one thing my teachers taught me wrongly was that people who smoke are rotten and incorrigible and that u will go astray if u mix around with them

it's only when i went for NS that i realised that i have been indoctrinated nonsense. whether someone smokes has no bearing on his character and shame on me if i judge people on surface appearances

honestly speaking, i don't think i will even be the kind of teacher who tirelessly cuts newspaper articles about the harms of smoking so as to persuade students to quit the habit. teenagers may be impressionable but i think they are well aware of the consequences of their actions. so, i don't believe in preaching and harping on something tired to them.

nevertheless, i felt pretty down when i found out that this 15 year old gal has picked up smoking. wat pianz. such a sweet and good-natured gal leh. i lamented. (not that those who smoke are condemned not to be sweet and good-natured lar.)

it's the way she highlighted cigarettes in her blog that got to me. she has already gotten into trouble with school authorities over this newly-acquired habit. so i guess it's her way of telling the world, her parents, her teachers and whoever f***ing idiots to go s**** themselves

i feel upset because it seems that she has given up on herself and on life. she has so much fury and frustration and can't channel it elsewhere. does smoking help to numb her pain? does she just see this as a temporary reprieve? is she strong enough to cope with the addiction that will haunt her later on? in this instance, i see smoking as a sign of how she opened the Pandora's box of deliquency.

and ultimately, this is what sucks most about not returning to CBSS: unfinished business. of course, i don't flatter myself that my students' problems will miraculously be solved just becos i'm around. but at least, i would be there to try to make things better.