Finally I finished editing all the photos...I love using raw files...even though it's big in size but the flexibility is just too sexy to handle ahahaha lol
I deleted around 100 shots, and in total I got 190 picutres left on my hard drive using Adobe Digital Negative Format (DNG) .. I will upload the photos soon, you can view it by Tuesday night, I promise hehe...Anyway, I got this very inspirational words from Min Lee (She's a violinist, and she's actually Steph's cousin)
Notes for an address by Min Lee
to Young Leaders’ Foundation conference,
October 2004
Kallang Theatre
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS
If that sounds simple… if that sounds easy… let me tell you, it’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do. Following your dreams will turn your world upside down and inside out. Because it demands courage. It demands commitment. And it demands an un-shakeable belief in yourself. Following your dreams can mean making unusual choices – and for a lot of us, that can also mean unpopular choices.
So many of my friends grew up hearing the same thing over and over from their parents and teachers. Success means being a doctor or a lawyer. Nothing else will do. But does life really boil down to just two choices? Imagine if I stood up here and tried to play you a piece with just two notes. I think you’d be looking at your watches very quickly. And what does setting aside your dreams to become a doctor or lawyer give the world? Apart from a lot of very unhappy doctors and lawyers?
Ask yourself: does the world really need another unhappy lawyer?
And I’d like to think the doctors I see are thinking about my health… not what their lives might have been like if they’d chosen differently. If your dream is to become a doctor, that’s wonderful. If your dream is to become a lawyer, good for you.
Follow those dreams.
But if your dreams lead you down a different path, then please: take that path as far as it goes.
I have been very lucky. My mother believed in my gift, and my dreams, from a very early age. She encouraged me every step of the way. Some people thought she was crazy to have me leave Singapore. “There are so many violinists out there,” they said – to her and sometimes to me. “What makes you think Min will stand out? What makes you think she can succeed?”
But if I hadn’t tried – if I’d listened to those voices, and stayed home, and put my dreams and my violin away – I would never have stood on the stage in Vienna, or London, or Prague. I would never have met the musical giants whose teaching expanded my hori-zons, and took my music into an entirely new realm. I would never have held my 300-year-old Guarnerius filius Andreas violin, never heard the notes my hands could draw from it.
All of these things came true because of the choice of following my dreams.
I said earlier that following your dreams isn’t easy, and it wasn’t for me, either. When you follow your dreams, when you find your calling, you’ll find that you al-ways want to be just a little bit better at it. You’ll keep striving.
Sometimes you’ll even wonder if you’re on the right path… especially when those dreams mean conflict. It can be conflict with parents, or friends, or anyone who thinks they know what’s best for you. I don’t like conflict, either. I like harmony – probably not a big surprise.
But sometimes in a musical piece, it’s the discordant note that signals a change, and brings you into an unexpected new place. And in life, when you push against limits and when you question the expectations of other people, that can involve conflict.
But isn’t that part of leadership?
Not every dream works out. I’ve been very lucky, but still had my share of disap-pointments. But if you never try, you’ll never know how it would have worked out. And living with the regret of never having tried is a real tragedy.
Each of us has our own unique talents, and I believe it’s this talent that drives our dreams. And together, courage, talent and dreams can take each of us to real success. Not the kind of success you measure in money. Or the size of your house or your car.
I mean the real success of a fulfilling, happy life. Where you make a contribution to your community, and achieve the goals you hold closest in your heart. That’s the success I wish for all of you. And if what I’ve said has touched you in some way, then that brings me a little closer to fulfilling my dreams, too.
Thank you.
(Post edited by me)
Her message has a big impact on me. My pastor last time had the same message as well, it's about to not let go of your dream. But at that time I don't even have any dream. To be honest, I don't even have any motivation for my life..That's why my uni is pretty crappy, when you don't have motivation you ain't going nowhere...
I like photography a lot, especially photo journalism, coz it's just something challengin & special to me, each photos got their own meaning...That's what kind of photo I love to take...And for some reason Steph keep amazes me, she lend the camera to me, which is a big deal to me, and she's very encouraging. When you have a friend that got the same interest with you, and your friend actually encourage you, lift you up, that's just the best friend you'll ever had.
I remember one of my other friend told me once about my photos "Oh, I can take better picture than that"...Yah, even if you have, you don't need to discourage & put down on people, if you are able to take better picture, it's even better if you can teach your friend how to take the picture as good as yours, or even take a better picture than yours....I don't think it's a great thing to say when you lift up yourself and tried to put down others...And for Steph she said this once "You're pictures are good..you can be a photo journalist already" and it just gave me a great impact on me...Especially her photos are even much better than me, oh, you can check her gallery here.
I guess that's for today...it's 3:38am, and I'm still up coz I ate pizza too much I guess...hahaha...anyway just need to remind all of you, do not try to limit & put down your friend, your colleague, your family, even your partner. You won't get anything out of it, the moment you started to put down your friend, that's when you are losing. I'm sure all of you like to be lifted up, encouraged (by doing positive things of course) and when you do that to your friend, you'll never know how does it will impact on your friend's life, you can even help them to break the limits by just encouraging....So try to encourage & appreciate all your friends work.....
Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself about this as well... =)
Okay time to sleep..... ciaooo
