A Dilemma between Fame and Love

by 7B Charlie Yeung

Fame and love, which would you choose? Which would teen idols choose?

Many people suggest that when teen idols get married, they often become less popular with their fans. It is understandable that fans get frustrated when they hear the news that their idols are getting married. But truly, does it mean that idols should stay single to keep the crowd of fans? Are all the married idols no longer popular?

Personally, I don’t think that when idols are married, they would be less sought after. On the contrary, marriage can actually help the idols’ career and create them positive images. Changing from being simply an idol to someone’s spouse, this is definitely a giant transformation. Generally, people consider married people as stable, mature and even healthy. Therefore, this transformation can create a positive image for the idol and expand the crowd of fans. Also, they can become the role model of their fans so fewer parents will show objection to their kid’s worship of the idol. Take Jessica Alba and academy award winner Miss Portman as examples. When they got married and even had a kid, their image shifted from being a naughty, wild girl to a sweet mom and caring wife. They actually became more popular because of that!

Besides giving a positive image, marriage can also boost the popularity of the couple. Sweet couples can gain a lot of attention of the public. Take Angelina Jolie and Brat Pitt as examples. The former is the sexy symbol of America, with millions of followers worldwide, while the latter is the hottest man on earth, ranked by several magazines. The number of their fans doesn’t decrease but instead, more people love them because they are such a lovely pair. Right now, they are very noted as even when they just go out for dinner, there are tons of paparazzi taking photos of them!

Other than being popular as a couple, one of the idols can make their other half more popular. Sometimes, we recognize a singer or an actor because he or she is the wife or husband of a celebrated star. Like Eason Chan’s wife, who originally was not well-known at all, but now, with the title of “Eason’s wife”, she is much more popular. From the examples, we can see it is true that teen idols can actually become more popular with fans when they get married.

Most importantly, fans love their idols because of their talent, not their marital status. The talent would not disappear because they get married. Also, I believe that the fans would not mix up the idols’ personal life with their professional life. Therefore, their fans would not leave the idol. Like Eason Chan and Kelly Chan, who are both talented singers, although they got married people still love them because of their unique voice.

I understand that many teenagers have fantasy about falling in love with their idols, so they get so disappointed when their idols are no longer single. Like Justin Bieber, who is a popular single teen singer, when people know about the relationship between Bieber and Selena Gomez, so many girls got their heart broken and some even claimed that they would stop loving Bieber. However, I think this is an extreme case. In Hong Kong, when Andy Lau’s marriage got exposed, all his fans showed their greatest support, unlike some followers of Bieber.

Idols are human. They are similar to all of us, who have love and affection. It is natural for them to get married. As a fan, supporters should support their idol whatever the situation is, but not to exert pressure on the idols.

Actually, idols do not have to choose between fame and love, because they are welcome to embrace both.

Adventure, Advancement and Aspirations

by Tonny Wong Chak Ming (7B 2009, now a BBA student of Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Embrace the ocean, embrace the world..

I would like to share some of my exchange experience to the United Kingdom with my dear schoolmates.

To make the long story short, I was selected by the Faculty of Business to join a one-semester exchange programme to the U.K. after going through a number of interviews. There was a complex feeling in my mind when I first landed on the London Heathrow airport in January. A mixed emotion of excitement, loneliness and discomfort sprang in my head, for it was the very first time I had left China with no companions.

I was picked up by the university staff and taken to my host family, where I met my landlady and her son. She is a nice elderly woman who runs a small-sized textile-manufacturing company by herself. We got along well for most of the time, except that she tired to forbid me to cook Chinese fried rice, which I insisted doing to get away from those oily junk foods.

Soon there was a series of orientation activities organized by my host university, Kingston University and I met a load of exchange students there. Guess what, I was the only exchange student from China there and that’s exactly what I was looking for, no more Cantonese or Mandarin. The biggest difficulty I encountered there was nothing about cultural difference but spoken English. The hard fact I must admit is that the English both you and I have been learning for so many years is formal, academic English, which is very different from informal, colloquial English.

So there was a communication problem between me and my friends who were mostly from the United States and Western Europe. Usually I had to repeat a sentence twice to get my message understood. Worse still, as they had different accents and ways of expressions, I’d got to be very concentrated in order to fully understand what they’re talking about.

Fortunately, this situation didn’t last long after I integrated into the UK’s drinking culture, which in short means pubs and clubs. I was ‘trained’ by my friends to have several glasses of beers and shots in one go. Though it’s not very good for health, it’s necessary if you want to hang out with them.

To fully utilize my time in the UK, I joined the volunteering society to engage myself in some social service projects and enrolled in a business competition. I traveled extensively during the exchange period, with 2 guys from the US to Scotland and Ireland. Afterwards, I became a backpacker and explored Europe in the Easter holiday. I visited Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Greece. This was a very inspiring journey and my horizons have been greatly broadened.

I’ve got to stop writing now or else this article will be too lengthy. Hope you've got something out of my sharing and I wish you every success in the coming future. Cheers!

Mid-Autumn Festival

by 1B Almond Tang

At the Mid-Autumn Festival, I spent the Festival with my family and friends. My family, my friends and I went to the park which is near our home to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

After we had a hot-pot dinner, we took a walk to the park and then played with the lanterns and light the candles. The moon was round and beautiful because the weather was very good that night.

I felt very happy and excited as we enjoyed eating the moon cakes and fruits in the wonderful moonlight. We would like to share our happiness with all the people, no matter they are rich or poor in the world. We are going to donate money and food to the poor children who never enjoy this special festival.

Volcano (haiku)

                                                                                          

by 2C Lai Tai Hong

Call me explosive

I get angry easily

Stay away from me!

The Importance of a Healthy Lifestyle

                                                                                                                                   by 6D Jennie Chan

Have you ever tried to squeeze into a shirt from a year ago, and then felt very frustrated because you can’t put it on? Have you ever tried to step on a scale, then felt a sense of incredulity after you found that you had gained 10 pounds? Chill out, you are not alone. Recent reports reveal that the overweight problems of young people in Hong Kong keep soaring to new records every year. Doubtlessly, when compared with Europeans and Americans, the mentioned problem does not seem to be such a big deal at all. Yet, overweight problems cannot be neglected even though there are countries worse than us.

       

The main culprit that causes youngsters to suffer from weight problems is the fast food culture. Undeniably, fast food from McDonald's, KFC and Burger King is so tasty, economical and fast that they attract a vast array of youngsters who adopt a swift-paced lifestyle. While munching up a whole bite of burger or chicken, little do they know that they are also consuming a jar of oil --- which provides a large amount of energy. Apart from that, fast food does not provide enough dietary fiber, which is essential for keeping a healthy body for diners. As days drag on, the ‘side effects’ of eating fast food emerges, that is, being overweight.

       

The lack of exercise is also to blame for the overweight and unfit issue. To strive for the best results, many youngsters spend nearly an entire day at their desks for revision or homework. Under these circumstances, they often sacrifice the time for exercising. “My child never studies; he only lies in front of his computer every time I see him.” Some parents might complain about their children for not studying and playing computer games endlessly. Not only does playing computer games affect youngster’s studies, but also their health. Long hours before the computer implies the time for exercising is sacrificed. As a result, the energy consumed has nowhere to be burned and is converted into fat.

       

Explicitly, overweight and unfit problems do no good but harm. Besides the increased chances of suffering from diseases such as diabetes, heart attack, arthritis etc, they will also bring us, well, rudely, an awful appearance. I find no reason in prolonging this unpleasant issue. We have got to do something to bring a halt to this phenomenon.

       

First of all, I advise youngsters to set timetables. With the assistance of a timetable, we are able to use the time efficiently and effectively. Try to spare a few hours on exercising every week in the timetable. “What kind of exercise should I do then?” Anything ranging from squash, swimming, basketball, or even doing chores, as long as the time used is at least 3 hours per week. Please do not contempt the power of exercising --- it is essential to maintain a healthy body.

       

Second, dine out less. In an attempt to make the dishes more delicious, chefs often pour in a generous amount of oil while cooking. Furthermore, it is difficult to search for a standard healthy meal when you flip through the menu. The best solution is to pack your lunch, a healthy lunch approved by nutritionists.

       

Adopting a healthier lifestyle is our ultimate goal. A healthy lifestyle can prevent various sicknesses. Also, research shows that people with a healthier lifestyle are happier than the ones without. The exhilarating effect of a healthy lifestyle is more than we can imagine. So, what are you waiting for?

My First Day at Valtorta

by 1C Anna Hung

1^st September was my first day at Valtorta. I was very excited about it. On that day, I woke up at about 7:00 a.m. It was the same time when I was studying in primary school. Therefore, I did not feel sleepy.

It was sunny that day. When I arrived at Valtorta College, I saw the teachers were always wearing a smile. It made me feel very warm. On the way to the classroom, I saw many pictures posted on the wall. They’re very beautiful.

In the classroom, I saw a lot of my classmates. Some of them were very quiet, and some of them were very attentive. I put my school bag in the classroom and then our student mentors led us to the playground and we assembled there. We had some games to play and some songs to sing. It was quite interesting.

After that, we met our class teachers, Miss Wong and Mr. Yuen in the classroom. They were very nice. We introduced ourselves to one another and talked for a while.

Then we went to the school hall and attended the school opening ceremony. The principal, Mr. Ip gave a speech. He said he hoped all F. 1 students could work hard.

After we had our recess, our class teacher distributed lots of circulars to us and told us to ask our parents to sign them. Then they told us some rules that we need to follow.

That day, I went home with my friend, Riko. We shared our feelings with each other. Both of us felt very glad about the new school life. Also, we are looking forward to the coming days.

This year, I want to set some goals for myself. I want to be a hard-working student as well as a friendly and kind classmate to my new friends. I hope I can achieve all of them.