Monday, October 27, 2008

Scholarship And Service

I have always wanted a scholarship to study in the best University which is in a foreign country. Despite disapproval from my worried parent and conversative relatives, I am still determined to go. Being so competitive in nature, I want the best education for myself, so that I would stand an advantage in the workforce and become an outstanding person who can contribute significantly to my nation. Overseas education was also quite a good idea as valuable experiences can be gained.

But What is a Scholarship?

According to the Wikipedia: A scholarship is an award of access to an institution, or a financial aid award for an individual student scholar, for the purpose of furthering their education. Scholarships are awarded based on a range of criteria which usually reflect the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award. Scholarships may be classified into the following primary groups: Merit, Need, Sociology, Insititutional and General.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholarship

The meaning of a scholarship to me

Scholarship. Isn't it an award given to you upon recognition? But is there any deeper meaning behind it? Well, I am not going to take it for granted. Scholarships are given for a reason: because you had performed well. But it is not just that. They are given to you because trust are also in placed in you. They trusted you that you will contribute to society in a beneficial way.

To me, scholarship is like a bottle of mystery. But it is no ordinary bottle. He is a supportive friend, supporting me all the way behind my back. He is a bottle, containing trusts, appreciations and beliefs from many peoples which replenishes me with motivation, confidence and strength everyday, preparing me so adequately so that I can bring out the best within me.

Because of these trusts and beliefs that are still in placed in me, therefore I will achieve even greater things but I will never forget my friend, the scholarship and I will repay you by contributing to society as a means of expressing my gratitude of the the trusts and beliefs that people had for me.

Well, this is roughly what I think scholarship means to me.

Responsibility of a scholar

Everything will come with some responsibility. Well, the responsibility of a scholar is to study hard and to never let yourself down. Besides this, scholars must also be an law-abiding citizen and hopefully will voluntarily contribute and serve his/her own country in some ways. After all, the country had helped you into getting a scholarship to further your education.

Most importantly, a scholar must never forget the values like humility, integrity, respect, gratitude or responsibility. Having obtained a scholarship does not mean you are superior, but you are just merely given a golden opportunities to develop your potential and to pursue your ideal career without much worries. So, be humble and remember to repay the country and your parents for they are the ones who had nurture you into what you are today.

Obstacles that I think I might face as a scholar.

Well, studying in a local university does not poses much problem but it is studying overseas that caused many to worry about.

Adapting to another country is one problem. We have to respect their traditions and values and also to be familiar with the laws there. Of course, we need to know their languages so as to communicate with them and to let yourself be understood. It also means that we must break the habit of using Singlish in foreign countries!

What about homesickness? When we are so far away from our families and countries, we would occassionally feel sad and melancholic. But we also can communicate with our loved ones over the phone, through emails or instant messenges. And, homesickness can be turned into a motivation to study hard!

Being independent. I assumed that many people like me, really depends on our parent as we do not do houseworks or neither do we have to work for pocket money. We seemingly take everything for granted. But it would be different without them. We would have to look after ourselves and have our clothes, dishes washed and we even have to work part-time to get extra pocket money if we do not have enough money to buy things we needed. Hmm... maybe I should help my mother with the housework?

Coping with stress? We have to manage our homeworks, houseworks or part-time jobs, assignments, projects, exams and co-curriculum activities and competition. So, I should develop better time management now!

A Scholar, also a leader.

Is a scholar also a leader? Actually, I believe that everyone is a leader as we surely will have some influence over others or our peers, in a good or bad way. But being a scholar will put you into a position of having more opportunities to execute leaderships because scholars are highly educated and recognised. So they are wise and respected and will have greater influence over others.

Who and How do I intend to serve as a scholar?

I intend to help my country by donating a portion of my money to charity or serve as a voluntary helper for the needy people. Also, I wanted to contribute to my country by working hard in my job so as to further develop my country. I will also fulfil my responisbilites and role as a loyal citizen.

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