In our lives, we come across many people. We see new faces every day. Many of them remain anonymous, some may be acquaintances and some become our friends. Friends come and go throughout our lives and each friendship is a unique relationship. Some friends are joy to be with while others may bore us.

        For me, my best friend is my own cousin. Named Azilah Syuhada, she is in the same age as me. Maybe because of that, we get closer easily compared to the others. We contact each other frequently. We were both exited if we met each other. We share the same hobbies. She is a tall girl, who stood at 1.67 meters. She really has a good sense of humour. Whenever I am with her, I will always laugh my head off.

        She lives with her family in Butterworth. Being the eldest in her family, she had the responsibility of looking after her other two younger brother and another two younger sisters.  

     Azilah is simple and had always lived up o her motto ‘Simple in virtue and steadfast in duty’. She always attire in baggy jeans and oversized t-shirt. She is very compassionate, always willing to lend a helping hand or give a sympathetic ear to other people’s problems. That is why, aside from my mother, I always share my problems with her.   

     ‘No man is an island’. We all need friends. A man without friends is a lonely man. We need friends whom we can confide in and share our problems with. So, we should never ever take our friends for granted. Without friends, our lives would be boring. 

Perhaps, of all the people in person’s life, family holds a special place. It is mother who brings her children into the world. It was father who teaches them their first words and it was their siblings who mould their characters. My family is such a pleasant and amiable family. I am very blissful to be one of the members of this wonderful family.

          My father is a well built and of medium height. Born on July 1965, he is 47 years old this year. He is a quiet but firm person. Knowing the importance of education, he always tells us to study seriously for our future. Being dependable, I am comfortable to tell all my problems to my mother. She had remained as a housewife ever since her marriage with my father

          I have five siblings; two older sisters and two younger sisters. Being in the middle is quite lonely actually. Both of my older sisters always stick together. Same goes with my younger sisters. Fortunately, they are very considerate and helpful. My sisters are now studying in universities for their degrees. Both of my   younger sisters are still in the primary school. I am the only one who studies in secondary school. So, you understand right, why I said I am lonely before? But, they are very fun. Every one of them has very interesting characters and unique interest. For example, one of my sisters loves shoes, while the other one loves novels. Once in a while, my sister who studies in Terengganu will come home. You know right, what Terengganu is famous of? That’s right! ‘Keropok lekor’. She knows that I love it. She will buy a lot of ‘keropok lekor’ for me. That is why I said she is a sister with beautiful heart!

            For a conclusion, I hope we can be together for a very long time. I will always pray for our glory in life and hereafter. They are the best for me. Even if I get the chance to be born again, I wish I will only become the member of this family. Nobody can replace them in my heart.

         If only I listen to the forest ranger, we will not lose in this thick scary forest.

        “We’re lost,” Rahim said in a barely audible whisper.

        “Why don’t we follow the trail?” Johan suggested in same tone.

        “There is no trail to follow,” I snapped with a flicker of irritation. “Rahim is right, we’re lost in this jungle.” We sat sadly. Suddenly we heard loud peals of thunder. The long branches of trees started gesticulating wildly in the storm. Sheets of water cascaded from the sky. We ran for cover and the darkness was slowly enveloping the jungle.

          “We will find our way out here tomorrow,” my voice broke the silence.

          “That is, if we survive the night,’ Rahim murmured. Overcome by a hopeless sense of despair, we floundered. We crawl under some shady trees to spend the night. Although we were exhausted, we could not rest our minds and bodies. The hours dragged by.

           At daybreak, we decided to walk again. The ground was soggy after the downpour of the previous day and we could not ignore the gnawing pains of hunger and thirst. Suddenly above the silence of the jungle, we heard the gurgling sounds of water. Then from a leafy screen, we saw the glistening of a winding, silver stream. After quenching our raging thirst, we continued walking until we came upon a footpath. Our spirit rose. The thought of being reunited with our families were uppermost in our minds. Our pace quickened.

         After an hour’s walk, we reach a junction. Ahead was a bumpy road littered with potholes filled with water. Then, from the distance came the spluttering sound of engine of a vehicle. As it came into sight, we saw an old pick-up truck driven by an old farmer.

          “Want a ride?” the old man asked.

          “Yes,” we replied simultaneously. We climbed the pick-up truck. It was a bumpy ride but we did not mind.

         Last school holiday, my family and I went back to our hometown, the eagerly-awaited holidays bring a respite from homework, lessons, extracurricular activities and exams. For me, spending a holiday at home is equally unbearable.

         0n the last day of school,  I  eagerly waited for the bell to ring at 1:10 p.m.. Then, I felt like a caged bird hat has just been set free. I slang my bag over my shoulder and make a beeline for the bust station. My hometown!

        We started our journey early in the morning. When we arrived, we had a quick lunch. I make a short exchange and headed for my favourite spot here- a secluded corner of my grandfather durian orchards. There under a shady spot, I sat down a surveyed the surroundings.

          Here, far away from claustrophobic classrooms, rushing crowds, busy sidewalks and congested streets, I enjoyed the solitude of nature. As I took my seat on a flimsy woody bench, and looked around me, I can see a flurry of activities. Birds flew gracefully and noiselessly above me while bees traveled flirtatiously from tree to tree, colourful butterflies flit about here and there flapping their fragile wings and ants scurry in a single file carrying bits of food on their tiny backs.

            A soft cool breeze blowed. I can hear the soft rustle of leaves. The air is heavy with the scent of shrubs and grasses coupled with the scent of ripe durians.

            I lied on my back with my hand clasped behind my head and watched streaks of sunlight filtering through the canopy of leaves. Soon I fall into short but deep slumber. When I woke up, I can see the sun slowly descending behind a row of far hills. Although I would love to linger for a little longer, I moved away reluctantly and leaved knowing that Opah would be waiting for me. 

           The person that I admire is the most prominent Malaysian leader which is Dr. Mahathir b. Mohamad. As the forth and most dynamic Prime Minister of Malaysia, he will undoubtedly leave an everlasting impression on the sands of Malaysia for many years to come.

            Born on 20 December 1925 in Alor Setar, Dr. Mahathir is the son of teacher. After his early education at the Maktab Sultan Abdul Hamid in Alor Setar, he enrolled at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in the University of Singapore. He was armed with a MBBS degree in medicine and set up his own clinic, the Maha Clinic in Alor Setar. As a doctor, he came into close contact with people from variety background and enjoys a close relation with them. He is very understanding. So, when he was thrust into politic, he strove to fulfill the needs of people. Service to the nation has been his virtue.

             Once he was the Member of Parliament for Alor Setar in 1964. Holding a number of portfolios, including Minister of Education, Minister of Trade and Industry and Deputy Prime Minister, he finally becomes the Prime Minister on 16 July 1981. His contribution to the nation is so huge. He has left his mark in every aspect.

            Outspoken by nature, Dr. Mahathir speaks without fear or favors. This had been his special characteristics as a statesman. The inefficiency of local and international organization has always come under his criticism.

             Dr. Mahathir stepped down as the country’s fourth Prime Minister on 31 October 2003 and was succeeded by Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. It has been more than two decades since Dr. Mahathir ruling Malaysia. It had undoubtedly been the golden era for Malaysia.  

              Dream is something that all of us need to have. It is our vision. Dream is what you want to do for your future. I believe that having a great dream, is a must to us. And I have a big dream. Next year, I will confront a big examination, SPM.  It is very necessary for us get a good result from this exam. This is our future.            
               My dream is to be great neurosurgeons. I know it is not simple at all. But I know I can achieve it. I feel like this is my destiny. This is why I came to this world.  I do not know when or how I am going to achieve this. But it will not be easy. I am constantly studying in school right now. I cannot give up even if I fail. There is a saying that failure is the greatest teacher. I know in order to pursue my dream, I will face failure. This cannot be stopped. Even Albert Einstein and Sir Isaacs Newton faced failure when they are trying to create a great formula that is remained to be used till today.    
               I got influence when I watched a drama titled ‘Brain’. It is a very great drama.  To me, brain is most powerful thing in this world. The human brain is the center of the human nervous system. It has the same general structure as the brains of other mammals, but is larger than expected on the basis of body size among other primates. It controls everything that we do.
              Brain is a very interesting and unique thing to study about. I would like to perform a surgery on brain. It will be hard, but I am ready because I always am. I will make a lot of money. I will buy my parents a house and they can rest comfortably in the house without doing any difficult works. They had gone through a lot in order to raise me and my sisters. I can always make a research on how to make a good but affordable surgery. It is very crucial because nowadays, the surgery especially on brain is costly. Not all people can afford this.      
               There is not much brain surgery in conducted in Malaysia because there are not many specialists here. If someone need to undergone neurosurgery, they will fly overseas where the facilities is said to be more perfect. In 10 years from now, Malaysia will change to well develop country. So the facilities here will be more perfect.  More brain surgery can be conducted here.    
               Like I said before, it is very important to have a big dream. It is not wrong. Even if you cannot achieve if, just make it as your vision. Dream can help you to prepare to face this challenging world. What am I going through now is just the start. I just find the keys. I am still trying to open the door. When I finally did, I will not hesitate.

                     In our lives, some people need pet as their ‘friends’. For me, I choose cat as my pet cat. My cat named Puteh. It has a pair of blue round eyes. Usually, at night in the dark it’s eyes will blazed red. It has two pairs of bright pink paws and light pink nose. Puteh loves it when I pat him on his back.

                     Yesterday, I met again with the veterinarian. Before, he advised me to put Puteh on a good diet. Putih seems overweight. He does not like to eat too much, I think Puteh just lacks of exercises. Puteh spends most of his time in my house. So, he seriously lack of exercises. Even if I put him outsides the house, he will just stay there, in front of the doorstep, not going anywhere. What makes me worry when Puteh is outside the house is, there are too many stray cats around my neighborhood. They will fight with Puteh which is very defensive. Puteh will just run away and might end up falling down into the drain. Now, he has changed. This is just because his past experience for the first time in my hometown.

                      Few months ago, my family and I went back to my hometown. We decided to bring Puteh too since he never stayed with anyone before besides us. We started our journey early in the morning to avoid traffic jam. He was quite nervous when the car started to move. Then, he slowly adapted with the long journey in the car. I rolled down the window so that he can enjoy the morning breezes.

                      Once we arrived at my father’s hometown, Puteh ran excitedly out of the car. My grandmother also has two pet cats. Puteh gets along with them very well.  At night, he slept together with us very quietly. Maybe he is too exhausted with the long journey in a moving car. The next day, we went to my mother’s hometown which is 45 minutes away from my father’s. The house was surrounded by durian’s orchard.

                      Unfortunately, in the next morning, we realized that Puteh was missing. We went into the orchard to find him. I am very scared of what will happen to him. On the evening, we had to leave for my father’s hometown back, but we still did not find Puteh. My uncle promised me that he will sent Puteh back if he find it. So we just left there with heavy steps.

                       I had to spend another night in my father’s hometown before we headed back to KL. Suddenly, around 3 in the morning, I heard Puteh’s voice. He then appeared in front of my eyes. I stared in disbelief. I was very overwhelmed when I saw Puteh. My uncle kept his promise! I called my uncle to thanks him. Now, my cat is very healthy. He loves to go for a walk unlike before. I think it is from his experience, lost in the orchard!