The Wise Genie & My 3 Wishes

I was still so sleepy when my parents and little brother suddenly came to my room, gave me a birthday surprise. I almost forgot that it was my birthday, officially becoming a sixteen years old teenager. When I was thinking about what wish I would like to be granted this year, my brother shouted aloud: “Ask for something incredible, sister!” Then an idea came to my mind; incredible things are sometimes hard to achieve, how to make it easy? Asking for a magic to happen would be perfect. So as I blew up my candles, all sixteen candles in once, I said to myself: “I hope my wish come true.” After two hours full of laughter with my family: saying jokes, playing games, eating cake and watching movie, I finally went back to my room.

Few minutes later, my door’s bell rang unexpectedly. “Who is coming?” I really wondered about it while I was walking to the front door. I opened the door and saw a man in a perfect suit, holding a box of present. “Wow, is that for me?” Yes it was. After I thanked him, I started begging him to tell me who the sender was. But he immediately said: “It is a secret. I cannot tell you now, but you will get to know it soon.” and then he left.

                Tons of curiosity filled me up, from head to toe. “Is it from my friends or cousins?” Arguing with my own self was not an easy thing to do, so I decided to open the present and look for something to do with it rather than took care of who the sender was.

It was a set of antique teapot.

                Since I had no idea to do with the present, I planned to put it in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the floor was so slippery and I dropped off the biggest, shiniest, antique pot. PUFF! My eyes popped up from its place when I saw who was in front of me. A beautiful woman came out from the pot. She’s a genie!

“I will grant your wishes, but only 3, so use it wisely...” said the genie.

***

                Every human has dreams in their life. They wish to have a better life, to be beautiful, to be rich and happy, etc. A young girl like me also has dreams! I wonder if I found a genie lamp, where the genie inside is willing to grant me 3 wishes. Choosing 3 wishes out of uncountable wishes is really hard. But here are the top three things I’d love to be granted.

                The very first thing, I would like to ask for a time machine. Many mistakes had been done in the past, will be able to be fixed. Not only moving time backward, but also forward. Knowing future is something really amazing. I could prepare things I would need in the future, solve any problem, and even help other people! I could also go to every place and period I want. Maybe go to Dinosaurs’ era? Or go to the Mars? That would be awesome.

                A Doraemon’s pocket will be epic too, especially the propeller bamboo. I love to imagine how I can bring myself up there in the sky, catch stars, lay on clouds, and many more! Flying always makes me feel young and free. If the world is too stressful to live and pressure is everywhere, I wish I could fly so high and spend few days in Heaven. Flying also won’t make me late to go to school, escape traffic, and travel faster. Fantastic, isn’t it?

                This is the hardest part since it is the last wish I could ask. How if I wish for another 3 wishes? Will the genie be mad? Well I’m just kidding. I would like to ask for a happy life. A life where I can help a lot of people, achieve every dreams I desire, and have a life like a fairy tale. I really wonder how my life would be after then.

                But I remember what the genie said in my dream: “Have you considered your wishes well? All you wish is able to achieve without my help. You just have to start everything there,” said the genie while pointing at my heart. “A grateful heart will bring you happiness and your surroundings will automatically feel the happiness too. You also do not have to regret the past. Let the past be and written as a memory in your soul. Let the future be a beautiful mystery to find out. What to concern the most is the present, the life you live right now. Keep your spirit up and all will come to you, definitely.”

                Therefore, I finally have a magic happens this year. It is a grateful heart and an everlasting spirit to achieve my dreams. I get up from my bed and pick plans to make this year the best of it. Will you do the same thing?

Written by: Devina Laurensia XIA-2/07

IF I HAD 3 WISHES

           If I had a genie lamp and I could get a chance to propose three wishes,surely that is the happiest thing in my whole life. I used to wonder what I would wish for and  finally I’m realized that truly,I’d have hard  time picking three because there are so many possibilities. There are millions of things I’d loved to wish for but i choose these 3 to my top three choices. First of all , I would wish every step that I take in my life are true and can work smoothly. I know that actually in the world I live in are impossible if there aren’t bad things. I’m hope that I can through it strongly and patiently without any complaints out of my mouth. With those problems and bad things,I wish I can learn how to be wiser,stronger and more patient.

            Secondly, I wish that I have time and brain machine. So, I being able to control the time and my brain.  Stop and speed up time, choose speed of the time on my own,make it slow or accelerate it. If I had brain machine, I would wash my brain from painful and deleted all of my bad memories. I could choose between remember it or forget it. I wish my brain had a speciality to detecting people that come around me.

           The third wish and the most difficult one to choose.If a genie graced me with his lamp is an unlimited amount of wishes or I have the power that the genie’s have without binding myself into a lamp. That’s sound so greedy and impossible, So finally,I decided to give my last wish to someone who needs them the most. I know this is probably one of the most foolish wishes I have grant in my whole life up until now. After a deep thought,I realized that I would be happier if I can help others granted one of their wishes.

                                                                                                ELIZABETH XIA-2/08

GIRLS DAY OUT

Every day routine is usually busy and doesn't leave us much time to spend it with our family or friends. Weekend will always be waited by most of teenager.Spend the day with the girls or families are such a wonderful day.I would like to share few ideas you can do with them.

Firstly,for me watching a movie is like going on a journey - a new experience I like to share with someone. In the cinema or from my couch, it is fun to watch movies with friends or families.Wathcing movie together is usually bring more fun.

Secondly, usually girls are very addicted with shopping. Going out at mall is a habit for most of all girls in the world. It'll be more exciting when we shopping together with the girls because we can go to the boutiques, try the clothes and help each other to see it , it good or not. We can also go to the cafe and gossip-ing.  

Third, karaoke is one of the best choices. We can sing and dance together. We can express out feeling through song. 

Elizabeth XIA-2/08

WAYS TO GET A HEALTHY SKIN

We all want clear and beauty skin. There are hundreds of different natural and medicinal techniques and treatments out there to help you but actually the most important thing is to follow a daily skincare routine to keep our skin fresh, clean, and hydrated.

1.Washing our face in the morning will remove any oils or dirt that collect on our skin while we're sleep.We usually sleep with the same bed sheets for about a week so germs and bacteria can patch to our face from these areas as well.Even more crucial is washing your face at the end of the day.  Our skin comes in contact with so many elements on a daily basis that contains bacteria etc.  It is necessary to wash off our face before we lay our head down on our pillow.

2. Skin needs hydration. Without hydration, our skin will pull bad oils. These bad oils cause breakouts that wouldn’t normally occur.An oil-free moisturizer is best to use twice a day.So,it's important to keep faces hydrated and see what a positive difference it makes on our skin!

3. Our skin restores itself while our body is resting. Sleep is a crucial part of our beauty and health so should not be taken lightly.Getting enough sleep at night can help us reduces wrinkle.Don't forget to at least 8 hours of sleep.

4.We need to choose what we're going to eat. It's better if we eat a lot of veggies,fruits, and lean protein. Avoid foods that contain fats,sugars,ans sodium. Those foods can bring negative effect through our skin 

5.Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Water will keep our skin more hydrated and can make toxins out from our body more quickly, minimizing our acne breakouts and wrinkles. 


Elizabeth 
XIA-2/08

YOUTH'S VIOLENCE

Nowadays,teenagers experience about crime are more frequently than other age groups.In fact,teens and young people experience the highest rates of violent crime. Most of the crimes occur on school environment or school related activities.

Some youngsters are drawn towards criminal behaviour simply due to boredom and the lack of something positive or gainful to do , this issue could possible be overcome by more supportive action from the affected community.When we bored it’s better if we spend that time to do positive and meaningful activity through join organization at school or join club like sport club,music club,theatre club etc.  

Living in a safe, stable and healthy environment naturally encourages young people to live healthy lives. We all need to look after our own physical health, to understand and control our feelings and emotions and to deal with all lives problems that get thrown at us. Without these comforts and support, young people will not be prepared and won’t know how to react to emotions such as anger, confusion, frustration or depression, which could possible push one towards crime.

Today’s youth can be affected and directed by the media, a very strong force that can affect all of us, it can influence what we do, what we wear, how we look, how we act, it can change our beliefs and influence our thoughts. Media can both glorify and demonise youth culture, young people need to be smart in the way they react to what the media tells them. Similar to the media, films, video games and music can have the same influencing effects by promoting criminal acts.

Elizabeth 

XIA-2/08

WORLD'S POPULAR SHOPPING STREETS

We live in a world blessed with sights that are beautiful beyond words but for some people a holiday isn’t complete without a little shopping especially for women . Shopping is like a passion and a hobby of almost all women on this planet. Mall is like a heaven for some women who is a shopaholics.These are the top shopping streets in the world that provides all of women’s need and wants.

1 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK

Fifth Avenue is a huge crowded streets in the centre of Manhattan. It is one of the world's most expensive streets. There are many stores which provide many kind of branded names like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Ferragamo, and Versace.

There are enough over-the-top shopping opportunities on Fifth Avenue to satisfy everyone's taste. Fifth Avenue is not just a shopping street. Along Cebtral Park Fifth Avenue, there are many interesting museums.

                            

2 AVENUE MONTAIGNE, PARIS

Home to the most luxurious boutiques in Paris, this avenue lined with elegant buildings where none of another streets in Paris can rival it. There are shops that sell high fashion style and also branded. This street represents the best planet style has to offer.


3 RODEO DRIVE, BEVERLY HILLS (L.A)

Perhaps the world's the most high fashion, most luxurious and most glamurous shopping area, this is where the rich and the famous get their haute couture fashions to show off on Hollywood's red carpets. This streets befittingly known as ‘The Home Of Luxury Signatures’

4 GINZA, TOKYO

Not exactly a street, but an entire district comprised of eight blocks, the Ginza is Tokyo's most famous upmarket shopping, dining and entertainment district, featuring some department stores, boutiques, art galleries,museums,restaurants, night clubs and cafes.

5 Myeongdong , South Korea

Myeong-dong is Seoul’s trendiest shopping district, is the place to hunt for mid-level fashion and beauty items, especially for the ladies. Located in the heart of Seoul. Most shops in Myeongdong deal with mid-priced items. The main street in Myeongdong is lined with quality brand name shops, while mid-class brand name shops and no-name brand shops are located in the side alleys. Most of the branded stuff in Korea are endorsed by popular celebrities. Myeong-dong also houses some famous traditional restaurants. There’s also some street food and fashion accessories stalls in the outer area.

Elizabeth X!A-2/08

Life's a beach

If one ponders over whether he should embark upon a voyage to see the grandeur of the world, he should contemplate no more. The world is your oyster. Of all the breathtaking places scattered throughout planet earth, no location can compete with the beauty of a beach. Envisage the sun kissing the soft grains of sand while the waves spill and run slowly up the shore. Families sunbathing under the rays of sunshine, children laughing while building towers of sandcastles waiting to be swept away by the salty waters. My idea of a perfect travel encompasses these three astounding beaches:

1. The Maldives

Located southwest of Sri Lanka, you'll have about 3,000 coral reefs to explore. The Maldives, which is often perceived as an ideal honeymoon destination, proved to be one of the most favourite destinations for family holidays. If your type of beach includes warm seas filled with tropical fish, soft white sands, and year-round sunshine, look no further.

picture : http://www.alltravelingsites.com/news/gallery/maldives-islands/maldives_island_1.jpg

2. Bora Bora

Words will never prevail to illustrate the beauty of the French Polynesian island of Bora Bora. You can stay in the over-water bungalows above the calm and azure waters. Snorkeling and scuba diving are amongst favoured activities with the many species of sharks and rays inhabiting the surrounding body of water. Matira Beach, a mile of magnificent sand at the southern tip of Bora-Bora, will leave you breathless.

picture : http://0.tqn.com/d/create/1/0/P/k/8/-/Hilton-Bora-Bora-Nui-Presidential-Suite.jpg

3. Bali

Bali is one of the few places in the world where the sun-drenched beaches extend to remarkable hills with exquisite temples. Kuta and Seminyak's white sands got the whole world paying attention to this dreamy utopia. Lovinya beach's tranquil shores and calm waters provide seclusion and peacefulness for the typical beachgoers. Lets also not forget Jimbaran beach with its great sand, serenity, and incredible seafood.

picture : http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/316/cache/tanah-lot-temple-bali_31626_600x450.jpg

by: Isabella J. C. [XIA2/13]