4th day

wow time really flies huh
one more paper left.

but i'm kind of relaxed?
看開了 haha

I'm good at things that are not graded or tested,
things that are not school-related.
Things that I truly enjoy doing
and I found out that they are sort of related to my personality..? :)


Well, that being said,
I need to clarify that I'm not saying this
because I don't do well in my studies and that I hate school.
In fact I enjoy learning.
I attend school for the fun.

I get excited whenever we get to read interesting gp/ih articles/handouts.

But studying for the sake of exams, tests and results
is definitely not my cup of tea.
What for?

So what if I get good results, straight As that ppl are working so so hard for.
So that you can get into a good university?
Of course, this doesnt apply to those who like boring subjects like math
or aspire to be lawyers or doctors or engineers.
They need to acquire more knowledge in order to be able to do the jobs they like.
 Yeah I understand.

But I'm saying this as person who is 100% sure that I am not going to need
any single of the subjects I'm studying now in the future.
Physics? Chemistry? Math? Econs?
Minimum energy required for a roller coaster to work safely.
Sorry, I'm totally not going to venture into engineering, the only time I will get in touch with roller coasters is when I'm riding them. No wait, I won't even dare to.
What's next? Shifting graphs.
Why WHY WOULD I EVEN END UP SHIFTING GRAPHS
LEFT, RIGHT, SIDEWAYS (wait they're the same haha), UP OR DOWN,
in the WHOEVER CARES positive or negative x or y region (i meant direction. haiz, fated to fail math tmr)?

But..
THEY automatically rank one's ability and one's worth by the number of 'A's you get.
Seriously, at the end of the day, what do the 'A's on your result slips represent?
That you are able to memorise the various math and science formulas?
That you know/understand every single property and characteristic of the different elements?
How is that useful for an ordinary citizen like me?
Even if I managed to get an A, I would have forgotten 99% of what I have studied after finishing the papers.
Not just me. And this makes the As even more worthless..

Then why the hell am I getting all the unnecessary stress?
Because I'm scared of failure.
Because of the way society works.

I'm pressurized by the society to work hard
to get good results.
No wait, according to them, good is not enough.
They want excellent.
You need to be at the top.
Quote from Jungle Fish2,
This is the rule of the jungle
that the adults have already decided for us.
And we have to follow them in order to survive.

But as of now, I'm rather positive that I will choose to do something that I like in the futurethan struggle with society's stereotype
of having to excel academically.

Who cares if I'm going university or not?
I'm gonna do things my way. :)

Try my best in everything I do, enjoy my time in school,
appreciate the knowledge that I get to receive (and hopefully retain at least 50% of it).
Then move on to the important part of my life- living my dreams.


Hope everyone will end up doing the things that they like too!
Including those who are aiming high for good results.
You'll never know until you try.
As long as you keep trying, anything is possible.

"“If your dream is alive, then one day it will come true." Seohyun of Girls' Generation.

f(x) Beautiful Stranger

I think the lyrics of the song echoes what we kpop fans feel.

"I fell in love with a foreigner, "
"That black shadow far away,
If I could meet you, I would run thousands of kilometers
The gun shot in my heart goes bang,
Let's go, there is a race right now toward you."

This is like how we fall in love with our idols, who are not of the same nationality as us.
While we do not understand what they are saying most of time,
we put in a lot of effort to find out, searching for translations, waiting for subs,
or even learning Korean for them.
So that we could understand them better.
If it is possible we go for fansigns, fanmeets, concerts, just to catch a glimpse of them.
Strangers whom we don't even know.
Going to South Korea is on everyone's list.

"Beautiful stranger,  I've fallen into your eyes
To the mysterious feeling, the language, I open my heart.
Beautiful stranger, people say that you are dangerous
They don't try to see the you that I see, no"

We are attracted to this exposure of language and music that is new and different to us.
There's just something so attractive about this culture that we have never been in touch with before.
Despite the strange looks outsiders give us,
and them saying that they don't understand why we love them,
saying that we are going crazy and becoming obssessed with them.
That they are dangerous.
But what we see
When we watch them perform on stage,
we see the hardwork they have put in since young
we see their passion for performing,
we see the sweat and tears behind all these.
They become our energy to carry on with life when faced with difficulties,
our role models,
our inspirations.

"You came from a different image, a different world.
When you look at me as you extend your long arms,
Take me to the place you came from."

"The detachment of dreams and reality resembles you"
I want to get to know you, deep into that mask
No matter how heavy the door is, I'll keep it open"

We only got to know them through our computers,
they appear only on our screens,
even if we manage to meet them,
they still seem very far away from us.
Call it delusional, we still hold on to every hope...
We won't stop.

"The music that reaches through the tips of my hands
That music possesses my heart.
Beautiful stranger, you are mysterious to them
They are scared of you because they cannot understand
So they just push you away, no."

We may not understand their language,
but we connect through music.
The reason why kpop, music supposedly only understood by Koreans only,
managed to get so big, having international fanbase that spreads throughout the world,
is because music transcends all national boundaries,
and their music, catches our hearts.

People who are seeing this phenomenon don't understand how kpop got this big
Unlike American pop whose popularity mainly depends on America's influential status and
the international language- english,
this big scale of hallyu is scary.
So they just push them away before even understanding what it truly is.

"You came as a colorless light from far away
With a different look from another world
No matter where that is, I'm ready"

Summarizes our situation and our attitudes.
These people are from another country,
and with the fact that we got to know and observe them through our computer screens,
they feel so so distant from us.
So far away and high up.
However
This new feeling is so attractive
we are willing to throw ourselves in completely.

Kpoppers' dedication.

MY LOVE- EXO

So recently, I've added EXO to my list.

JUST LOOK AT HIS SMILE. OMG. EVEN THE CARTOON VERSION OF HIM IS SO FREAKING ANGGG. [CHANYEOL]

List: 1. SNSD Girls' Generation 2. EXO 3. B.A.P

Look at CHANYEOL's welcoming BBUING BBUING

Exo is the only group that I have problem choosing a bias and a fixed otp. Everytime I think I've decided on one, somebody will definitely come ruin my list.

Yes, XIUMIN you and your BAO.

CHANYEOL AND BAEKHYUN

Guess that shows how attractive each member is, huh? :D

CHANYEOL AND KRIS. tsk tsk CHANYEOL you player..

The members are all close with each other (chanyeol, luhan, kris are like the top players in the group ==) I just can't ship ONE couple. 

It's just so difficult to choose an otp in EXO, so now EXO do it in THREEs.

I can't get enough of them. I need my daily EXO dose to calm feed my fangirl's heart.

And fellow EXOTICS are really good at drawing. WAE YOU LUHAN DEER SO CUTE

It's been a long time I've fangirled over a boy group and this year is like a change for me. B.A.P. and then now EXO. This year's rookies are really good. 2012, the year of rookie boy groups I guess. They are all charismatic and talented. MY TYPE. :D

From now on, I'm going to enjoy my mayo and roll like a buffalo!~

awww my LUHAN SEHUNNNNNNNNN

THERE, GOOD.

The forces of KPOP

Just went to check out this week's youtube music charts, and WOW kpop is the only asian music that is dominating the charts. Talk about the rise of the hallyu wave!

4- f(x) electric shock mv
11- tts twinkle mv
49- bigbang monster mv
65- bigbang fantastic baby mv
68- wondergirls like this mv
69- f(x) electric shock teaser

Then so I went on to watch the videos and as usual, I took a look at the comments.

All of them were about voting for the mama 20s awards. Look at how dedicated we are man. It's practically wartime now in KPOP. SONES, VIPS, WONDERFULS are all gathering their members to vote for their groups. This is like really cool- fandoms are like troops of armies. Sometimes they get allies, sometimes they have fanwars. I don't know how to explain what I feel. But really. Wow. :D

the rule of the jungle; jungle fish 2

after watching jungle fish2 i came up with the following conclusion/reflections

as a student, no matter how much we dislike about the school system, the way the society works,
no matter how much we try to change it,
we wont succeed.

and as we enter the adult stage,
we will eventually give up and conform,
and follow the rules of this dirty game.

a comment i saw on youtube:
"Actually what killed Hyo An , is the fact that how limited one's power is to change something because people are all gonna concede defeat to the cruel society . "

kpop

I'm glad that I've found KPOP.

1. Its impact; how it unites people.


It always amaze me when I see people of different races and cultural backgrounds gather together for flashmobs or concerts, singing to the kpop songs in korean, which is not their first language.
People often criticise kpoppers for being stupid followers, and say that they do not understand why we, are listening to something that we dont even understand.
Firstly, well, yeah we don't really know what they're singing. (But we do search up the engromhan lyrics or sometimes we're just too pro we can understand korean:P).

International fans waiting for the arrival of smtown artistes at the airport.

But this proves another point about kpop that it is not just about the lyrics, but it is the whole package, the combination of nice tune, beats, dance that captivates such an international audience. Hey, isn't this a proof of how powerful music is? Kpop, is so good that the beauty of it is reflected in its wide receptance across the globe.

Girls Generation's The Boys MV on youtube a few days after released

You don't need words, to convey feelings and emotions. Where words fail, music speaks.

It gives me the goosebumps and I'm proud, to see kpop expanding all over the world. The seas of pearl red, sapphire blue, pastel rose pink, yellow crowns, etc.

Like the soshi bond, we sones are bonded together too, by the pink lightsticks we have in our hands.

VIPs at Big Bang's Bigshow Concert

 The loud fanchants, IN KOREAN, being shouted everywhere else in the world. Singapore, US, Paris, Indonesia, Thailand, Hongkong, Taiwan, EVERYWHERE.

Sones forming the words "Please don't leave" in Korean (kajimayo) during Girls' Generation's Concert

The names of the groups we loved appearing on newspapers in different languages. Bloomsberg, Times, NY Daily News, CNN, LA Times, The Straits Times, in Norwegian, German, Chinese, French etc.

Elfs at Super Junior's Super Show concert, with their sapphire blue lightsticks.

2. The Idols

We kpoppers like kpop not just for the music. We support the singers too.
Idols. They are not just a bunch of handsome and pretty faces. They are not just singers. They dance, host, act, model, etc.
They perform. They love the stage. They have a passion for music and the arts.

Eunhyuk, member of Super Junior

And also, to us, we see a lot more.

"It was difficult going down a different road from my friends." -Seohyun, Girls' Generation

We see their past- how hard they trained as trainees. How they juggled school with trainings that go all the way till midnight. We see their passion, how they persisted in what they want, how they persevered and didn't give up. How much they've struggled till today, with the hate they face, with their tough schedules, and how much they have sacrificed. Family time, time with their friends and schoolmates, and childhood.

Luna, member of f(x)

Haters love to criticise. But they often do so without thinking. Look, these idols are our age, or even younger.

Minho, member of SHINee

We have our happy lives, we procrastinate, we get to slack around and do whatever children our age do. But they can't.
When we are watching our kiddy shows and dramas, they are dancing and sweating in the studios.
When we are falling asleep in class, they are performing in music programmes, having to repeat the same song routine for 5to 8times for just a 3minute long appearance on tv.
When we are eating our dinners in front of our tvs or computers, these idols are probably on their way to their next interview or filming.
When we are sleeping comfortably at home, they had to catch their sleeps in between their schedules.

"I fall many times, but I never gave up." - Yuri, Girls' Generation

Plastics? Well, some yes but they certainly have a good character that we don't even have. And so? Millions in US, China or elsewhere does it anyway so I don't see it as something negative. Talentless? Hah, 1 from a 1000 audtionees and ~5years of training. Just a bunch of pretty faces who cannot sing? Think again.

Leeteuk, leader of Super Junior

So this is why we love them so much. Are we crazy? I would like to say that we know more about love.
Their stories are so motivational and their attitudes are something worth learning from.

They live for their dreams, they live for the stage.

EXO and their seniors Taetiseo from Girls' Generation

Soshi bond; Girls' Generation, the Nation's Girl Group

Yuri and Tiffany from Girls' Generation

Girls' Generation when receiving prize

EXO with Girls' Generation

SMTOWN artistes

SMTOWN artistes at the airport

Another thing that touches me a lot is the friendship they have within the group and within the company. 

JYP Nation artistes

YG Family artistes and dancers

Members of 2AM, Miss A, and Wonder Girls

Also because I've faced so much hate as a kpopper, I've learnt how to love. And I grew stronger.

3. There's so much to it.

Something I found out. That makes kpop so special and different from other pop cultures.
Unlike how people (outsiders) view kpop, as a thing by itself, kpop, is actually a packaging of a whole lot of things, including the variety show, the fandom, the korean culture and all random things.
The topics are endless you can just keep talking about it and keep analyzing. Analyze the different fandoms and the relationship between them. 

Supporting messages from Blackjacks, Elfs and Sones

Analyze the different shows and comedians. Oh, kpop is so cool that some fans even know about people whom are not idols. Take YG fans for example, they even know the dancers and producers. :D

The world of kpop is boundless. I'm still learning. :)


[kpop is so awesome this article ive written doesnt do it enough justice. :P
so to know more about it, get involved in it yourself and you will learn, a lot :) ]