Now @loud has gone through a year of transformation and thus, publishing our new magazine in 2010; RepublicanPost (ReP). Student-initiated and student-led, @loud caters to students in RP and other polytechnics in Singapore, as well as to the public. We deal with issues ranging from youth and graduate issues, the latest fashion, movies, music, entrepreneurship, career ideas, to politics.
At @loud, when we want something to be done, we work together as a team to achieve our goal. We com from a diverse background and from all walks of lives, the @loud team is full of energy, is creative and is always bursting with ideas with its think-out-of-the-box nature.
Thus, our name A L(oad) O(f) U(tter) D(elirium).
@loud
July 2010
@Loud Online Launch
Chief Editor: Sakina Khaliq
Deputy Editor: Shaistah Munawar
Editor: Ng Si Ying Amandaz
Editor: Clara Lim Mei Xing
Editor: Teo Xing Zhi
Head Designer: Kenneth Pek
Webmaster: Yazier Nifail Hamzah.
Special thanks to: Khadijah Binte Rosli.
Basecodes: © Candycoatedmisery 2010
Contact us at: aloud.rp.gmail.com
By Sheryl
Competition takes place wherever we go. But is it all about winning? Well, competition is performance with the desire to surpass our rivals to reach our hearts’ desire. The presence of competition is inevitable in our daily lives. Working adults compete to be the best employee; students compete to be the top student and athletes compete to beat world records. However, I believe that winning in competitions is not really significant at all. The goal that we set for ourselves is to guide us, eventually testing our strengths and weaknesses.
As we know, the secular sports circle involves a lot of competition and brings us interesting news about athletes. In the Olympic Games, the paramount athletes of the world compete for gold medals and laurel wreaths. One such athlete whom I wish to highlight is, John Stephen Akhwari. A marathon took place on October 20, 1968. A few thousand spectators remained in the Mexico City Olympic Stadium. It was 7pm and almost dark. The last of the marathon runners were stumbling across the finish line. Most spectators were preparing to leave and suddenly, they heard the wail of sirens on police cars. As eyes turned to the gate, a solitary runner wearing the colours of Tanzania tottered into the stadium. John Stephen Akhwari was the last participant to complete the 26-mile, 385-yard contest. His leg had been injured in a dreadful fall and was bloodied and crudely bandaged. He hobbled the final lap around the track. Spectators rose from the grandstand and applauded him as though he was the winner. After he had crossed the finish line, someone asked him why he had not given up and quit. He humbly replied, “My country did not send me 7000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7000 miles to finish it.”
Not all athletes compete for medals, and I believe that John Stephen Akhwari’s goal was not to win a medal. He wanted to do what his country sent him to do, and he persevered on even though he had a terrible fall. He could have given up easily because he knew that he already lost and there would be no medal awarded for completing the race.
Competition is not about winning or losing. It is all about believing in yourself and challenging your strengths to the maximum to be the best that you can be.
Though at times, we can be discouraged and feel insecure after losing the “battle”, we should all take it as a sign that we should do better the next time round. We have to train to finish strong, and most importantly after a competition, we have to question ourselves whether we have done our utmost best. The key to performing our best at competitions is perseverance and persistence. @