Suicide

When I was young, I thought suicide is a stupid idea. Why choose to commit suicide while millions of people are eager to live but couldn’t due to sickness and other accidents. Besides, don’t you care how much your parents or your special one are afraid to lose you? When I see news or videos about suicide, these sorrowful questions popped up in my mind. But by the time I grew up, I started to understand WHY, as well as learned some reasons behind those who committed suicide. Year four at Liger Leadership Academy in Literacy my teacher has taught me and my classmate about mental illness. We’ve read a book named The Yellow Wallpaper which is about a woman with mental illness. She talked about her situation and how mental illness affected her. I’ve learned how serious it is and that gives me motivation to help those who need it. 

 

Lack of knowledge related to teenage mood and lack of motivation to understand youth development  is what usually happens in the Khmer family. “By seeing other smart students out there, the parents madly blamed their kid for not being smart. It’s true that every parent wants their kid to be intelligent and well-known. But the way they teach their child is wrong, instead of giving warm encouragement with great advice, they blame their children which pressurizes and stresses them.” (From Tik Tok video). This video taught me why teenagers have issues with pressure. I surely was disappointed as much as they felt because I have been through the same situation. I started to feel a change in myself. I know how much they have suffered and what are some things that they need to hear. For me personally sometimes I just need someone to appreciate some things that I’ve done. It would make me feel that I’m not useless as what my parents see me. 

 

Due to Covid-19, my schools paused for a while for students’ safety. I’m actually happy with this circumstance. Don’t say I’m crazy because you’ll know what’s next. Because this virus happens I get more chances to spend time with family as well as others besides people at school. During this pandemic, my sister’s friends visited us. We had many conversation and that led us to a serious topic “Suicide”. My sister’s friend who had an experience of committing suicide told us her story. “My boyfriend was at work and I have to take him to his home because he doesn’t have a car. Then when I arrived at my own home, my mom told me “If you’re going out with a guy for hours, why not work at a bar? We would get money if you work there, instead of going out with guys like this.” “I was shocked! I couldn’t expect this from the person I call mom. Who I love together with respect.  I replied with tears. I won’t ever work at such a place. “I don’t care, just go and make money at the bar,” She said. ” I immediately thought dying is better than working at a place like that.” As you see family conflict is one of a big problem that leads to suicide. Try to stay close to your family and learn about them. Always be careful of what you say because work does hurt and it might also kill. 

 

My friend who is suffering from living in a new society told me that “I miss my old school, my friends and teachers. It’s hard to be in a new school, I have no friends, I’m so lonely. My grades are horrible. I couldn’t focus on school anymore. It’s so stressful here I don’t want to live anymore.  Sometimes I wanted to commit suicide but thinking about meeting my old friends again stop me also  thank to you who always cheer me up.” This is also a sad thing to know and learn about. I tried my best to cheer him up, give him reason to live, tell him that his life matters, to our country and the world. As time passed by he tried to heal all the pain and it’s getting better.   

There is this online friend of mine who is suicidal. He added a picture of him hurting himself by bleeding his hand because he was so stressed and didn’t know what to do. So  I tried to talk to him. I said “Don’t hurt yourself, it doesn’t make anything better, instead try to find what’s wrong and what you can do about it.” We’ve talked a lot along with giving him a lot of motivation also. 

 

You probably wondering, How does suicide affect Cambodia? As you know our country is a developing country so we need people to work especially people who have good ideas on how to develop our country. A person death might not matter to you but if that person is educated, we can make them feel their power, treat them the right way and make them believe that they can make change and yes of course they can change our country, it can’t be the whole country but at least something, and if everyone create a small change, we all will make a big change in our country. To help those who are struggling with mental health I have a plan. My plan is to do more research on how to help suicidal or depressed people so that I know clearly how to help. When I actually learn how, I will try to find those people who are struggling with mental health and help them through what I’ve learned on the internet and in real life.

 

Household garden

Household garden is an exploration about planting vegetables in every household. As we know, there are not many Cambodian are planting vegetables in their house, instate they go to the market to buy those vegetables even though they know that the vegetables are chemical. Most people buy vegetables from the market, even if they know that farmers use chemicals but they still buy it. Those people don’t really want to eat those vegetables but they don’t have any other choice. The goals of this exploration are to convince Cambodian to plant their own vegetables so they don’t have to buy those vegetables with lots of chemicals. We also want to change the opinion of the farmers from using chemical to organic. We are also going to teach them how to make compost so that they can use it. We have been to Takeo province to learn about the vegetable and how to make organic fertilizer and organic pesticides. We also went to Saang village to interview people about their planting. This is my reflection from the trip.

Trip to Saang

My goal to Saang district is to know what people use for the plant(Chemical or organic)? I think that most people in Saang use chemicals but I want to know, how many Farmer are using organic. I have heard the rumor about putting vegetables into chemical leave it for a night and it will grow really fast, from the size of the thump to the size of wrists. I have heard about that then I wanna make sure is it true?

I’ve learned so many things from the trip. I and my exploration members have interviewed 25 people. As we interview we have known that none of them use organic, they all use chemicals. Also, a few of them want to try to use organic but they don’t have enough resources to use organic. Besides that people don’t want to try to use organic because they think that no one in that village uses organic and if they use it they afraid that it won’t work because no one has experienced it. They mostly pant salad and sugar palm in that village. They use chemical on everything even the sugar palm but they use put less on it because they don’t need much chemical. I’ve also learned about the rumor that I wonder about. It’s real! People use it when they need to. Example the cucumber, if the cucumber is the size of the thump and the middle man really need it for sale, the farmers have to use those chemicals to make it grow fast for just overnight so the middle man will have it for sale for tomorrow. Sometimes, we know that the cucumber is used in the overnight chemical by cutting it to see the middle of it and if there are whole in the middle it means that cucumber used in chemical. There is also chemical for the plant not to grow tall. People don’t want the plant to grow tall because they want the plant to grow to the side and it looks bigger and most customers like it because they don’t know that it’s chemical.

For one day, I’ve learned about chemical, what they plant how many are using chemical? how many people wanna try to use organic? I also know more about the rumor. In the future, I hope that I can change their mindset, not everything but at least something. I would like to do a workshop with them about the effect of using chemical and also to teach them how to make compost.

Literacy

In literacy class this first round of year four I’ve learned about the Vietnam war. In class, we also read a poem called “inside out and back again”. I’ve read lots of articles about the Vietnam war and also read a lot of parts of the poem “inside out and back again”. We read those articles and to understand it more we have to find evidence and understand the word tone. We have done lots of quick write and lots of homework to understand more about the article. “Inside out and back again” is a fictional poem but it’s about the Vietnam war and it also includes some facts about the war. I have also improved my writing skills. I’m happy to see myself improving my skill and I also hope to do it better every time.

Science

In science this round I’ve learned about Newton’s law of motion. There are three law in Newton’s law of motion. The first law is about force of motion. Newton’s first law of motion states that an object’s motion will not change unless an unbalanced force acts on the object. If the object is at rest, it will stay at rest. If the object is in motion, it will stay in motion. Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist a change in its motion. The inertia of an object depends on its mass. Objects with greater mass have greater inertia. To overcome inertia, an unbalanced force must be applied to an object. The second-newton laws of Motion are about Acceleration, Force, and Mass. Newton’s second law of motion states that the acceleration of an object equals the net force acting on the object divided by the object’s mass. Weight is a measure of the force of gravity pulling on an object of a given mass. It equals the mass of the object (in kilograms) times the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s2). The third Newton laws of motion are about Action and Reaction. Newton’s third law of motion states that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Momentum is a property of a moving object that makes it hard to stop. It equals the object’s mass times its velocity. When action and reaction occur, momentum may be transferred from one object to another, but their combined momentum remains the same. This is the law of conservation of momentum. Moreover, then Newton’s laws, we have learned about Fluid Forces and Work and Machines. Finally, we had an opportunity to do an experiment about Fluid Force with eggs and glass bottles here you can take a look!

Literacy round 5

In literacy, this round is independent work. Actually, our teacher has tasks for us to do but we just have to manage our time for the tasks, what day will you do it? 

What time will you do it? And, why are you doing it? I like this type of study because I can manage my time about my task and I also have some free time at night with my friends. This doesn’t give me a rush because I have more time to do it but before my class changes the pattern I was always in a rush and I have homework every night. So what did I do in my independent work? I did HICC, reading skill and novel reading. HICC is How I change Cambodia. This is how I share with people what did I change my country even in a small way. In reading skill time I need to read and do some exercise to warm up my brain for literacy and at least read something for a day. For novel reading, each student has to pick a book to read and after the students read their book they have to do book report to show what did they read and what did they have learned from the book.

Math round 5

In math class this round I’ve learned about algebra, negative number and integers, coordinate graphs, rate and last but not least, speed. Algebra is a type of math that we solve problems with number and letter, example: x + 2 = 8, find the value of x. Algebra is also mean to find the value of the letter. 

Negative numbers and integers, negative number is a number that less than 0 and it goes to the left of the line. Integers are the numbers that have the value more than -1 and it goes to the right of the line. 

Coordinate graph is a graph that we use to locate point. A number on the x-axis called an x-coordinate, and a number on the y-axis called a y-coordinate. 

Rate is a graph that shows the change of number. We use rate to see and to show how the value of thing change and some company use rate to see how the business go.

Speed is the distance that we traveled per unit of time. It tells how fast an object move.  The higher speed the faster it a thing move.

Literacy

HOORAY! It’s been a round of study but hmmm what did I learn in literacy class. For this round, I’ve learned a lot about happiness. What is happiness? How can we achieve it? Why it is important? I watched a video about a happy man. I hope you know Mr. happy man. He is a really happy man. He went to the road every day to say Hi! and to say I love you. He said, “People may be happy when they know that they are loved by someone.” A girl that ride past that road every day said “ In the morning I was made, On my way to work I saw a man who stays near the road and waving at other people and says I love you. First I pretend that I didn’t see him because I was made but I can’t control myself. When I look at him I feel better. I feel like this old man can smile why I can’t and I know that love me and I feel really happy because I know that I’m loved by someone.” After watching the video it’s inspired me to smile more, don’t think about problems too much and don’t forget to show people that you love them so that they make feel better when they drop down. I’ve also written an essay about how to be happy. Let’s see what did I write.

 

How to be happy when you are sad

Everyone in this world has this one feeling which is sadness. Sadness is emotional pain. And I know that it’s hard to control yourself when you are sad. When people talking about funny things or joke but it seems like those are not joking to you at all. Everyone has that one feeling. Don’t you worry it’ll be fine. Below are the ideas of “ how to be happy?”

Talk to a friend about your problem.

For me whenever I feel sad I’ll always talk to my best friend and if you feel the same way please try to talk to your friend, the one that you feel close with to share your story. Also when you are taking with them it’s okay for you to cry because crying can also release your sadness. When I talk to some about my problem I feel like someone know about me. They know that I’m sad they know what happened to me. Sometimes the person that you talk to may have the same problem as you and you may know each other more.

Listen to music

Sometimes talking to a friend just talking with a friend is not enough you need to open your mind and think about something happy or the good thing that may happen in your future. You can also try to listen to your favorite music, or do what you like to do, and sometimes you may think about the fun times that you have been through. For me, I live with another friend so when they are having a joke or story to share I might just go and listen to them maybe the story is so good that I may forget that sadness.  

Be Happy with what you have

Amanda Bynes has said, “People should find happiness in the little things, like family.” When you are sad and you want to be happy, know that you are lucky that you are alive. There are many atoms that chasing you to get born and grow and being a human and they didn’t get it but you get it. Always remember that you are lucky and you are the best and happy with it. Tell yourself that you should be happy because you are alive. Always to remember that there are reasons to be happy but you may not notice it so thinks about what you have and be happy about it.

Technology/Multimedia

I didn’t learn much from technology and multimedia this round because is not at school very often. She went to China with some students for the robotic competition and she has been to other trip and camping with other students and some week we stem and that why I didn’t learn much from technology and multimedia. In class, the teacher told us to pick a lesson that we have learned to make a small product for her. After that I’ve thought of editing video in premiere pro I’ve learned about it and I want to improve it and also I’ve just known some new thing about it that my friend just told me and I want to practice using it. I’ve also explored a lot in premiere pro and sometimes I destroy my own video. I’ve made a one minute video about Outdoor leadership trip. Edit video is not just about editing it also about learning and having fun with your memory and to be happy with your product.

Math

For this round math class, I’ve learned about the angle. I’ve learned about type and name of angle there are acute angle, right angle, straight angle, reflex angle, and obtuse angle. In class, I’ve solved many problems and it’s kind of hard. Angle has a lot of tricky question. Because angle has a lot of names it’s hard for me to remember, but I still remember that there are vertically opposite, complementary angles, supplementary angle and one other has no name.

Technology/Multimedia

Secret code

Have you ever want to send a message but you don’t want other people to understand that massage beside the person that you send to. In code club, there is a lesson that we code about secret massage. When you code you have to put a key for the code, it has to number but it’s can be any number. For me, I choose number three. When you write something to your friend you can use that key to help if you say “hi” the turn to “kl”. Why? The reason that it’s show “kl” because as I said if you put the key it will move the letter three forward and also you have to tell computer by coding you have to put [ newPosition = ( position + key) % 26 ] so that when you write something the later will move forward but if you receive a secret message you can ask the person that sent the message to you about, what key did they use so that you can understand the code, also when you receive the code you need to chat from [ newPosition = ( position + key) % 26 ] to [ newPosition = ( position – key) % 26 ] so that when you take the secret message to the code it shows what that people mean. You can this yourself. https://codeclubprojects.org/en-GB/python/secret-messages/

Hope you understand and enjoy.