Expressions

Early to bed and early to rise

Early to bed and early to rise is a good habit. Early risers have many advantages; in early hours of the morning our minds are fresh and the environment too is clean. There are less distractions and noise. So one can concentrate on studies and do more work.

In fact a good amount of work can be completed before others even get out of bed. Early risers gain because they have much more time left in the day to complete the rest of their work.

An early riser is also a healthy person. He/she has time to go for a walk or to exercise in fresh air. It enables a person to accumulate energy for the whole day. After a good night’s sleep, the mind is fresh.

It is therefore good for students to become early risers because it would enable them to study in the morning hours. Much information can be absorbed. Maximum use can be made of the information gathered in the mornings. Most bright students are early risers.

When compared to early risers, late risers have definite disadvantages. They lose prime time by sleeping late. They do not have enough time during the day to complete their work and this affects their studies, work and health too.

They are deprived of the beauty of sunrise and the freshness of nature. Like a sunflower or a lotus, the mind of man blooms with the dawn and wanes with sunset. If we disregard this principle of nature, we are only working against ourselves and restricting our growth.

Shewuri Pinto, Grade 8B, Thihariya Islamic International School, Yakkala.
 

Natural disasters

Many countries have faced various types of natural disasters. Some are very dangerous and some are not so harmful. Some disasters bring great destruction.

These disasters can occur in different ways, such as cyclones, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, storms and earthslips. The tsunami and the hurricanes Rita and Katrina are two of the destructive natural disasters that happened recently in different parts of the world.

In fact, the tsunami is the most dangerous disaster we faced in our country. It originated in the Sumatra Islands near Indonesia and killed over 30,000 people in Sri Lanka alone. People around the world were shocked at the loss of life and destruction caused by it.

As disaster struck many in the fishing community, their spirits are broken today. Many people too got displaced. Some children were desperately looking for their parents and parents were searching for their children. The wailing of people could be heard all over because there was so much destruction and death.Of late, strong gales have started to occur in many countries.

America and Japan have been strongly affected. Most people have lost their properties and the environment too has been polluted greatly. But they have recovered from these with the help of many people. Because of natural disasters, especially the tsunami, most people changed very fast.

Their hearts filled with compassion at the great suffering. They helped the affected people in various ways by supplying water, food, clothes, medicines and other basic necessities.Because of such natural disasters, we were able to witness both the good and bad side of our society.

Poorni Janeetha de Silva, Mahamaya Girls’ College, Kandy.
 

Good health leads to a good life

If a machine is treated with care and properly maintained it is more likely to function efficiently.

The human body too is like a machine, only far more advanced. So similarly the human body is most likely to function to the best of its ability if it is kept fit and healthy. We must be able to make the best use of our bodies in order to work hard. We are happy only when we enjoy good health.

The staple food of our nation is rice and curry which is nutritious compared to fast food or “junk food” eaten in some western countries.

In Sri Lanka free health care services are provided by the government and we should try to make the best use of these facilities. The ancient ayurvedic medicine used by our ancestors has won much acclaim abroad too.

When we talk of health it is divided into two sectors; physical health and mental health, both of which are very important. Physical health refers to the state of the body, especially of organs like the heart, liver, kidney and lungs. Mental health refers to the state of the mind or brain.

It is just as important as physical health. So, if we care about our physical health we should also care about our mental health. We should always have a nutritionally balanced diet.

It is also necessary for us to exercise in order to keep our bodies strong, but at the same time we should also have considerable rest. But this does not mean that we should become lazy and end up as “couch potatoes” either. Personal hygiene too is very important to good health.

So, we should always stay clean to prevent ourselves from getting germs and bacteria. When we are exposed to pollution our health will be badly affected. Taking regular check-ups would be ideal to stay healthy.

Always remember that ‘health is wealth’. So stay healthy if you want to enjoy a good life.

Imalka Umesha Edirisinghe, Grade 11, C.S.I. College, Kalubowila.
 

Say no to drugs and alcohol

There are many people in our country who are addicted to alcohol. Most people who drink it say that they do so to forget their problems or sad memories. Even if they are able to forget for a while, what happens most often is that they end up becoming a nuisance to their families and society.

As they spend all their money to buy alcohol they often end up as poor people. Some alcoholics suffer from health and mental problems and even die as a result.

When people who are under the influence of liquor misbehave, they are a huge problem. Some become violent and get into unnecessary problems. When people who are drunk get behind the wheel, they could even kill innocent people. Police take strong action against drunken drivers. Steps must be taken to prevent people becoming addicts and a problem to society.

Then there are people who take hard drugs. Those who sell these harmful drugs sell them even to children. Many get addicted and suffer.

The State has taken numerous steps to prevent the sale of drugs by asking the police to be vigilant about such people.

We too must help the State to fight the problem of alcohol and drugs.

M.L.F. Shamla, Grade 9 C, Al-Azhar M.M.V. (Navodya School), Hemmathagama.
 

How to respect elders

According to my belief, love, affection, devotion, dedication and concern is the real meaning of respect. Apart from our elderly parents and grandparents, there are many elders in society which include educated people such as lawyers, scientists, teachers and doctors. But even these wise, learned people are not respected and treated kindly; sometimes they are even scorned by society, despite all they have contributed to society.

There are many kind-hearted and caring people in our society, but at the same time there are those who are cold-hearted and have hatred in their minds.

Because of this, only elders who have caring and duty conscious children are treated well; they are given the best of care, good food, clothes and even entertainment. Some take these elders to the cinema, park and other nice places.

However, there are many elders who don’t get the love and care of their children. Some are not looked after by them; they are not given nice, clean clothes to wear and even end up eating only the left-over food.

Some are treated like servants and are forced to cook, clean the home and wash dishes and clothes. Some are forced to live in elders’ homes while others who cannot take the ill treatment of their children, voluntarily go into elders’ homes. There are some elders who end up in the streets begging for their daily food. They live lonely lives and die.

It is important that we learn to respect our elders at a young age. We must start with our grandparents; we could spend more time with them, reading to them, and telling them about what we do at school every day.

Another way to make them happy is to tell them jokes, play music or sing songs to them. Most old people like classical music. We must always find ways to keep them occupied and entertained.

Shanil Jayakody, Grade 8, Jennings International College, Nainamadama.
 

My pencil box

I have a little pencil box......
orange in colour
It has three shelves......
named one, two, three

There are princesses......
on top of it
They all wear nice frocks......
In red and blue

I carry it in my bag......
everyday to school
All my pens and other stuff
packed in it

Nuventhi de Mel, Class 6-E, Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo.
 

Peace, where are you?

Peace oh! peace,
Where have you gone?
I know you are around the corner
But never to be seen

Please come out, will you?
We need you very much
Come out and see the
Suffering of the people

Day by day time passes
Yet you never show up
Is this a mere trick of yours
To fool all of us?

It’s not the first of April
Or a game of hide and seek
But death and drops of tears
Making man so weak

Please do come and stay
Your absence make us grieve
We’ll look after you well
Then you’ll never have to leave

Safna Nazar, Grade 7, Minaret High School.