In the life of DancerGal: My FIRST ever DEEJAY gig!!!

It was a bright and early Monday morning, where I had taken a one-day annual leave. Thoughts in my head?

"Tidur, Makan, Main...." 

However, I was awaken by a whatsapp message by Mr. Producer of Inspire.FM (P/S: he's one of them in the photo above!) that asks if I could come in and stand in for Mr. Host of The MotivationMY Show (also in the photo above) !!! The following feelings literally RAN THROUGH my body when I saw that message:

• Shocked
• Surprised
• Happy
• Nervous
• Excited
• Scared

I was finally getting a shot at doing something that I've always wanted to do... HOSTING! But there wasn't even a guest, so I asked if I could interview SammoBammo4 on "Creative Education". It's a topic that I am currently very interested in, and who better to ask than a teacher himself? :) So Mr Producer gave me the green light. So I thought that was it. 

I walked into the studio with SammoBammo and was a freakishly nervous wreck. I nearly wanted to punch myself. My nerves kinda got the better of me. But I am so hilariously lucky. Mr Producer made the podcast sound good, Mr Host said I did okay, and SammoBammo said I did well for a first timer! :) 

Credits: Inspire.FM

Credits: motivationMY.com

You can listen to the final product here! 

Here's my personal review of me (could this sound any less narcissistic??)

I did okay considering that it was a last minute thing, but I am glad that it happened :) This will only push me to grow more in terms of hosting and being confident of my own voice. 

I cannot thank Inspire.FM and MotivationMY.com enough for giving me this opportunity to grow, learn and hone my love for talking! I will continuously push myself to do better and my next podcast, will only be better than the one I did before :) Thank you once again for the amazing collaboration between the two best platforms that have allowed me to come to where I am today. 

It was definitely the experience of a lifetime, and I simply cannot wait to push myself to the limits and do my best to what life is willing to offer me :) 

Thanks again to the following people: 

Syafique Shuib, Founder of MotivationMY, for believing in me :) 

Kum Gheng, Producer on Inspire.FM, for guiding me through :) 

Hisham Hamzah, SammoBammo, for being my first guest :) 

Thank you so very much for the amazing opportunity. I really don't know what else to say except thank you. Gratitude beyond expression. 

Credits: Inspire.FM

Love always, 

DancerGal Sheryl <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

Guest Post: @HishamHamzah "I Hate Exams"

Editor's Note: This is my first ever guest post! :) Thank you, Hisham Hamzah (SB4) for your generous contribution. I found this quite interesting, because I never believed that I was stupid even though I kept not performing in exams. :) Also, this is SammoBammo's first blog post! Support by following his blog! GO GO GO! Read the original post here...

Like today's student, I've probably said this myself when I was their age. I hate exams. And now that the exam season is upon us, twitter, FB and blogs are alight with such sentiments and comments.

Credit: technorati.com

But now, as a teacher, shouldn't I love/like exams? After all, when I was a student that was what I thought. The teachers must love exams! Why wouldn't they if they are always giving so much emphasis on it?


But the truth is I do hate exams, but for different reasons. I don't hate setting papers and grading them, those are pretty straight forward tasks although a tad tedious at times. I don't find them a useful assessment tool.

I tweeted a few days ago "A few pages of questions doesn't give me a clear idea of whether you are smart or not, whether you get it or not". As I set papers for testing, I have to make choices from which part of the syllabus should I pick from, because I obviously cannot test every single chapter/topic/concept. The "logic" is that, since the student doesn't know what would be tested, the student should study EVERYTHING in order to have a chance at passing the paper. So from here, the exam itself is suppose to "force" learning.

To me, that is the weakness right there, how can you force learning?

Credit: speakitalianmagically.com

Learning must stem from curiosity, a thirst to find out more and more, and that must originate from the student. My struggle is to find as many ways as I can to bring out that curiosity in every single one of my students. I don't think I have succeeded completely, and I'm constantly making mistakes but I have a strong feeling that this is a struggle that I am suppose to go through as a teacher, and there are far greater teachers at Cempaka who have gone through this struggle, year after year, with amazing stamina, dedication and commitment. I cannot bring myself to consider them colleagues, they will forever be my teachers.

Credit: cempaka.edu.my

At this point I must comment on how I felt when my first class graduated last year, and the feeling I had. It dawned on me, my former teachers who are still going strong in Cempaka have had this feeling every year since my time. People ask why be a teacher... hell... why not! It is addictive. I kind of get it when the younger players at United say they want to emulate the careers of Scholes and Giggs now.

Returning to the topic of this post, why I hate exams, I feel that it puts huge pressure on students that does not proportionally reflect the student's true capability, intellect and most important, curiosity.


Of course, to simply disband traditional examinations might be greeted with huge outcry. There is no standardised way of assessment, a benchmark to compare our students to, which can be used for entry to higher learning institutions. Well, to that I respond, why would you want standardised testing if it only produces standardised products(students) that would be completely useless in a future economy that will thrive on innovation, creativity and, yes, curiosity.


Solutions then? What can we do? How can we have an assessment based system that challenges our students much like the real world would? Is that not the true assessment we should be aspiring for? Instead of dumping students into the real world, we need to slowly expose them to its challenges and demands, develop skills of thinking critically, expanding their creative capabilities and starting that thirst for new knowledge, that curiosity, that will drive their own learning.


But firstly we must understand one thing, failure is inevitable, we will not get it right the first time. But we need to be open to new things, we need to have the resources to pursue new ideas and innovations, utilize new technology, reach others on a global scale, and we must be allowed to fail while doing so. 

Without failure, there is no success.

S.B.4

In the life of DancerGal: Hitting the "Refresh" button on "LIFE"

It's almost the end of August. Here's my updates for the past month or so...

Haven't been playing SC2 for the longest time, let alone Diablo 3...
Haven't been to Bootcamp in TWO months...
Haven't been blogging, although I have THREE half-written drafts...
Haven't been running (at least 10km!) within the past two months...

My fitness is BLERGH...
My SC2 level is BLERGH...
Not to mention, feeling FAT and LETHARGIC almost everyday!

So, what exactly have I been doing the past couple of months? Working, sleeping, eating.

So what's the problem? The problem is, I AM NOT HAPPY!!!!

So, what can I do? Time to hit that "Refresh" button. Wait, what?!

Credits: blog.cachinko.com

Yes, you heard me right! I'm going to hit the "Refresh" button on my own life, and it all starts TODAY! Spent about 4 hours plus watching MLG last night (Leenock was declared the Champion :) Mr Chubby Cheeks  ♥

Credits: majorleaguegaming.com

Hence, yesterday at SammoBammo's place, I collected back ALL my gaming gear (mouse, keyboard and headphones) and decided that I would spend AT LEAST an hour a night training. Watching MLG made me realize, while I dream to be like them someday, it will never happen unless I do it myself! :)

Having being a fan of StarCraft 2 for quite some time now, it's been taking me a very long time to get to where I am... While I understand the game relatively well, my mechanics are REALLY BAD! Why? All because I never really bothered to put in the effort. Well, no more. From now on, every night, at least 2 games I will play! All in the name of self-development of eSports!

Then there's my fitness level.

It's been two whole months of Bootcamp that I have missed. Went back today. Felt like CRAP! Threw up in the middle of a circuit. But here's the thing. After throwing up (ok, maybe I should stop saying that so that you don't feel nauseous!), I felt like this wasn't me. I don't want to be like this. I want the Sheryl/DancerGal who could pull off an entire session and even go out for a movie after. I want the Sheryl who watched what she ate, so that she didn't feel lethargic/fatigued after the session! I WANT THE OLD ME BACK!!!

There is only ONE way to doing that, which is actually GOING BACK and doing all that!

Then, there's my barely updated blog.

As most of you may know, I now (should technically) be a regular contributor on the MotivationMY blog. Guess when my last post was? Pathetic.

So with that, while it may be a very tiring move, a very bold move, it's time to hit the refresh button on my life! How?

1. Starcraft 2: Make the effort to play more, train harder, and just simply not make excuses. Watch more streams (where possible) and watch more tournaments (speaking of which, I am downloading the GomTV app for Mac so that I can watch GSL! BOOYAH! :P )

2. Bootcamp/Fitness: Train harder, watch what I eat, and (DO MY BEST!) not to miss any sessions, participate in more runs, and make a conscious effort to train my runs with SammoBammo. Push myself in OBC sessions and make sure that I don't go easy on myself!

3. Regular updates and contributions: Consciously make the effort to contribute to AT LEAST one post a week! Writer's block is a LAME excuse and should not be used in Sheryl's vocabulary!!!

4. Miscellaneous: Try your best to not screw everything else in the process!

Sounds impossible? No, it's not, and it won't be! Wanna know why? Three simple words: FOCUS, DETERMINATION, and PASSION! I love and enjoy all of the above! I want to be better not for anyone, but for myself!

There is no room for "second best" or "complacency" in my life. Either you work your ass for it, or you get stuck living a mediocre life. Your choice.

Before I end my blog post, do find below, some encouraging posters that I hold very personally and it could not get any better than this (source: http://www.facebook.com/StrongIsTheNewSkinny/photos_stream)

Love always,
DancerGal Sheryl ♥

In the life of DancerGal: Fasting for the very first time!

For the first time in my entire life, I am trying to fast during the Ramadan period. Well, many people think that it's because of SammoBammo. SB may be a very small part of it, but I also wanted to find out what my other Muslim friends go through on a yearly basis. Some of you may not know this, but aside from SammoBammo, I do have other Muslim friends, YOU KNOW? *sarcasm*

So anyway, I've asked around, proudly announcing that I'll be fasting, cos honestly, I thought it was quite cool! Little did I realize, the condemnation that was going to happen to me.

As most of you may know, I am a Christian. I come from an Anglican church. Notice how I didn't use past tense? This is because I still consider myself a Christian, regardless of what people say. Well, people tried to discourage me and blame SammoBammo for "trying" to convert me. This is complete and total nonsense! Anyway, I just basically had to buckle down and just do it, while ignoring all the negativity that's happening around me. Something I could do fairly well, with all my friends (Muslim, of course!) encouraging and motivating me :)

It's been 3 days of fasting. Day 1 was REALLY tough. I took my first meal at around 7am. Yes, I know it's not the proper sahur, but then again, I wanted to take it slow. So I told myself that I wouldn't eat for the rest of the day. By 4pm, I was thirsty and hungry!!! I honestly couldn't tahan, so I took a cup of Iced Chinese Tea. It was upon my first gulp, that I felt like such a useless person. And please bear in mind, I'm not doing this out of any religious beliefs whatsoever. Yet, I felt so.... incompetent?

It was at this point, that I truly admired all my Muslim friends. If you don't believe me, I even asked some of them, "How did you do this?". I got many answers. It was quite amazing. So on the third day of fasting, I told myself that I would try and do the full day, as in wake up for sahur and all that. So I did. Woke up at 5am, prepared myself some oats, and had that for "sahur". Went off to work, and I was due for dinner with SammoBammo and his family. It was a very simple home-cooked meal. But you know what? It had to be the BEST dinner I've ever had. Why? Because I had lasted the FULL DAY! I was so damn proud of myself. :) It meant that it was possible. The feeling you get when you buka with your friends/loved ones, after fasting with them a whole day long, is just amazing!!! :)

Since then, and even right now as I'm typing this, I am fasting. I encourage each and every Malaysian at heart to try it. Even if not the whole month, do it once and arrange for a nice buka meal with your friends <3 It truly is an amazing experience. :)

Love always,
DancerGal Sheryl

Nothing is impossible!

As a Cempakan, I've always been taught (well, for the 2 years that I was studying there and for the 1.5 years that I was was working there) that "NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE".

With that, I recently took that term to the extremes when something amazing happened to me :) I really believe now that nothing is impossible! I will update when possible, but I've got my OMG and Oprah moments! Know that this is FOR REAL! <3

"Nothing is impossible" - Dato' Freida Pilus

"Anything is possible if you just believe" - Pinocchio 

Special SHOUTOUT to www.motivationMY.com and www.inspire.fm <3 THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the opportunity and the motivation, inspiration and encouragement! :)

Love always,
DancerGal Sheryl

#SaferMalaysia - Being safe by feeling safe!

Recently, our social media has been filled with news/ statuses/ shares/ etc about people being mugged, robbed, stabbed, etc. It's quite depressing really.. as if you look at it from a different perspective, people are being so "desperate" that they'd resort to robbing and stealing in broad daylight, without any concern about the wellbeing of others. In my honest opinion, these type of people should no longer be around us, but I guess times have come to this.

Sorry for the ranting, but back to my main point... Ever wondered why you felt so insecure and unsafe?

Did you ever notice, that while walking in malls, there are women who cling onto their bags for dear life? Men keeping a tight hand on their pockets or even in it? Did YOU ever wonder what was in their bags/wallets that they were trying to hide/protect? Unless they are politicians, I seriously doubt that they are trying to protect the illegitimate photos or data of them, but rather CASH! And in today's day and age, who doesn't need some extra cash?

I honestly sometimes think to myself, "Are you serious?"!!! Cos don't these people realize that they are attracting attention to themselves? I have absolutely no intentions of taking anything from them, but even then, I am curious to the amounts of cash they probably have on them.

But in all honesty, they probably are only carrying around RM 200? Yet, why draw attention to it?

I hear stories of people getting mugged, car-jacked, etc, and I've come to realize the similarities:

1. They weren't really aware of their surroundings. Honestly, when you walk to your car in a parking lot, do you take notice of certain things like if there are people following you? Panic buttons? The area that your cars are parked in? There is a possibility of being alert without looking scared. Look confident, yet be alert. It's really not that difficult. Twisting your head around like a manic dog, isn't really going to help. 
2. They didn't really "see it happening". Seriously? Did you seriously "SEE IT HAPPENING"? Which moron in the right frame of mind would say "Oh, I'm going to be robbed in T minus 5 minutes"? SERIOUSLY! Come on people! 

I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that it's time that not only we help each other be on the lookout, but also, what I'm trying to say is, DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU'RE PROTECTING YOUR LIFE! It makes an ordinary person question what's on you, let alone someone who's looking and searching for vulnerability. 

Everyone, please stay alert and be safe always! Let's keep to a #SaferMalaysia! :) 

Love always,
DancerGal Sheryl <3 

Self-Reflection: Feeling "low" and "blue"? Fret not... You're not alone!

Everyone thinks that they are alone. Everyone thinks that every other person is ignoring or neglecting them. Your first mistake?

WHY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR EXTERNAL APPROVAL???

A motivationMY friend is going through the fact that this person is feeling "left out". My question would be, why? Why are you feeling "left out"? Is there something wrong with you? NO! Nothing is EVER wrong with you. So why do you still feel "left out"?

Have you ever considered the circumstances?

It takes a LOT to feel left out. Wanna know why? I consciously chose to not have "friends" when I was in high school. I never liked anyone, I loved being alone, but I still had friends from church. Circumstances led me to being "alone". I couldn't speak any other language but English while my other friends spoke in Chinese or Malay. I would always go to school alone, in fact I used to sit alone in class, and then eat alone, then go home alone. I was used to being alone. But surprisingly, I didn't feel left out. Why? Of course now I realized why. It was because I didn't really care for the people around me then, nor did I want to know about their lives.

You feeling left out, isn't really the problem. It's the problem of the friendship. The relationship. That is bigger that what YOU're feeling. If you are reading this, please ask yourself. If the people who are making you feel "left out" care for you, you wouldn't be feeling like this anyway!

COMMUNICATE!

Communicate how you feel to the people whom are making you feel this way. Chances are, it would be a 50-50 shot. There could be 2 outcomes:

1. You were wrong. You were being overly sensitive and misreading the situation. This is the best case scenario. Your friendship would be back to normal, and every one would be all happy and dandy.

The second outcome, however, isn't such a lovely one.

2. They aren't really interested in you anymore. They don't really wanna be your "friend" anymore.

But here's the thing. Are you a 5 year old child? That you need friends like that? Get the heck away from people like them! They don't need you and you don't need them. I always believe in this statement:

"Surrounding yourself with the right people 

can turn your day around"

As much as you don't deserve to be treated that way, they don't deserve to have a friend like you. While you may have lost the friendship, but you gain strength. The strength to not be overly dependent and bonded to others. The strength to say "NO" when you need to. The strength to go out there and smile to the other friends around you, who treat you well and make you feel "in". 

When you feel left out, think of whether the friendship is worth salvaging or not. If yes, then communicate. If not, turn around, and just smile. Because your smile could turn someone's day around. 

Remember, there's nothing worth feeling bad about. These days, lifestyles are just so quick, that you don't really have the time to meetup, sit and chat over coffee. But that's what phones, social media and technology are for! Put them to good use! Don't make yourself feel "left out". 

Last but not least, TURN THAT FROWN UPSIDE DOWN AND SMILE... :) 

Love always, 

DancerGal Sheryl <3