Keeping track

Somethings don’t change. Time goes on, life goes on, people go on. It’s like when you stare out of the window of a moving train. Everything keeps slipping past, before you have a chance to register what’s going on. It appears as if the world is moving past you, even though it’s you who are moving past the world. However, somethings, like the blue board with white letters that shows each station, remain consistent. Yes, the letters have changed, but the structure is the same. It forms a consistent pattern. The things that don’t change, or rather, change in a consistent way, help you keep track in the midst of all the blur.

written by justateenagegirl

Quote collection #1

Sometimes you just have to take a step back, and have a good look at your life. Marvel at it’s complexity, and feel that wonder inside your heart.

Posted by justateenagegirl

7 Tips to win an argument!!!

1) Draw your boundaries – when you are defending something, always be clear on how far along the spectrum you are willing to defend. Draw a parameter, decide on how much you are comfortable with defending. For example- the argument could be that cigarettes should be banned.
You could choose to say that “cigarettes should be banned for less than 18 year olds and people with severe health conditions”. By that statement, you only defend a certain category, and not the whole population, and therefore, your argument becomes easier.

2) Structure your argument – the simplest yet effective structure is the 2 premise model. Your justifications will be arranged in a logical manner that adds strength to your case.
For example:
Premise 1 – examinations cause stress
Premise 2- stress causes students to perform poorly
Conclusion – therefore exams are harmful and not effective.
If displayed in such manner, it is hard to come up with something to break an extremely logical reasoning.

3) Define a principle – be clear in what exactly your contention is. If you only have a vague idea, it is easy for your opponent to find loopholes in your argument. If someway through your case, you deviate from your principle, that’s ok as well. Sometimes covering other stuff around your contention only adds to the strength of your case. But it’s essential to have a very clear definition at the beginning, or your whole argument can crumble, because it’s on an unstable base.

4) Be aware of the stakeholders – the stakeholders are the people affected by your argument. Using our previous argument, “cigarettes should be banned”, we can conclude that the stakeholders are the cigarette companies, people who smoke and the government. Structure your argument in a way that appeals to the people who are interested and most concerned about that fact. Be aware of where they stand and to what extent you can push them towards your argument.

5) Think practically – you could have wonderful justifications based on theoretical data. But it’s still easy to break your argument. So it’s always important to see how your reasoning fits the practical world. For example, the argument “cigarettes should be banned”, is not that practical. It will cause a public outcry, a massive unbalance in the economy, and may even lead to the government being changed. But the argument “cigarettes should be banned for less than 18 year olds and people with severe health conditions”, is somewhat reasonable.

6) Ask why – every time you form a statement or a justification, ask yourself why. It will not only strengthen your argument, but will increase your confidence level in the matter being discussed. For example, “judges enforce laws”
Your question – “why do judges enforce laws?”
Answer – “they represent the values of a broader community”
Question – “why do they represent the values of a broader community?”
Answer – “because not everyone can voice their opinions and make them heard”
It goes on like that, till you reach the final answer.

7) you don’t have to be right – this is the simplest yet most valuable tip. It’s ok if you are in the wrong. Sometimes half way through the argument, you realise that you are so totally wrong. But that’s ok. Just don’t let the opponent know that. Analyse your case, and defend it following the previous tips. Once you get over the psychological aspect of it, being wrong only maximises the chances of winning your argument, for you know all the weak spots in what you are defending, and therefore, it’s easier to cover it.

Written by justateenagegirl

What if

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Replay everything. From your innermost mind. The earliest childhood memory, the nightmares that kept you awake, the stuffed toy you slept with, the first tooth that you lost, the first tears that you shed. Remember the person you last waited for. Acknowledge the moments you wish you never let go.
Replay everything….the good, the bad and the ugly.

Most of us…..we are plagued by the deadly “what if”s. What if I had taken him back, what if I had said the words, what if I had never been there, what if I could have done something….
The “what if”s. They keep you awake at night, leave you wondering at your darkest moments.

Let’s exterminate the “what if”s. They don’t exist. So they are not true. They are not worth your worry, for they never happened, and never will happen.

If you could go back right now,live it all again….who would you be? You probably wouldn’t be you.
Isn’t that a little scary? Yes, you could change somethings, but not without changing yourself in the way. Who would you rather be if you weren’t you? Why change things, when they contributed towards your essence, your identity?

Go back down your memory lane. Replay your life. Cringe, smile and shed a tear at appropriate moments. Your life is beautiful….just the way it is.

Written by justateenagegirl

A review of Transformers 4: the age of extinction

So recently,I owed my younger brother a favour, and therefore had to accompany him to the theatres, to watch transformers 4. I’ve already watched all 3 transformers movies and wasn’t that excited about this one. But I was actually ready to give it a shot, and try to enjoy the movie. I had no idea.

First of all, what is with Michael bay and explosions? For the first 20 minutes of the movie, I actually counted the explosions. A hundred and two explosions in 20 minutes. A hundred and two. This should be some kind of world record. I gave up after that, because stuff was blowing up faster than I could count. It’s just funny how everything, no matter what or where it is, randomly bursts into flames. The missile would hit the ground, and it would explode in 3 places. It does not even make sense!

Do you know what else doesn’t make sense? The way women are treated in the movie.
The lead girl character (tessa) has:
blonde hair – ✅ check
Booty shorts and see through shirts – ✅ check
Fake tan – ✅ check
IQ of (-5) – ✅ check
Lipstick that doesn’t smudge after multiple explosions – ✅ check
Ok you could have stopped with the booty shorts, but was it really necessary to call attention to that fact, focus camera on her butt, multiple times? We get the message, she is “hot”.
The girl character in the movie is basically an ornament, along with the BMWs and sports cars.

I’m curious, who wrote the dialogue for this movie? I just wanted to know so that I can stay away from his screen writing for the rest of my life. Like seriously dude, I know sixth graders who have better comebacks. This dialogue I remember between two characters (attinger’s may not be accurate)
Attinger: I have a saying, trust no one.
Lockdown: I have a saying, I don’t care
Uh…pretty lame for a guy who wants to exterminate the human race.

Ladies, there is another issue that deserves concern. The boyfriend. Douche bag alert!!! He is a race car driver who is supposed to make the ladies swoon, but all I could feel was disgusted. I mean, come on, what kind of person carries around a card that allows them to date minors? Oh and let’s not forget the Romeo and Juliet comparison. Bleh…yuck. In one scene, he tells the dad that he “is here to save my girlfriend, not your daughter” Ohhh so that’s why you were hiding behind his back while he risked his life saving your butt. What a wimp. Maybe this dialogue is supposed to sound heroic, but it only annoyed me, because it’s a pretty insensitive thing to say to a dad. I am a teenager myself, but I would never let any boyfriend of mine talk to my dad like that. Tessa was running into his arms and doing the “you are my hero” thing, while I would have just called triple zero.

Let me move on to the technical details. The editing. In one shot, a car is shown to be empty, but in the next shot, there is people in there. Magic! It’s almost as if Michael bay couldn’t sit through his own movie, to refine it properly. I wouldn’t blame him though, it’s three hours of non stop shooting and blowing up. Three whole hours. Half way through, I started zoning out. I would come back to earth with a jerk, to find out that I didn’t miss much, just a couple of buildings and a few hundred cars had toppled over, with no connection whatsoever to the storyline(?). 3 hours of attention is way too much to ask from the audience, and the movie really started dragging at some points.

There were some positive points about the movie. For starters, Stanley Tucci did a very good job with his character, which was quite complex, and succeeded in eliciting a few chuckles from the audience. Mark wahlberg wasn’t too bad as well. His character was a little cliche, but it still worked. And the best thing about the movie so far…the soundtrack was by imagine dragons!! I swear that was the only thing which made the long hours bearable.

When the agony was finally over, I managed to get back on my feet with difficulty (my eardrums were so damaged that I had started having trouble with my balance). The world was suddenly too silent and dull. I was half expecting random shooting and a couple bushes to burst into flames. I hadn’t left the theatre, when I overheard bits of conversation about transformers 5. I sincerely hope that they make another transformers movie. So that I can ignore it, and enjoy the feeling that I ignored it.

Did you guys watch Transformers 4? What did you think?

Written by justateenagegirl

5 things never to attempt while travelling

This, my dear readers, is just a warning, from a person who has been there, and done that.

1) never walk the opposite way on the escalator
It’s quite tempting really, to see what happens if you walk upwards on an escalator that is moving downwards. As a kid, I decided to experiment, to see by how much it will slow me down. What I expected was merely a longer climb that usual. What I ended up with was an almost broken knee cap, and an expensive doctors appointment, in Singapore.

2) never try to negotiate with taxi drivers in foreign countries
This happened to me in Malaysia. I was trying to be smart, and pointed out a shorter route to the taxi driver, claiming that he was taking the longer route on purpose (which was the truth). I could have saved about $15. But the taxi driver drove me around in circles, dropped me at the wrong place, and I was forced to spend a $65 more to get back to the hotel.

3) never get on a theme park ride without having a good look at it
My sister has first hand experience with this one. She wanted to go with a couple of her friends on this ride-thing, where you lie on a mat, and let this dude push you through a tube. The tube was fully covered, very steep, and like a million miles long. Water was running gently through it, so that the rubber mat can slide and let you drop into the water below. I told her not to, because it didn’t look safe to me, plus it looked really worn out. But she of course, didn’t listen. When her turn came, the dude pushed her in. We waited 5 minutes, 8 minutes and finally about 10 minutes after we finally heard the splash. But she had dropped into the water, WITHOUT the mat!! Apparently, the mat had gotten stuck half way through, leaving her dangling upside down in a fully covered tube, and she had to crawl her way down. If it wasn’t for her bruised and shaken state, I would have said the words. (I told you so)

4) try not to fall off a camel
No, this is not a joke. It’s a serious and sad thing. The desert sand in Dubai is soft as powder and warm to place your feet in. But believe me, it does not help the impact when you fall off a camel, and hit the sand bum first. Well, at least I didn’t go elephant riding.

5) never, ever, even think about driving in a new place with your faith in the GPS.
As evidence, I would like to demonstrate a particular incident. We were driving on the Sydney harbour bridge, and we had literally no idea how to get to a particular place. So we obviously used the GPS for directions. Our current location was in the middle of the bridge. The directions we were presented with: “turn to the left in 90 metres”. Ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case.

Written by justateenagegirl