Night thoughts.
Aug 26, 2014
Have you ever feel so morose that you want to vanish from this world, being completely invisible to everyone? Have you ever feel so glum for no apparent reason? Have you ever get demotivated in life until at one point, all you could think of is to commit suicide? So here's the thing.
I do know that depression isn't a choice. But you can choose whether to get over it OR to just let yourself drown in the sea of sadness. For a moment, ponder upon yourself. You are not the only one one who is unfortunate - someone out there is battling with uncured disease, some lost their parents, that one guy was born blind, a girl was raped to death. Each and everyone of us has our own struggles. So be contented with your life. Things might get rough for now, but remember, there's rainbow after the storm. Yes, you need to fall down several times so that you can pick yourself up until the point you are getting accustomed to the pain.
First thing first, when you are feeling sad and depressed, quickly bring yourself to your own senses and do something to shift the sadness away. Do not let those negative emotions swing to extreme. One of the best ways is to find someone to let everything out, someone who you are comfortable with. Keeping everything to yourself will just make things even worst, trust me I've been there, done that. If you need to cry, then just cry yourself out as much as you want. It is okay to bawl your eyes out because crying sometimes can help reduce the tenses ( just be ready to endure the eye-wrecking pain )
Most importantly, when you are losing direction in life, pray for guidance from The Almighty. Sometimes you may be wondering why God gave you such pain and sadness. But when you hold on and turn to God, you will then realize the hidden blessing of the hardships. "La Tahzan Innallaha Ma'ana", Don't be sad; indeed, Allah is with us. [Qur'an 9:40]". Know that when you think nobody is there to hold your back, God is there, always there to help you heal the pain. He knows what you are going through so 'talk' to Him. Never stop praying (du'a) as it is the most potent weapon to uplift your spirits and hopes. Have faith!
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Well..Isn't it ironic how people can simply give advice to others but when it comes to themselves, everything goes disastrously wrong? Goodnight, till then!
UM and UPSI Tesl Interview
Aug 13, 2014
بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
Assalamualaikum. Wow, just wow. It's quite awkward to start writing again here. The fact that i've been abandoning this blog for almost two years makes everything seems more awkward. The thought of starting to blog again was actually lingered in my mind long, long time ago, but I am gradually losing my time to write. Been very busy with my life outside there that I was left with little time to pay attention to this little site (here I am giving excuses at my best, tehee) And I guess now is the perfect time to start blogging again since I have to brush up my writing skills for upcoming degree life (cehh). Well, as a kick-start (and requested by some of my juniors) I would love to share about the experience I had during my two TESL interviews, one for Universiti Malaya and the other is Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris. This is going to be a very long post, you've been warned.
My UM interview was on 24th May (I think so? forgive me for my short-term memory) so I arrived there (thanks to my temporary driver, alynn) at around 2pm. I think I was one of the latecomers since the letter stated that we must be there at least 30 minutes before the scheduled time, which was at 2pm. I guess Athirah dan datang lewat berpisah tiada. Anyway, let's jump into the interview session. I had to wait for about 2 hours before my name got called. So I went in and did the color blind test first before they told me to sit.
Okay, what should we call you?
Athirah should be fine, sir.
Okay Athirah, tell me about yourself, your parent's background, siblings and others that we need to know.
My name is bla bla bla (telling about myself, my parents' occupation, how many siblings I have, about my hometown)
So Athirah, we found that most of the Sabahans can speak very well in English, what do you think are the factors? (I can barely remember the exact question, but I think this is similar)
*paused for few seconds* Erm i think one of the factors comes from one's surroundings bla bla bla (talking about how the mixing of different races affect the way of communication, peer factor, family's communication and other points that I couldn't remember)
How about yourself? Who affect you?
Err emm *stuttered* well... my family and i communicate in English at home once in a while. I think that helps a lot ( i was running out of idea that time, duh)
Ok, why do you want to be a teacher? Give us three points.
Firstly, i have passion in teaching, it's my dream to be a teacher since i was in primary school. Next, teacher is a noble profession, many great leaders are the product of a teacher. Emm errr *paused*
We need three points, you only give us two.
Sorry sir. Ok lastly, teacher is a challenging profession, i like to challenge myself bla bla bla (again, i forgot the points)
Baik, berikan kami sebab mengapa guru Bahasa Inggeris amat penting pada masa sekarang.
One of the reas-
Sila berikan jawapan dalam Bahasa Melayu
Err sorry! *choked and laughed a bit* -_- Haa ok, guru Bahasa Inggeris sangat penting kerana bla bla bla (gave some reasons which i think were logic enough)
Can you teach? Imagine we are your students. There's a whiteboard behind you. Oh you may erase that.
*starts writing on the board* So, i see that most of students nowadays are confused of verb and noun (explained the differences, gave few examples)
A very good lesson. You are aware of most students' problem.
Thank you, sir! *flattered a bit, hehe*
Couldn't remember what was the next question though. Before they dismissed me, one of the interviewers asked "In 10 years from now, what do you think you will be?" I thought being a little cheeky this time won't hurt so I said.. "I'm going to be a successful English teacher and.... of course a devoted wife with cute children!" They immediately burst into laughter, ha! After thanking them, I walked out of the room feeling a bit embarrassed about what have I done -_- Overall, it was ok, just ok. As you could see, i stuttered a lot and some of the points i gave were not even related to the question, wtv. Glad that it was over.
Next is my UPSI interview which was held at UMS, on 21st June. This time, there were 3 sessions - writing test, oral/speaking test and interview. Reached there around 8am and waited for an hour before they called us, the Tesl candidates for our first session, writing test. Part A was basically to test your grammar skill, there were 30 questions all together (if im not mistaken) and Part B was the essay. The format for essay question was kind of similar to my previous MUET test (explain the reports based on diagram given). Oral test was held right after the writing test. The questions were basically about myself, why I choose UPSI, why I want to be a teacher, random questions and yes, the interviewer psycho-ed me with some killer questions as well. There was this one question that really hit me hard, "You took foundation in science before, so why in the world you choose Tesl out of many science-related courses? Is this your back-up plan only?" and another one was "Both of your parents are a pharmacist, why don't you follow their path? Well, based on your result, you can apply for a better course" Boom! The way she asked me was kind of.... harsh, and it seemed like she gave me a silent rejection, duh. I was stunned because of the nerve-wrecking questions tho. In a shaking voice, I gave her some possible reasons (passion, dare to be different, foundation year was an eye-opening experience, shared about my ipg tesl interview bla bla bla) and it was finally over, thanks Lord!
Here came the last session. This time, the interview was held in a group of five or six. Mine was the last group to be interviewed, the LAST one, can you imagine how long i waited? -_- While waiting, i got to know a few nice people, and luckily we got into the same group. So it was finally our group turn. The questions were;
1) Introduce yourself, tell us where is your former institution and final result you got.
2) Why do you want to be a teacher.
3) Who inspired you to be a teacher.
4) Tell us what are the special features in your former secondary school.
5) Sing your favourite song (yes, seriously, we had to sing in front of them, one by one)
I think that was all? it was indeed one quick, relaxing interview i must say. Before leaving the room, they asked all of us to sing Sabah's popular song "Sayang Kinabalu" hahaha it was fun!! The interviewer was smiling throughout the interview and when any of us stuttered, he helped finishing the sentences, lol. Overall, everything was fine for me except the physcho stuff during the oral tesl, haha! Ok done! Let's move on.
So the UPU result was finally out yesterday. Unlike the previous UPU result after SPM, this time I didn't feel nervous at all and i could sleep peacefully the night before. I think it was because I've prepared for this? I guess so. Well here it is..
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTtQcOq6CbWPSw6T5SYPlCoCmFHCV-LfrqSh7ZTMf1_R3YOCkq96q0aSpHZFT1Mzrul3dBelSTJkMuRqi5QQVP4WeLVKoCw5mKXwms5Y8aEHAXpdI1CBVmvqa6bHhxWZiK7G45n-Rl6Pe9/s1600/Untitled.png)
Alhamdulillah. Although.. to be honest, I was hoping to get UPSI since I think i performed well during the interview. But who can say no to what Allah has decreed for us? But then again, I am still happy and grateful for this. Still, it freaks me out a bit. We are talking about UM here, i have already feel the pressure. And of course the expectation from my parents is high. I am just afraid that I can't live up to their high expectation. Plus, i am a newcomer in this course since i was a science student previously so my basics are only for English, not Tesl. I heard too that most of my future coursemates come from Tesl Foundation *gulp* Ok ok trying to be positive here. I don't know what the future holds but I have faith in Allah. I know degree life is going to be a roaller-coaster ride, but as long as i have DUIT, it'll be ok InshaAllah (Duit- Doa, Usaha, Ikhtiar, Tawakal)
I should stop here or else it'll gonna be a loooooooooooooooooong never-ending post. Till then.
Back from hiatus.
Aug 5, 2012
بِسْــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِالرَّحْمَنِ اارَّحِيم
Hello earthlings. It's been a looooooooooong time since the last entry I posted in this blog. Or I should say, abandoned blog. I am too busy having my life out there. Since it is the weekend and I've nothing else to do, I guess now is the perfect time to sum everything up. For these past few months, school stuff are taking control over my life. The fact of being a student who will sit for SPM this year, I've to stick myself with school, books, homework and exams. Things get tougher day by day yet so many things to accomplish in a very little time. But Alhamdulilah, Allah ease everything in my way. SPM is way too close and getting nearer to me, believe or not, I haven't prepared anything. I did study but soon after that, I forgot everything I learnt. Short term memory loss, perhaps.
Despite of all the difficulty I have to face, I am very blessed for being given wonderful people around me. They are the reason behind my every laughter and tears. They give me strength to live in so many possible ways. Be there for me through ups and downs, give me shoulders to lean on, be my good listener even though I talk craps all the times, laugh at my lame jokes, bear with my annoying and childish attitudes, yet they never complain anything. This is quite cliche but I could never imagine what my life would be without them. Only Allah knows how much I love and need these precious people in my life :')
Since it is the month of Ramadan, the month which blessings of Allah S.W.T descend upon us continuously, I would like to express my most sincere and deepest apology for all wrongdoing I've ever done, with or without intention. Each of every human being is fallible, so do I. This world is just a temporary and we don't even know when we will die. When the time comes, we might not have the chance to ask forgiveness from others. So what are you waiting for? Ayuh meminta maaf dan memaafkan orang lain! ;)
"If we want Allah to forgive us, we should be forgiving of others and willing to overlook their wrongs"
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