" instead and use it with conviction. (if you really mean it) She's not your bitch either, she's an independent human being too. There are so many other guys out there who can treat her like a lady, if you can't then don't whine, cry and tweet about how she left you because you couldn't treat her like a lady in the first place.

2. Be nice, stop being a jerk (It's fine every once in awhile but not all the time)

I see guys teasing their girl all the time, if you do it too much they get pissed too (They have feelings). gender equality plays a role here, just because you're a guy doesn't mean you get to be the one teasing her all the time, let her have a shot at it every once in awhile to make it even.

3. Be sure about the way you feel about her (cause you don't want to end up making the wrong choices one day)

If you can get yourself to say the three words to her face-to-face while looking her in the eyes, you pretty much know how you truly feel about her but if you can't or if you even have to take a minute to consider then I guess she isn't the one, you might want to look again. Just because you think about that person every single day, doesn't mean she's the one, it could be a crush or even an infatuation, it's very easy to mix that up with love, trust me.

4. Don't get too carried away, take it slow, (it's not a race or competition)

For those of you new couples or starting out in your relationship, guys, never be in a hurry to speed up your relationship cause there's no point how far you go if she feels uncomfortable. Understand that love is something that needs to grow even stronger with every step, it's like playing maple where you require "experience" to "level up", so with every small gesture, you gain a sum of "experience" and over time these "experiences" will help you to "level up" in your relationship. So never be in a hurry to try to get your relationship into one of those big hollywood chick flicks where the male and female lead just seem to fall in love instantly and they do all the crazy romantic stuff together cause in reality, it seldom happens unless you're looking for a one night stand.

5. Be Honest

It's one of the basic principles, what can I say? Honesty is the best Policy. You can never go wrong with Honesty. If you make a promise, keep to it, if you broke it, confess and ask for forgiveness. If you cheated, realise your mistake and confess. One of the hardest things about a relationship is trying to be honest with each other, because of the fact that we have so many flaws and principles we grew up with, it makes it hard to be honest because you don't know what will the other person be thinking about you. It's totally cool when you say that you don't care about what people think about you but you cannot deny that you feel something when it's someone you love. If you can't be honest with your girl from the start, it's probably not gonna work out in the long run buddy.

6. Life is never fair, neither is Love

If love was fair, then everyone would most probably have someone special with them right now. Just because you love someone, doesn't mean that person has to love you back equally, I'm sure we all have friends who put in too much effort in their relationship while the other one doesn't or where both parties blame each other for the break up although it was just one person's fault. Love just isn't fair and you need to realise that, you're gonna get hurt a dozen times in love. And you'll come to realise how silly you were before when you were in love.

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Sorry if you think I sound like a pessimist in love, I'm actually a huge fan of love but I guess I just needed to write this post to let everyone out there know that love isn't as simple as you think it is, it's more complicated, way way more complicated.

For those of you who are already in a steady relationship, good for you and I dedicate this lovely song to you happy lovebirds. The acoustic version of this song would be my wedding song, the lyrics is just so meaningful and lovely.

"Love suffers long and is kind, it is not proud, love bares all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things. Love never fails and now these three remain; Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love."

Till my next chapter.

Chapter 87 : Busy Bee

I may be busy but that isn't going to stop me from blogging! If you think that this blog was going to crash and fall, think again.

This blogpost would mainly talk about what I've been up to lately and why I haven't been blogging for quite sometime. First on the list would definitely be the fact that I've started a new business that's been occupying a hell lot of my time. If you don't already know, it's called Totes4U (Smart name right?) Basically, my business provides customisable tote bags made from scratch with any image or graphic to be imprinted on the bag. However, I will not go further into it cause I'll save it for my next chapter and you'll get a better idea of what it is about and hopefully I'll receive your orders if you like what you see! 

Secondly, 18th Chapter finally passed, spent quite a fair amount of time planning it with Hijanah to make it happen and I would like to thank everyone who came down to make 18th Chapter a success! I'm finally 18 and most of you should know how much I've waited for the day I turn 18 but I haven't really done a lot of things 18 year olds can do, so far I've only bought a lottery ticket and I didn't win... but I doubt I'll stop blogging even after I win at a lottery.

So what else is keeping this new 18 year old freshie so busy despite it being the holidays?

Well, I've also been preparing and setting goals for the new semester in Mass Comm, realising how tough it is to manage my time in the first semester, I've decided to plan my time wisely at the same time taking in orders, promoting and managing the website for the new business and last but not least trying to catch up with my friends every now and then.

That's all I have for you today, till my next chapter!