Saturday, August 2, 2008

PARADOX : WHO AM I?

A saying goes, "Tell me your who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are". We are defined by our sorroundings. If you live in a war torn country where hate is rife, killing another human in name of defense and mere fun is really alright. If you are born to a small village with a Dad as a dentist, you may genetically be adverse to Biology, possibly inherited from non-medic mom, still you will grow to have inkling for medic field. A case in point, a dentist dad influenced his 2 older childeren on career choice. Now Son is pursuing his father's dream in Russia while the 2nd child finishing pre-uni is intending to do dentistry.

SO Who am I? lies largely what surroundings you are in. The Beautiful thing is you CAN choose your surroundings. Have set of friends/pals that have common goals, values and aspirations such as yours.

But before that it begs the question as to who am i? We need to discover who we are inside which unfortunately is molded by surroundings outside. thus the paradox is : We want to pursue what we want inside which is motivated by outside factors such as parental, national and cultural upbringing.

To the question posed by a person, "WHo are you?" - You may say, I am a Malaysian. Your family will scream at you and say, "No! You are a Sikh! DOn't you forget that. Your grandfather came here to survive and preserve our family name and values!" But when you are in Sunway University college, and reply the same as I am a Sikh, I will 'correct' you and say, "No, you are an ACCA student. You are the future Chartered Accountant where the world is your oyster. With dynamic ACCA lecturers, you are equipped with the power of knowledge. GO! Graduate! and conquer the world! You are not just a Sikh but a future finance leader! Don't you forget that."

There you go. Who am I? ... your reply?

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

im a chinese!

Anonymous said...

I'm an ordinary human, who need to struggle in studies, life & relationships, and also looking forward for my future.

Michelle said...

i am knowledge!

Anonymous said...

I'm a failure in failing? ^^

JeNn_Babe said...

i'm the future!!!!

Anonymous said...

I am a good person

Anonymous said...

I can do magic :D

Anonymous said...

i am who i am , thus i am?

Anonymous said...

For a confident person, "Who am I" shouldn't be his real concern as he knows tht more than anybody else...
Instead, he is more concerned in who other ppl think he is, especially in a society where reputation and opportunities play an important role in deciding whether u are going to succeed or not eventually...
Every chartered accountant may have different routes ahead of their life..Apart from their own perseverance, the society is indirectly controlling their fate...
SO, it's really worth to learn well for the strategic analysis in P3, all external, internal and mission analysis to survive through the society!! Marcus, u have picked the right paper to teach on!!! BRAVO!

Marcus Ong said...

Thank you for kind comments. While I thoroughly enjoy and passionate about P3, I am applying Prahalad & Hamel's concept, I am "strategically stretching" competencies to F8 and P1 too. Knowledge is exciting.

Anonymous said...

btw i like the sexy apron!

jackling said...

i'm a person who wana pass the ACCA as soon as possible.

Anonymous said...

lol.. u reli look sexy wearing apron.. XD

Anonymous said...

im the guy in pink shirt with yellow outerline. mr marcus maybe you need a checkup for your eyes haha.

Anonymous said...

am your student.. but not forever.. ;)

gorubey said...

you seem to have something against sick/sikh ppl just like you have something agains islam. four wives in islam in one of your favourite jokes, isnt it?

Anonymous said...

Something against sick/sikh people? Can u please enlighten me on which part in the paragraph did u find anything offensive against sick/sikh people? please be matured enough to understand that the mention of a race just for the purpose of an example does not mean that a person is against it.

And what gives u the idea that he hase something against Islam?

I also understand that Mr.marcus did mention about 4 wives in Islam maybe during classes, but i also recalled him mentioning alot jokes about his own race:) Maybe im wrong, but i somehow sense some sarcasm in your comment.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Ray, there was no actual intention to 'discriminate' anyone. Its an example, maybe a poor one. Its AN EXAMPLE!!!!! Lighten up please.........sheez.....you are 'too sensitive' lah. RELAXlah.....

As for the 4 wives joke/comment it was again maybe poorly said and may have offended some parties... Understandably, some idea are 'unusual and unique'. many a times, i admit cruelty can be masked by laughter but come on a secure 'person' would see that the comment is made as a joke not meant to rile up emotions.

Anonymous said...

the 4 wives joke was kinda 'cruel'.
but i'm as a muslim dont find marcus as a racist.

other races may have different views..let me clarify about d 4wives thing...

based on islamic teaching n its already stated in 'QURAN',a muslim man can marry up to 4 wives only..but he actually 'MUST QUALIFY' a few terms n condition such as physically sustainable n can afford the needs of entire family(e.g buy 'proton' car for d entire family members)..if cannot satisfied d rule,then 1 wive is more than enoughhh. :) :)

there is no retrospective adjustment for sth that is 'LOUD and CLEAR' in islamic teaching.

Marcus Ong said...

My thanks to guys who see the article holistically and sense of maturity. I assure you all, I am colour-blind as to races. Infact some of my best friends are indians - i.e. other races. We are all HUMANs in different designs. unique each of us are. Just as much i enjoy seeing a domestic cat as much as a Persian cat, not to mention bigger cat families. Varieties adds richness and 'colour' to life.

If there is any lingering emotional distress, then I extend a sincere apology. HUmans individually (DNA) have different makeup, I can understand that.

gorubey said...

who am i??
iam a friend of a guy to whom Mr. Marcus cracked a joke in front of the entire class regarding his bald hair (which he had due to a medical reason). Mr Marcus asked the guy to stand up and kept on asking about the 'brand of shampoo' he use amid the laughter of the entire class. the guy was so humiliated he never attended a P3 class and eventually failed the paper..

Marcus Ong said...

Messrs Gorubey,

It was NEVER my intention. But from your comments,must be some hurt caused on your friend . We all grow old and die eventually. So I am never superior to any human in any way. I am willing to reconcile to your friend but I can't until I know what circumstances that was. It is quite serious matter.

I didn't know this blog could be an avenue to communicate. If your friend meet me in person, then we can clear up on issues.

I consistently told students we are in class to pass ACCA. I am glad to assist excess 1,200 candidates todate.

Lastly, I DO want your friend to graduate. Without a fibre of doubt.

Anonymous said...

i wan to have a bright future wif acca....a person wif reputable status..

Anonymous said...

I'm an ACCA student.

I'm determined to graduate by the end of next year.

I'm not going to let failures in the past or in the future to get in my way.

I will stand tall and face them all just like those who have graduated before.

Silly jokes and some laughter is acceptable on the path of education. It is only part of life, nobody should ever hold a grudge towards somebody just because they are too immature to make a stand for themselves.

I've read and read all of the comments from those that have posted. I don't think its fair to let out your emotion run wild in here just because Mr Marcus made some mistakes.

If you have read your F8 Get Through Guide textbook or if you haven't, the first 4 words of the book introduction says, "to err is human".

Mr Marcus is a great lecturer, he ensures that we are provided with the best tool and equipment to get through our ACCA examination.

Just think of it, how many lecturers out there actually tried cracking up some jokes during class to make it more enjoyable?

And also, he has provide an extra avenue(this blog) for us to motivate ourselves and also attempt extra questions which he find interesting for the students.

Life is too short to hold a grudge on someone.

Once again, I hope you will find the humanity within you to realize that people make mistake all the time.

Thank you.

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