Maika Nguyen

I recently had a school trip to a public experience in Singapore, the theme being about the future, getting to give that a try through AI. We started off with an activity where we made our own characters. We would take photos, and AI would turn them into visions of us in the future! Honestly speaking, I looked horrid, but we shall look past that.

After that, we started off with an activity called “Wheels Of Time” it’s exactly what it sounds like, basically a turn of a wheel back into time. Starting off with from when Singapore was found, and named “Singapura”, all the way to when Singapore gained it’s independence.

The next activity was a mini show, each of ours customised to the answers we had given during our character personalisation. A showcase of what Singapore might be like in the future, along with a look at what WE might be in the future too!

Let me stop there for now, and turn to this question. “What do you want for our future?” Not just Singapore too, the whole world in general. I know I’m only 12, there may be some silly thoughts that may never be accomplished, but I thought you might hear me out.

I mentioned the elderly in my previous post, so now I’ll talk about people like me! Kids! The world is huge. There are many kids out there in the world, younger than me, older than me. The world isn’t exactly a fair place either. I’m here, with the privilege of a computer, in a nice house, with someone to take care of me, not having to worry that tomorrow I might not be okay. That’s not the case for all kids, across the world, there’s a kid, just like me, my age, the same love and passion for music, but no opportunities. No hope. Well, not really no hope, but no chance to have hope.

Take an example, the kids in Gaza, I’m so sure there’s a kid who longs to have piano lessons, but can’t because of war. A kid who just wants to go to school, but can’t because school doesn’t exist anymore.

So what do I want for our future? Safety. Communal hope. A chance for these kids to have what they might want. That’s impossible, sure, but even though we can’t help every single one of the kids, one kid is one less whom has no chance at hope. Maybe I sound stupid, maybe I sound weird. But maybe music CAN fix a tiny batch of this vast ocean. Like I said, we are all tied by melodies. What if I could share with them a way of joy, humming a melody together?

I hate wars for this reason. Hate is a strong word, and I have that strong feeling towards why these children, innocent children, have to suffer. I’m glad now that wars are slowly decreasing, but there are more issues for sure. Sometimes I look out the window, just zone out, and think, “What will happen in the future?” And I’m pretty sure we all have thought of this at least once. Though this can’t be determined for sure, I want to just share these wise words I learnt. “We can’t erase the past, we can’t control the future, but for now, the present is in our hands, and we have the power to make the small difference for the future.” It touched my heart in a place I couldn’t quite reach, but I understand these words in and out.

So, before I end off this post, let me say this once again. No matter how small you are, or how weak you think your words or actions may be, I can promise you that a singular drop of water can be THE droplet to completely fill up a container.

love, maika.