Hi Perspective Readers, Sara Alina Trett

Hi Perspective Readers, I loved reading Perspective when I started Secondary, I loved writing for it, I loved being an Editor, I (kinda) I―have no idea how to start this Editor’s note. loved being a Managing Editor, and I guess as Literally none at all. fashion dictates I’ll probably love being an Editor in Chief too. I guess my hesitation is because at the moment I’ve got a lot going on. Which means as usual, I’m The only other alternative is that it’ll go horribly, I’ll worrying about a lot of things, which is something (as become too stressed to work properly on my A- the issues pass) that will become strikingly obvious levels, and the magazine will become a hated- about me, to my Perspective team, and to you, if you flaming-wreck for next year’s CCA to deal with…. And choose to read my other Editor’s Notes… If I choose really, what are the chances? to write them… Thankfully, as Zhu Lin and I were there to save As the new Editor in Chief, it’s my job to read through Kenneth, Eric and Ina will be there to save me. And in the articles written by various editors and freelance turn I will be able to infuriate them and ask writers before the academic year starts so that I can ridiculously inconsiderate things of them, which put the first issue into works. I’ve just finished eventually I’ll have apologized enough for to make reading, and editing the pile of them that I’ve them forgive me. amassed on my email, my facebook and in my Downloads folder, and- not to be cheesy, but wow. I I look forward to seeing this issue when it’s printed, know some really amazing writers. and all the other printed issues that will come to follow over the next year. Not because “wow, I made Reading through, I thought I’d feel the confidence of that, isn’t it fabulous” (a little bit because of that), but a new Editor In Chief, something I’d always seen in because it’s solid, manufactured, published proof, Kenneth, working on the magazine last year. I figured that I was able to make my small contribution in that in some magical “coming of age” moment, my putting another Perspective to print. ascent into “Editor-in-Chief”-hood, would be documented by some dramatic lightning bolt, which This magazine, for me, is a medium through which would bring endless amounts of inspiration and show someone can, not only learn how to write, but learn me some prophetic plan of what I would carry out the how to write for other people; learn to write so that rest of the year. It’s a couple of weeks till print, not a people actually take an interest in your opinion, and lot has been sorted out yet, and still nothing. maybe become open to the possibility of someone else’s. If you’re the kind of person who likes hearing In contrast, reading through these articles was different peoples’ opinions, then well, I guess you’re thoroughly humbling. going to enjoy Perspective over the next year. If you’re not… well… we have some excellent pictures, I (unlike Ina) cannot write a page and a half explaining and a fold out squid for you to play with. how the theory of relativity is linked to a student’s preparation and mindset for their school year. Neither can I quote lines from, or clearly explain the plot from ANY of the Matrix movies while also exploring Your Ever-Doubtful Editor, perceptions of reality like Eric has managed to do. To be honest, I find myself perfectly suited to random bouts of writing fiction, or constructing imaginary Sara Alina Trett conversation in my head. And by that logic I’M the one qualified to publish a campus magazine? (Editor-In-Chief)

Writing has always been a big part of my life, as any and all of my friends know: (1) because I tend to mention it more often than would be considered casual (2) because I will literally volunteer for anything and everything related to writing (3) because I am the most annoying person ever to have English with (that last one being something that I am painfully aware of, and am trying to correct). I want to talk about printing. (read: heavily edit) pieces most in need of help. They have been both our anchor to sanity and Printing is the worst part about pushing this our support system all year, and we wouldn’t magazine out. Printers can be late and can try have been able to do anything without them. to take advantage of us, being a small By letting us focus on administration and independent publisher, and so despite the fact editing, they let us concentrate on the we literally wouldn’t exist without them, they important job of actually having something to can sometimes be enemy number one. Printing print, whilst making sure every single one of the is the cause for delays and slip ups and a host 80+ kids that are in the CCA stayed happy. of other problems. But seeing a fresh stack of magazines come into school over a lunch time I want to talk about last year. and watching them get around school like magic is a wonderful thing to behold. Which was a very strange year, suddenly having to work under Kenneth, and sharing a position I want to talk about writers. with Sara – someone I never knew very well. I had more meetings with Mr. Wilson last year Who are; naturally, the lifeblood of any than in all the rest of my time in GIS combined, organisation that tries to print words on paper. which is probably both a good and a bad thing. Who are also kids not much younger than I am, The stress and anxiety that comes with running whom Sara and I have to sympathise with while a CCA cannot be underestimated, and the Kenneth goes all crazy monster scary. Whom we number of times I had to listen to Kenneth have to push and pressure to keep to deadlines whine and break down about something trivial. when they have deadlines of their own, on Let’s just say that he owes me one. homework and projects and the rest of it. Whose work we all have to edit and improve, so I want to talk about this year. that in the end they improve. I know the writers look up to their editors, and in some cases are To be fair, I still really don’t know Sara all that afraid of the three mysterious people that seem well. But I’ve seen enough of how she works to to run the show and call out registers. But more know that Jie Wei and Wai Fung and Adrienne than that, I hope they know how proud we are made the right choice, putting her up for this of them, and of all the work they’ve done. job. I’ve always read the Perspective, but now I’ll probably read it a little differently, having I want to talk about Editors. been on the other end. I don’t know if I or Kenneth will be able to keep our hands out of The only real link we have to the CCA outside meddling, but I do know that we’ll be dropping of furious emails and meetings. The editors by to the English floor on Monday afternoons each take care of their kids with almost parental sometime, just to say hi. And we’ll be happy to care, and serve to filter and subtly improve do so. Perhaps the most fundamental, inexorable, alleviating or sometimes even heartbreaking truths of the human experience is the inevitable passage of time. Time is baffling yet ordinary, it is one man’s medium for greatness and another man’s kryptonite, it is both a physical, scientific entity as well as an abstract, social one. Not to sound too new age but, what is ‘Time’? How do our perspectives of it affect our lives? More importantly, how on earth do you manage and optimize these fleeting moments of ‘time’?

Relativity Speaking. So let’s say you orbit a black hole (and somehow withstand being torn We generally think of time and the apart and turned into spaghetti), what motion of time as a constant and would happen is that time, for you, universal thing that which quantifies would pass much slower relative to the progresses of our existence. Like time back on earth. That collapsing if I spend 20 minutes eating lunch star’s gravity is so immensely strong and you spend 20 minutes reading a that time itself, or rather space time, book, we would both be done at the can be pulled into it and thus its same time, because time is the same motion can be slowed. With this everywhere and with whatever you do phenomenon known as Gravitational right? 1 second is 1 second right? Time Dilation, spending 1 hour there Time is a simple and a totally would equate to like 50 years back on elemental component of life right? earth, returning would be like physically travelling to the future! Well… not really! Why, “the truth How cool is that? resists simplicity.” Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity entails that the Time controls us. passage of time is physically variable; it changes depending on where you In a similar and analogous way, the are in the universe and with how fast passage of time for you doing day to you travel, and is somehow intimately day things can vary depending on linked with the concept of space – your psychological perspective. what we call “spacetime.” “Time flies when you’re having fun,” time freezes when you wait. They say as well that prospects and never on the now must indubitably the older you get, the shorter each year feels to be. have some tragic repercussions. The past, present Yeah, I think we’ve established the fact, scientifically and future must coexist in such a balance where the and socially, that the passage of time seems more outcome of your present moment will be subjective than constant. optimized. Bringing this back to actual life a little bit, you’ve But not only does our psychological perspective of got to learn to balance school and work. I think, for time affect our sense of duration, I keep with a firm us, one of the primary inhibitors of this is belief that it also influences our decisions and procrastination. Don’t do it! I know that’s probably behavior. Psychologist Philip Zimbardo postulates the most hypocritical thing I could say – seeing as that our actions are influenced by what he calls I’m about as good at not procrastinating as I am at ‘time perspectives,’ written in his book called “The not breathing – but honestly, I insist because I Time Paradox”. Every person has a certain know. Procrastinating makes you do silly passive combination of 5 main perspectives: 2 that are things that you don’t even enjoy that much, it’ll past-oriented, 2 present-oriented and 1 that is make you keep worrying about the work that you future-oriented. Some base their decisions on what should be doing, and even worse, it’ll kill you the has happened in their past experiences, of those, night before the due date. For this brand new there is Past-positive and Past-negative depending school year, I challenge you to try avoiding it. Do on whether you take your impetus off of happy your work and once you’ve done it, you can enjoy memories or regretful ones. These are people that what you like to do guiltlessly. Work hard, play constantly think of what has already happened, feel hard. great nostalgia or are driven by past regrets. Some Time is the elusive facet of life that essentially people are impulsive and derive their actions on composes existence*. Humanity has long been the spur of the moment, their transitory thoughts obsessed with trying to control time; we want to and emotions- those for pleasure are the Present- live forever because we want infinite time, we want hedonistic and those who believe that life is to repeat certain times, skip the others, we want to hopelessly fated are the Present-fatalistic. These are speed it up or slow it down. Indeed, what an like the “YOLO swag” people or the people that advantage it would be to master and hone your submissively drift through life. However, the passage of time. However, time is fundamentally arguably wiser perspective that most of us base our something that can only be optimized, not decisions on is that of the Future-oriented. controlled. Whether time for you passes like it does near a black hole or whether it flies like an arrow, I PATIENCE IS MARSHMALLOWS! think the most important thing of all is to give your time some form of meaning to you. Look to the Our families and education systems socialize us to future constantly, but make sure you stick your be more Future-oriented and consequently train us tongue out once in a while to taste the sweetness to resist temptation, to be forward thinking and of the day. diligent. Under good reason though! An experiment was done where children were given a “I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.” marshmallow and were told that if they waited 3 – Shakespeare minutes, they would be given another marshmallow. The experiment was reanalyzed 14 *Try saying that ten times fast. years later, and they found that the 1/3 of those whom resisted the temptation, on average, scored 250 points higher on SAT’s. The proof is in the pudding! Despite this, I do believe that caution ought to be founded on the virtue of living in the INA HANNINGER future. If all that we do is for the future, if all of our life is for what will be instead of what currently is, I fear that you will someday come to a point in which you wouldn’t have lived at all. Life would have just passed you by. Yes, such a life built solely on REAL(ITY)?

I was in the shower one morning and, as one usually does, I began musing about random stuff like life, the universe, and everything. So while my mind was wandering through the mechanics of the cosmos I found myself thinking: “what if none of this is real?” This then led to, “am I real?” and further on to, “what is reality?” this may get complicated so electrical signals interpreted by your brain.” bear with me. By that argument we wouldn’t know what real was even if real slapped us in the face. So that I can fully explore this wonderfully frustrating question that refuses to be left One may say that they know what reality is unanswered, I will be making numerous because they have lived this way their whole references to philosophical theories, life but again, as Morpheus will tell us, “Have perceptions on the space time continuum, you ever been in a dream, that you were so and perhaps a quote or two from my sure was real? What if you were unable to favourite movies. wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and As the all-knowledgeable Wikipedia will tell the real world?” The first time I watched “The us, “reality is the state of things as they Matrix” I didn’t take notice of the truth behind actually exist rather than how they may these words, distracted as I was by the non- appear to be or imagined as”. So in other stop kung fu action taking place. But after the words, reality is fixed. However, what makes fourth or fifth (hundred) time watching it I us so sure that what we assume to be reality became a bit less sure of myself. What if this is in actual fact; reality? world is all in my mind and nothing is real? Maybe some greater entity is pulling the Have you ever wondered if you were the only strings; I may be part of some experiment or person who actually existed? For all I know, trapped, as in Matrix, in a virtual world while this world may all be in my head and I’m machines harvest our life force as a source of writing a nonexistent article to be read by energy. Doesn’t really matter which, they’re all figments of my imagination. Or maybe, dear pretty creepy. reader, I am a figment of your imagination. Let me use an example. As the wise and Now to comfort the minds of those being powerful Morpheus said during the first sucked into a metaphorical mental black hole Matrix (1999), “If real is what you can feel, upon reading this article, try this: Worrying smell, taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply about the reality of things is ultimately pointless. Despite claims that reality is constant, I find that reality is relative to the individual. Even if reality is not what it seems, our present life is all we have at the moment and, try as we might, we cannot do anything about that. Focus less about the meaning of eric blackshaw life, work with what you have and leave the rest to the philosophers. Unfortunately that means school, work and exams but... tough. Quod est Vita?

One day there’ll come a time when I don’t feel the need to wax poetic about the past. Melancholy is an easy trap “Every man dies twice. to fall into when the majority of your time is spent writing and pondering. I would be an excellent Once, when he stops breathing, Aristotelian Philosopher King, but the circumstances of and again, when his name my life do mean I’m rather stuck instead being a student is last said”. in the Upper Sixth.

Not that I’m complaining. Perhaps the scariest thing is for you to die the second In any retrospective, one inevitably becomes just that: death before the first. Of course, a preoccupation with retrospective. Whether on existence or on yourself or on mortality is hardly something that is ever healthy, but I any number of other things one might reminisce and suppose writing a play about it (and having it performed ponder about, that is entirely up to the individual. For by actual people, including your best friend, for actual example, I often do what I did above: a long paragraph people who are actually paying actual money to see it) is followed by a little quip at the end that apparently hardly healthy either. In all likelihood, I’ll die the second deserves its own line. I suppose then that that is a death very soon after the first death, cosmically reflection of my inability to express myself honestly and speaking. I will not be an Alexander of Macedon, a fully when it comes to things I actually care about. No, Leonidas; an Augustus. I will not be a Plato, an Aristotle; every expression of actual emotion must be tempered a Socrates. I am a mere hoplite in the legion of well with a mildly sarcastic one-liner, otherwise people existence, and so I shall die. might find out I actually do have a soul, and all the wonderfully terrifying feelings that come with it. So then, if my life is unlikely to impact history as whole, perhaps I should simply be hedonistic, and look for my I’m at an odd middle point in my life right now. In a own happiness. The Greeks would have called this a year’s time I’ll hopefully be in another country, preparing quest for eudaimonia. Some translators would call it for three years of university, or getting ready to leave. A “happiness” or “contentment”, but that, at a basic level, year ago I had just received my IGCSE results. Being in “eu daimon” means “good spirit” suggests something the middle of the stepping-stone between what could more, something ineffably and specifically different. vaguely be termed ‘childhood’ and what could very Eudaimonia is eventually unique because it is an end in broadly be defined as ‘adulthood’ isn’t a particularly itself: we do things to gain eudaimonia, but we are normal place to be in. The easy 90s of my GCSEs seem seeking eudaimonia for the sake of eudaimonia. In a world away, and the towering spires of cathedrals and essence, eudaimonia is the base Form of happiness: it is echoing halls of universities seem an unreachable in itself desirable, and there is nothing that might be unattainability. added to it to make it more desirable.

I know exactly where I am, and yet I am lost. A man then might ask where I might find my eudaimonia. The truth is, of course, that I have not an An in-between point for an in-between person in an in- answer for myself, much less for anyone else. I have between life, then? No, dear God, please no. Take my vague notions, but then again, who doesn’t? That I love, my land, my coin, all of it, save me, sweet Jesu, would do the things I longed to do, see the things I from normality! That much I know at least, that I would longed to see, be the person I longed to be! That I rather have the ivory tower of my privileged life would dare tread the crooked winding path of love and snatched away and burnt before my eyes than succumb despair and hope and tragedy and all the rest! That I to the average. But even as I say this I know I lie. No might live a life I dream to live, and dream the dreams I doubt I will entertain grandiose dreams of an live to dream! That I had a thousand lives to live, each extraordinary existence, but the fair likelihood is that I differently, hedonism and stoicism and restraint and will live an average life. Comfortable, yes. I find no Caligulaic excess; each a hundred times over! shame in admitting I’m likely clever enough to get through mortality relatively well. But extraordinary? But until then, I suppose I will have to make do with one Unlikely. life and two deaths. Hic est vita tua, Cinead Norenius. And so I shall live it. An oft-attributed and misattributed quote springs to mind at this point. There are a hundred variations and a KENNETH NORONHA thousand sources, but the sentiment is clear: SQUIB: The Back-To-School Playlist

Stepping away from your nocturnal habits and getting up at 7 in the morning is pretty depressing. Opening new textbooks and having to read through every single printed word is possibly even more depressing. Maybe you want to stay where you were 3 weeks ago, drinking juice on a beach while watching buff surfers. The start of school brings an end to these fantasies but where there is no hope, there is music. Here are a few of my favourite albums to drive you through the first few weeks of school.

lyrics. High Hopes’s fragile yet Parklife, to put simply, is a great p o w e r f u l m e l o d y a n d record. Whether it’s with the sorrowful riffs is bound to radio popscene sound that is impress you, while All Comes exampled in Girls & Boys and Down shows off Garrigan’s London Loves or the delicate, distinctive vocals. Remember soft ballads like End Of Century to get a box of tissues ready and To the End; Blur has it all. before listening to this album. The weighty 60’s guitar and the glam radiation of Britpop and Squib’s Pick: Talk rock in tracks like This Is A Low This is the song if you’re is probably what made British seeking consolation after a music so dazzling at all. bad day. Its swooning, anthemic chorus and fragile SPECTOR VAMPIRE WEEKEND Squib’s Pick: Girls & Boys verses portray Kodaline’s ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS Listen and take a trip back to MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY finest. the 90’s. Catchy and repetitive, Enjoy It While It Lasts is ‘Girls & Boys’ is a song that will Vampire Weekend’s comeback what your friends may tell brainwash you once and for all. is absolutely phenomenal. Not you all the time. So take it only does their new album literally, because this album distinguish itself from their is downright brilliant. This previous work, but now every band has lots of energy – song is accompanied by enough to get you through heavenly choirs and a haunting a whole school year or more essence. Step is reminscent of with tracks like Friday Night, Arcade Fire, while Unbelievers Don’t Ever Let It End and and Diane Young progress at a poignant ones like Grey faster pace, with roots from Shirt & Tie and Grim Reefer. their previous album Contra. What Spector’s music offers you is a mental sanctuary in Squib’s Pick: Finger Back pop, and even with their Vampire Weekend’s original THE BEATLES new single Decade of colours show in this song. SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS Decay, their talent and Listen to this while on your way CLUB good vibes is your ticket to to school; it’ll definitely make surviving school. A SILENT FILM your day. I don’t really have any words SAND & SNOW Squib’s Pick: Never Fade to describe this band. It may Away have been 46 years since this Opener Reaching the Potential This track is like a cup of album’s release, but nothing sets the tone for Sand & Snow. It hot chocolate in their comes close to it other than perfectly conveys what's in store album. Its a great song to true perfection. Sgt. Pepper for the listener, from the finish off the album with, is packed with inside jokes, deceptively mellow opening to getting you ready for the broad music-hall humor and the contemplative, philosophical next day. mind blowing creativity, lyrics to the driving beats that being not only the Beatles' launch the song's mood to the most artistically ambitious rafters. Every song off this album album but their funniest to is fascinatingly captivating. One cheer you up for the new could make comparisons to The term. Killers and Coldplay, but A Silent Film truly stand on their own Squib’s Pick: Within You with unique tracks like Anastasia, Without You that alternates from dulcet KODALINE Covered by many renowned strings to electric synths. IN A PERFECT WORLD bands such as Sonic Youth, this song was the beginning Squib’s Pick: Harbour Lights Perfect World is a fantastic of the raga influence on Light and refreshing yet heavy debut album. Kodaline are an modern music. Harrison’s and solemn, this is a song that Irish quartet, the lovechild of Tambura and Sitar’s haunting will suit your mood at any time Keane’s beautiful harmonies melody will bring out a sense BLUR of the day, and gear you up for and early Coldplay’s heartfelt of nostalgia in you. PARKLIFE yet another day at school. JOAKS: The Not-Ready-For-School Playlist

Not ready to do some work? Feeling like there’s too much already? Maybe you’re even looking forward to next July already so the next summer can start. That’s fine! If you’re not looking to put yourself in first gear for the new school year right now, relax and relive that summer feeling with fifteen great songs.

quartet’s true wildness at may sound like he just H o w l e r f ro n t m a n Hawaiian Air - Friendly heart is best conveyed woke up from a coma, Jordan Gatesmith’s Fires in this song instead, in but it only helps conjure lyrical snarls and all its raucous joy. images of lazy days at guitarist turned NME If you spent the summer the beach in my head – writer Ian Nygaard’s just dreaming about the perfect concoction beautiful shred guitar exotic beaches instead for a summer song. work together to of actually going places, create garage rock as this song–about a typical it should be – raw flight to Hawaii made to and unbridled. sound more surreal than it actually is via bongoes Bullet - Franz Ferdinand and woody synthesisers– is for you. After three years, Franz Ferdinand are back, even set to grace music festival Urbanscapes Disconnected - later this November. This Pegboard Nerds song is a bouncy number that isn’t quite three Disconnected channels Francisco - Swim Deep minutes long but will 8-bit music from old Nothing - Drenge have you feeling fresh arcade video games, This peppy opening after finishing all those which will have you as tune brings to mind If summer frustrated piles of homework. perky as Mario when blue skies and makes you, listen to Drenge. collecting mushrooms. you wish that summer The brothers Loveless would last forever. sport angry guitars a la Sister - Lemonade early Arctic Monkeys, and the bluesy licks on Echoing electric pianos Nothing will have you and plaintive crooning headbanging in no are eminent all through time at all. this song, which could probably get you lucid dreaming while you’re at it. Just listen to it and close your eyes. You’ll see what I mean. Norgaard - The Vaccines An oldie but a goodie. Changing of the Seasons - Two Door Clash The Truth - Another short ditty, sharp Beach Fossils strumming and energetic Cinema Club singing in shouts from The title track off Beach frontman Justin Young Moving away from their indie rock roots, the Fossils’ newest album never fails. sans guitarist Zachary The Importance of Northern Irish trio have Being Idle - Oasis reinvented electropop, Cole Smith truly sets them apart with floating adding slick guitar riffs Here, Liam Gallagher disjointed vocals and behind all that synth. whines about how he sparkling guitar picking. “can’t get a life if his Black Mambo - Glass heart’s not in it” – I’m Animals sure we can all relate. Oxford quartet Glass Animals are marketed entirely through their similarity to artpop brothers Alt-J, but this Johnny Bagga’ Donuts - song establishes a new Palma Violets name for them – so let tinkling xylophones and While they’re best known gentle vocals take you for their smash hit Best of Sun Kissed Bliss - back to those lazy Friends, the Lambeth SPLASHH Wailing (Making Out) - summer days you spent quartet’s true wildness at Frontman Sasha Carlson Howler in bed.

This papercraft may be constructed with or without glue. It is not designed to sit up on its own, but you can hang it up by taping string to the back of one of the top triangles on the squid’s body. In my head the plan for construction was something along the lines of “cut it out and stick it together ok you are done” but obviously, that is not terribly helpful, so I have written some instructions that are hopefully more useful. Following the numeric order of the tabs is recommended.

With glue (actually easier than without glue)

I found double sided tape and/or super-glue the easiest adhesives to use when constructing this, as they have good holding power and dry Without glue quickly. With wet glue, the paper tends to buckle and you have to hold parts in position Because I can never find a tube of glue when I for a while until it dries. Glue sticks are not very need it, I end up sticking my hair to something sticky and so the whole thing falls apart when I use glue. eventually. Cut out net, cutting on dark brown lines. Cut out net, cutting on dark brown lines. Cut brown slits. Cut slits 10-16 (brown lines), then cut off ALL white tabs. Score light brown lines on body net, then fold them. Score light brown lines on body net, then fold them. Curl tentacles 10-13 a bit by rolling and unrolling them. Glue pink tabs on the main body to the back of where their corresponding white tabs used to Insert tabs into corresponding slits. Construct be. the body first before attaching various appendages. Curl tentacles 10-13 a bit by rolling and unrolling them.

Slot tabs 10-16 on the various appendages into their respective slits.