The Dysfunctional Pilgrim

Story 1: I had lent my student my copy of "Eldest", because he, in his words, "got obsessed with it". I didn't think too much of it. He came back after holidays and said "Miss, I read it like 5 TIMES I CAN'T BELIEVE *spoiler spoiler* HAPPENED. And miss, I can't stop using 'ancient language' (like 'thee' 'thyself', etc)" Ahaha kid, you're cute. You sound like me when I was your age (gosh I'm so old). We discussed some parts of the book together and I had to stop myself from chatting too long to avoid showing favoritism. I'm really grateful that I grew up in a reading environment. Having read widely, I have a small catalogue of books and authors in my head. It's easy now to figure out which book my student would like and recommend them quickly. I've been doing that for a number of my students who told me they didn't know what to read. It's almost like prescribing medicine based on what their int...

Seventeen's made a comeback. I have enjoyed their mini albums so far. There's good funky music there. Also, whoever's playing the bass in their tracks should get a raise 'cause those basslines can make a pianist convert to electric bass forever. I think what I appreciate from this group's music is their layering. There's a lot going in their tracks - chord progressions, melody lines, the vocal harmonies and ad-libs. The sound is always full. Not in this track. I find a lot of new music experimenting with the idea of space. Well, I call it space, but more accurately it's the use of silence. There's a lot of gaps in between the synth chords, a longer pause before the jump into the chorus, a drop with only light beats in the verse, before a stronger bass drum in the pre-chorus. Everything then hits a strong climax during the bridge, and that's when we can hear some of the quintessential SVT layering again. Melodies that have a back-and-...

It seems like every fortnight there is a new trend sweeping the classroom. First it was the dab, then it was bottle-flipping - I'm someone who's sensitive to sound, and the consistent but sudden smack of plastic crunching the floor tiles nearly drove me insane. Then there was that "yee" video, I have yet to be enlightened on what the joke is. I do not wish to be enlightened. I would prefer styaing in the suffering of ignorance. Somehow it moved on to rubics cubes (we're still going through that phase), and fidget spinners, fidget cubes, and now, for some ungodly reason, the librarians thought it'd be educational to sell 'slime' to the students, which of course led to the class flipping their slime, mixing it with more water to make sickly wet slime, spinning, looping it around like professional Italian pasta makers, trying to make their own prata bread and other creative functions. The problem with all these new distractions and trends that student...

I still know the address by heart, where The days were long and nights longer No matter the rush, I always had time It was almost like I could create time Back then 2am was ‘oh, still early’ There was no sleep and little rest It was okay to starve and keep running The constant chaos made sense The stress that gnawed at me At the same time fulfilled me When I bled I knew I was alive The exhausted thrill fed my drive Now I live a half-life of half-places Half-done dreams, half-begun plans A Half-hearted life between adult and child But a rudder that chooses neither left nor right is a useless one Maybe it’s because kid-me Didn’t imagine a year beyond 24 I’ve lost my way Because I’d never thought I’ll get this far This uncharted terrain overwhelms me So much so I’d rather the ship sank And I go down with it. Motivation - please find me again. I say let's just move, one simple step at a time But my head and my heart and body are split into different idea...