Pressure (Italy won!)
So the world cup for 2006 has just ended with Italy winning over France..and if you're wondering which side im on, definitely Italy, based on a last minute decision. France? So over-rated. Zidane? Much much much..over-rated, although he has my symphaties when he ended his professionalism as one of the world's greatest soccer players...with a red card *sniggers...* Heh..what can I say? I was rooting for Italy!
Okay, im not a BIG soccer fan..I cant even tell..okay, shall not embarass myself here. But I know I probably got the lamest reason why I was rooting for Italy. Coz after watching CSI:Miami, where David Caruso is half Italian by the way...I thought hey, why not give the Italy some credit (and David as well..hehe) and support them! I mean, think of it this way...sometimes, people screw up especially if they have been under tremendous pressure to win if they are the star players. But how much can one take? We're all humans after all...seriously, once we reach to almost the pinnacle of the mountain, if we finally reach it, it'd be such a great achievement. But what if when we're almost there, our mind has been so clouded to reach it coz so many people are counting on us to do that, that we lose focus of our strategies..and also our minds get muddled up over what will happen if we don't make it. That's the end of it, we come tumbling down the mountains and falling on our heads hard (ass..if we're lucky). Forget about how we got there in the first place through sheer hard work and perseverence. It doesnt matter anymore. What matters is that if we don't reach, we don't reach.
Sometimes, it pays to be 'normal' and not some kind of celebrity in any kinds of field. Jz as we sighz and sighz whenever we think about being in the limelight...getting fans to chase us (or haunt us..depending on how 'stable' they are)..and shoving autograph books in our face..or even cameras to get close up shots of us. Then, the more attention grabbing things that we do that hightlight our success and achievements, the higher the pressure. Actually right...You don't have to be a celebrity. Take me for an example. When I got the opportunity to study for A level, though not in a good college..my parents are still happy for me that they equate me to being smart (seriously, i beg to differ in this area). So, okay..I soared through the first year...especially when under the marking scheme, 45 is still considered a pass..heh..
But second year onwards, after the so called breezy period is over, I start to get bitten hard by true college life. Then with my parents immense pressure on me to do well to prove to my relatives that im not as dumb as they think I am...(now that...I do agree). I mean, my parents are not the kind of parents who will read ur credentials like the teleprompter. But nevertheless, they're proud of me in a quiet sort of way. Then since I thought first year was rather easy peasy, imagine how I coped the second year which I totally slacked and couldnt get along with practically anybody in school except for one or two. My ex secondary mates become my true companions as I became sick and tired of schooling life...like why must i still go to school even when Im already 18 where I can work and earn money instead. Furthermore, my parents have been encouraging me non stop to just study study study...although I didnt have a clue as to what the heck i was studying as most times, I skipped school to escape. On some days,I practically walked out of school.
It didn't help that the school and its cohort of teachers would keep feeding us on the consequences of not obtaining a certain level of passing mark. At the same time, they'd be asking us to do the impossible by mounting so much homework on us on top of the research to be done to get an in depth knowledge on say..for example...on why the heck people go nuts during the sales period. 50% discount is probably not a good enough reason.
So subsequently, I just 'lost' it especially when I didn't have anyone to turn to and to tell them what problems I was having. Finally, I did the unthinkable: forgoing studying even during the last critical examinations to determine if we go on the the next level or not. So, not surprisingly, I didn't....and who have I got to blame? Myself. I don't blame others for heaping pressure on me..but I think it's a rather common reaction which is to blame oneself as we think we're simply not good enough. Maybe some time later, we can accept our downfall and work it out from there. Jz like how I got hold of myself the next year and even got myself a bursary award of 300 dollars at the end of the year..the last one being in secondary school when I was in my second year. If I can't accept, I'd probably may not be even writing this post at all as I would think I don't deserve to live. Luckily, Im scared at the sight of blood.
Call them lucky or unlucky... when they garner most people's attention to perform their excellent best. But is it best to blame others when the going gets tough, you just get tough on the people who pushed u up the going? I've not quite reached that position as yet to totally give the answer for it but I would say, for some others who believe in an alternate universe for instance, may think that it's just a twist of fate.
However, I do know that pressure can ultimately make one do things that are beyond people's comprehension..and even theirs for that matter. It's simply a matter of letting it go...whether doing it correctly or not...we may not be able to know until we stop and then realise what a jerk we are. Like uhm..how Zidane 'butt' that poor Italian guy (hey! that's my team!..) even though it'd be the dumbest thing to do especially if it is the match that determines it all: you get the damn trophy or the damnation of ur nation's people. We don't know what goes on behind his mind...especially if he is considered as probably the one and only chance of scoring it all..in the world's most popular sport. Back home, in the last Olympics, how can we forget Li Jia Wen of whom the media had been counting on her greatly and emphasising how 'close' we are in getting the second medal from the Olympics (for goodness sake, the last medal winner from Singapore is a man in his fifties already!)...in yonks years. When she was defeated by a table tennis player who is ranked much lower than her in terms of the world's best tennis players..she started blaming the media for making her lose out big time. Probably embarassed as well as she is considered to be much more skillful than her opponent.
Then like how Brazil lost out too..which may make people swear off supporting them in the next world cup (hehe..)...that even before the semi finals, it was already all over the news where the general public and also the experts predicted that they will hold on to their victory and win the cup again. They didnt care if Ronaldo wasn't in his best of health of which even he wanted to slow it down a little but nOoOoOoooo....the coach was promoting him infront of hoardes of media reporters that he will continue to play with the team head on and scoring goals all the way. Then of course, die die he had to persevere and then continue to perform his best coz he didn't want to be a let down to millions of supporters who were rooting for Brazil. So what happened in the end? Brazil didn't even make it to the final two.
I mean please...can't be what..in a team of 11 plus plus players...you are countin on one single 'star' player only? What the hell are the rest for? Fill up the soccer field? I think it's the lousiest strategies la. Even that happens for France when Zidane was showed the benches which left ten players out there. And struggle they did...like they just lost their pillar of strength. I mean...when they were planning on the strategies, the coach probably went like...'Okay..u cut through this x player from the left and then pass the ball to Zidane..' or 'When you are reaching the goal post, look out for Zidane to ur right for him to shoot the goal..' Then during their last few soccer practices, it would probably be Zidane who was asked to practise his penalty kicks while others were taking a break having a sip of energy drinks or getting drunk or something.
I mean it's a fact of life even in our normal lives where we don't take rides in long limousines and have ex boyfriends whose looks and financial status get better with each of our plastic surgery enhancement. I don't know who may hurt more...but it sure stings when our face of sorrow become the headline of the day and then embedded in history for others to know our shame..when we give in to tremendous pressure. And of course, people will remember. And the children. And the children's children..and the children's children's children..GAWD...thank goodness Italy won all thanks to my last minute decision to support them. Go Italy! (And David Caruso..for changing my mind indirectly..)
Okay, im not a BIG soccer fan..I cant even tell..okay, shall not embarass myself here. But I know I probably got the lamest reason why I was rooting for Italy. Coz after watching CSI:Miami, where David Caruso is half Italian by the way...I thought hey, why not give the Italy some credit (and David as well..hehe) and support them! I mean, think of it this way...sometimes, people screw up especially if they have been under tremendous pressure to win if they are the star players. But how much can one take? We're all humans after all...seriously, once we reach to almost the pinnacle of the mountain, if we finally reach it, it'd be such a great achievement. But what if when we're almost there, our mind has been so clouded to reach it coz so many people are counting on us to do that, that we lose focus of our strategies..and also our minds get muddled up over what will happen if we don't make it. That's the end of it, we come tumbling down the mountains and falling on our heads hard (ass..if we're lucky). Forget about how we got there in the first place through sheer hard work and perseverence. It doesnt matter anymore. What matters is that if we don't reach, we don't reach.
Sometimes, it pays to be 'normal' and not some kind of celebrity in any kinds of field. Jz as we sighz and sighz whenever we think about being in the limelight...getting fans to chase us (or haunt us..depending on how 'stable' they are)..and shoving autograph books in our face..or even cameras to get close up shots of us. Then, the more attention grabbing things that we do that hightlight our success and achievements, the higher the pressure. Actually right...You don't have to be a celebrity. Take me for an example. When I got the opportunity to study for A level, though not in a good college..my parents are still happy for me that they equate me to being smart (seriously, i beg to differ in this area). So, okay..I soared through the first year...especially when under the marking scheme, 45 is still considered a pass..heh..
But second year onwards, after the so called breezy period is over, I start to get bitten hard by true college life. Then with my parents immense pressure on me to do well to prove to my relatives that im not as dumb as they think I am...(now that...I do agree). I mean, my parents are not the kind of parents who will read ur credentials like the teleprompter. But nevertheless, they're proud of me in a quiet sort of way. Then since I thought first year was rather easy peasy, imagine how I coped the second year which I totally slacked and couldnt get along with practically anybody in school except for one or two. My ex secondary mates become my true companions as I became sick and tired of schooling life...like why must i still go to school even when Im already 18 where I can work and earn money instead. Furthermore, my parents have been encouraging me non stop to just study study study...although I didnt have a clue as to what the heck i was studying as most times, I skipped school to escape. On some days,I practically walked out of school.
It didn't help that the school and its cohort of teachers would keep feeding us on the consequences of not obtaining a certain level of passing mark. At the same time, they'd be asking us to do the impossible by mounting so much homework on us on top of the research to be done to get an in depth knowledge on say..for example...on why the heck people go nuts during the sales period. 50% discount is probably not a good enough reason.
So subsequently, I just 'lost' it especially when I didn't have anyone to turn to and to tell them what problems I was having. Finally, I did the unthinkable: forgoing studying even during the last critical examinations to determine if we go on the the next level or not. So, not surprisingly, I didn't....and who have I got to blame? Myself. I don't blame others for heaping pressure on me..but I think it's a rather common reaction which is to blame oneself as we think we're simply not good enough. Maybe some time later, we can accept our downfall and work it out from there. Jz like how I got hold of myself the next year and even got myself a bursary award of 300 dollars at the end of the year..the last one being in secondary school when I was in my second year. If I can't accept, I'd probably may not be even writing this post at all as I would think I don't deserve to live. Luckily, Im scared at the sight of blood.
Call them lucky or unlucky... when they garner most people's attention to perform their excellent best. But is it best to blame others when the going gets tough, you just get tough on the people who pushed u up the going? I've not quite reached that position as yet to totally give the answer for it but I would say, for some others who believe in an alternate universe for instance, may think that it's just a twist of fate.
However, I do know that pressure can ultimately make one do things that are beyond people's comprehension..and even theirs for that matter. It's simply a matter of letting it go...whether doing it correctly or not...we may not be able to know until we stop and then realise what a jerk we are. Like uhm..how Zidane 'butt' that poor Italian guy (hey! that's my team!..) even though it'd be the dumbest thing to do especially if it is the match that determines it all: you get the damn trophy or the damnation of ur nation's people. We don't know what goes on behind his mind...especially if he is considered as probably the one and only chance of scoring it all..in the world's most popular sport. Back home, in the last Olympics, how can we forget Li Jia Wen of whom the media had been counting on her greatly and emphasising how 'close' we are in getting the second medal from the Olympics (for goodness sake, the last medal winner from Singapore is a man in his fifties already!)...in yonks years. When she was defeated by a table tennis player who is ranked much lower than her in terms of the world's best tennis players..she started blaming the media for making her lose out big time. Probably embarassed as well as she is considered to be much more skillful than her opponent.
Then like how Brazil lost out too..which may make people swear off supporting them in the next world cup (hehe..)...that even before the semi finals, it was already all over the news where the general public and also the experts predicted that they will hold on to their victory and win the cup again. They didnt care if Ronaldo wasn't in his best of health of which even he wanted to slow it down a little but nOoOoOoooo....the coach was promoting him infront of hoardes of media reporters that he will continue to play with the team head on and scoring goals all the way. Then of course, die die he had to persevere and then continue to perform his best coz he didn't want to be a let down to millions of supporters who were rooting for Brazil. So what happened in the end? Brazil didn't even make it to the final two.
I mean please...can't be what..in a team of 11 plus plus players...you are countin on one single 'star' player only? What the hell are the rest for? Fill up the soccer field? I think it's the lousiest strategies la. Even that happens for France when Zidane was showed the benches which left ten players out there. And struggle they did...like they just lost their pillar of strength. I mean...when they were planning on the strategies, the coach probably went like...'Okay..u cut through this x player from the left and then pass the ball to Zidane..' or 'When you are reaching the goal post, look out for Zidane to ur right for him to shoot the goal..' Then during their last few soccer practices, it would probably be Zidane who was asked to practise his penalty kicks while others were taking a break having a sip of energy drinks or getting drunk or something.
I mean it's a fact of life even in our normal lives where we don't take rides in long limousines and have ex boyfriends whose looks and financial status get better with each of our plastic surgery enhancement. I don't know who may hurt more...but it sure stings when our face of sorrow become the headline of the day and then embedded in history for others to know our shame..when we give in to tremendous pressure. And of course, people will remember. And the children. And the children's children..and the children's children's children..GAWD...thank goodness Italy won all thanks to my last minute decision to support them. Go Italy! (And David Caruso..for changing my mind indirectly..)
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