School children should not have long holidays. Do you agree?

When asked if school children should have long holidays, the answers of different individuals will
certainly differ. Some people have the opinion that school children should be entitled to long
holidays while the others disagree. From my point of view, school children should be given long
holidays. I have my own reasons for thinking so.
The freedom of school children is normally restricted by their parents during the school days as
they want their children to focus on their studies in order to pass their examinations with flying
colours. Apart from schooling, they have to spend a lot of time doing their homework and attending
tuition classes as well. As a result, they hardly have any time left for leisure pursuits. During school
holidays, more freedom is usually given and children are able to spend their time on activities that
they are fond of. For example, if children have green fingers, they can spend more time on
gardening. They can also spend more time on their favourite sports in order to keep fit both
physically and mentally.
The arrival of long school holidays is also a good time for children to strengthen their family ties,
since families need to spend time together in order to bond. Examples of activities that assist to
develop close family ties are having a picnic at the seaside and playing sports and games. When
children involve in family activities such as cleaning the house and preparing a meal, they learn
about the spirit of cooperation and burden-sharing, thus promoting strong family ties. Besides, they
learn to be more independent and responsible when they do household chores such as washing
the clothes and dishes, sweeping the floor, laying the table before a meal, making their own beds,
and so forth.
Another reason why long holidays are necessary is that children need to meet other relatives and
to socialise with friends in the community so as to improve their interpersonal skills, since 'no man
is an island'. This can be extremely beneficial to them and helps them be better equipped
especially when they grow up and starts working in the society.
It is true that many parents face problems during long school holidays as their children waste their
time by spending it on undesirable activities such as playing too much computer games and getting
into bad company. However, I believe that such problems can be solved through proper planning,
guidance and time management.
Though there are disadvantages for school children to have long school holidays, the benefits far
outweigh the disadvantages. As the saying goes, 'all work and no play make Jack a dull boy'.
Therefore, I disagree that school children should not have long holidays.

Describe the biggest challenge in your life

I had a pampered and protected childhood. As the youngest daughter, I was the princess and
prima donna of our family. I usually got what I wanted, much to the envy of my two brothers and a
sister.
When I was ten years of age, I had an illness with strange symptoms such as giddiness, tiredness
and nausea. Apart from that, I also had unusual bruising and a cut on my finger that would not stop
bleeding. Extremely apprehensive of my condition, my parents brought me to hospital, where I
underwent tests. A few days later, I was diagnosed with leukaemia.
When the doctor broke the bad news to me and my parents, we were flabbergasted. My parents
had never expected me to have blood cancer. I could not even accept the news.
"How could this be?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "What have I done to deserve this?"
When the doctor said that I had only fifty chance of survival, I started to breakdown and cry.
That day when we went home, I felt like the end of the world was coming. I began throwing
tantrums. Locking myself in my bedroom, I wept and refused to see anyone. I did not want to eat
anything too. My parents, siblings, relatives and friends talked to me outside my bedroom door.
After some time, they managed to cajole me into opening the door. In my room, they comforted me
and emphasised that they cared for me and loved me very much. They also assured me that I was
not alone in the battle against the disease and they would always support me and be with me all
through the fight for survival. Their assurance and encouragement touched me deeply and I finally
accepted the facts. With teary eyes, I thanked them for standing by my side and for giving me the
strength to carry on.
The next day, I was admitted to hospital, where I was being treated almost immediately. Tubes
were being inserted all over my body. I had to undergo eight operations and five bouts of
chemotherapy. I experienced quite a number of side effects, including the lack of appetite, fatigue,
diarrhea, constipation and hair loss. My skin was itchy, dry and red while my nails became yellow
and cracked. My aunt almost fainted when she came to visit me and saw me pulling out my hair!
During my treatment period at hospital, a religious friend of mine came to see me. She introduced
me to her religion. I was glad to be able to turn to God for spiritual comfort.
I was hospitalised for six months. Now I am aged seventeen. I am thankful that I have been cured
of the sickness and it has never relapsed since the completion of my treatment. I have to go for
regular checkups, though. I owe those around me a great debt of gratitude. Without their love,
encouragement and moral support, I doubt if I would be able to make it. Through the biggest
challenge of my life, I have learnt to become stronger in many ways. I have also learnt the
importance of living life to the full.

Water
I flew over the water, my hand skimming the water's surface. I loved the water - it was so much
better than our cities up in the sky. The water's surface shone in the sunlight, its cool touch
greeting my hand. I sighed as I rose up high and plunged, stopping just before I hit the water
surface. Actually we were prohibited from going anywhere near the water. People claimed to have
seen the merpeople, the race that supposedly inhabited this watery realm. But to me that was just
nonsense, since I frequented here and I had never seen one.
Just as I flew over the water, a shimmery torpedo shape appeared below the surface. All of a
sudden, a mermaid burst out of the water, laughing as she was greeted by the water as she
plunged back in. I could hardly believe my eyes. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever
seen.
"Come and play with me!" she said in a rich melodious voice and giggled. I floated above her as
she swam in circles around me. Her blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders in thick waves and
her grin made me shudder a little.
"I can't. I've got to go," I said as I prepared to take off.
"Don't be a wimp," she giggled and splashed some water onto me. Some fell on my wings, making
them heavy. I struggled to stay in the air. "Come here," she said in a hypnotic voice and motioned
to me with a wicked expression on her face. I started to fly towards the water involuntarily. My mind
screamed in vain at my body to stop.
"Yes, that's right. Come here," she smiled and I realised that other mermaids and mermen had
started to group around us.
Suddenly, a merman threw a circle of rope around me and caught me, dragging me downwards.
The rest followed suit and they cooperated to drag me down, letting out high-pitched laughs.
"Stop!" I cried out as I flapped my wings hard to escape. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my left
wing as one of them had speared it. Blood oozed from the wound and dripped into the water,
turning it into blood red. I tried to ignore the pain and flapped harder just as they speared my other
wing. I fell like a stone into the water, the cold water engulfing me. I struggled to keep afloat but my
wings dragged me down. The merpeople circled around me menacingly. One of them took out a
knife and sliced off one of my wings. I howled in agony as I watched the wing sink to the bottom of
the ocean. The water around us had turned into a bloody red. I was weakened by the loss of blood.
"Help me," I implored as they started to pull me downwards. Unable to breathe, I started to drown.
My mind was screaming for air but I was far from the water surface. As I was dying, I witnessed the
watery realm of the merpeople - a beautiful city made out of shells and glass. As I watched the
amazing spectacle, I closed my eyes and slowly drifted away into an eternal slumber.