By Jermyn K.Y. Voon

I’m stunned how much one year of university can make a big difference in your life both academically and mentally! As I look back and reflect on the past 1 year of life, I still find it hard to believe that I am done my first year and starting my second year.

From assignments to term papers to exams and to work, I am very thankful for all of the experiences I have had during the year. It was a fighting battle but I am fairly pleased and relieved at the way things have went but I believe and know that there is still a lot of work to be done; a lot of work! I have had success but I have also had some failures. It important now, that I realize that in order to achieve great things in this life, one has to struggle and strive to achieve much higher. I am learning that I can’t be too content and satisfied with what I have but I need to aim and achieve much higher. I am starting to realize that is what makes the difference between someone who is average and someone who is the best. I know that I don’t need to been the best at everything but I have be the best at being myself and achieving my full potential.

As most of you know, I have some incredible dreams and goals that I would like to accomplish. That is why is important for me struggle to achieve because I believe out of those struggles you will win your battles and you will earn victories and you will achieve everything that you want and that is important and dear to your heart.

I am thankful to all my friends and family, who have given me their unconditional support during this time, especially my true friends and family, Mom and Dad! You may not know the extend of much you all mean to me but one thing I know for sure, is without your love, care, and support I wouldn’t be where I am today. You have always believed in me and gave me an extra push or some encouragement when you saw I was down or discouraged. You never let me be sorry for myself but you always made sure that I learned from the mistakes I made and made sure that I aimed higher. You also made it fun and enjoyable a long the way.

I am starting to realize, that anything is possible as long as you believe in yourself and have the drive to achieve it. I have also realized good things come to those people who wait, hard work and believe in the power of their dreams and abilities. Things have to earned and are not given to you, if you are not willing to struggle and hard work for them. The struggle is the important thing.

I know the summer will be a time to of learning and reflecting but one thing is for sure, I know that is important to learn and never stop striving to know more then one knows.

By Jermyn Voon

As I sit down and reflect on the approaching 1^st year of being out of high school and attending college, I am still in awe that I have made it this far. It seems like at this time of year last year, I was in high school trying to deal with all pressure in preparing for diploma exams and better yet looking forward to being finally done high school. It’s seems like it was so long ago but the truth is that it wasn’t. It was only one year ago. It’s interesting to look back and see the changes that have occurred. For me I must say is it not really the physical change but one of mental or the mind. During the 1^st year, I have learned so much about who I am as a person and individual that all of high school should have taught me. I also have learned about other people as well. It is interesting to think about all of the things that mean so much more and the perspectives on life, relationships, and friendships and of people in general that college/university teaches and shows you in your 1^st year. The things that seemed like a big deal are nothing now and the things that seemed like too small or distant to deal with are now important.

One thing that I keep coming back to is the one of life. It seems like life is confusing and uncertain. Life seems like going on a train trip, a trip that goes on and on and never stops or looks back. It’s seems like you meet people everyday, and sometimes you never see them or talk to them again. It seems like everyone is here for their own reasons and sometimes unless you agree with them or are here for the same reason, you are sometimes feel like you’re alone and isolated. I guess this is the time where you faith and spirit are tested and it is up to you to figure out how or what you will do to deal with it. At times during your life, you feel like you are fighting an uphill battle. Every time you try and climb the hill, there is always someone or something trying to make you quit and give up. For me I have experienced this numerous times, and fortunately enough I have made it to the end. Here is one example:

Well, over the weekend, I had an experience that hurts me inside. My brother, my dad and his “wife” got into a fight of having salad for lunch. I think that is the craziest thing I have ever heard of in my life. What started as a small fight soon grew into a bigger and more heated fight, people hurting each others feelings and stepping on each others toes. Why? So, what if people give you a bad look, isn’t that normal? Why start a fight over something small like that? Is it really worth it? What is going on with today’s society? One thing, it made me realize how some people are so unreal and some people don’t have a backbone in their entire body. Wow! GROW UP BUDDY!!!!! Learn how to deal with it; don’t run to someone else, in this case my dad, to solve your problems. How did you do anything in your life, if you can’t handle this small yet tiny issue? Come on! Some people are saying, not to judge or be to hash on her but I have no reason not to. It has been going on for awhile now and it is starting to become rather ridiculous. Come on! It is time to face the truth and the facts. My dad and she are part of the problem, not us!

Wow, I know everyone is wondering why I am being so hard on myself or why I am not parting it up or enjoying it. Well, the true be told I am enjoying it but I am definitely not parting it up or being too hard on myself. The question is that the way that I want to live my life. Life is one that a person defines for their selves. No one can create or make the life that you are or want to live. It’s up to you! It is up to find hope in the times where it seems like you are alone and isolated from everyone else. Then why do people like me go through times like this? Well, I hear that is it not uncommon. It happens a lot to people going through this journey let alone, people who are working and earning money. I think that is a test of strength. It is said that in the mist of hardship, isolation and loneness, you find out who you are and what you are supposed to do with your life.

I notice that making it far in this life is one that is not only one of physical endurance but one of also mental endurance as well. After talking with my pastor on Sunday, he made me realize the importance of the mind. Our mental state plays a critical part of our attitude and well-being. We can only achieve so much without the whole body working together to achieve that one goal or dream. We need to have our entire body, in order to achieve great things in this journey called life. A lot of the struggle we have is with our mind. Our mind makes us happy and makes us sad. We need to keep focused on what is important and what we want to achieve. It’s important not to lose sight on that and what is important. It’s those things that keep us going and going when things don’t go right or when it seems like you are fighting an uphill battle. Just as people say “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” May this be a lesson for all of us to continue fight on when there seems to be no ending in sight?

“Be determined to handle any challenge in a way that will make you grow.”

- Les Brown

- Improve my relationship with my creator, God. I want to have a more deeper and more intimate relationship with God, Jesus and Mary. I want them help and protect me from all the evil things in this world. As well as, provide me with wisdom and strength to think with a clear and open mind. To know the difference between right and wrong and to have the strength to stay committed and true to myself. I want them to be with me every step of my journey and hold me tight when I am weak and I am scared. For this I pray!
God Have Mercy On Me.
- Study hard by putting in the time necesary to have success. Time Management is essential.
- Get & maintain an average of at least 3.00 or better by the end of the semester.
- Make a transfer to the University of Lethbridge for year 3.
- Spend less time on the facebook & spend more time studying.
- Try & Work ahead in all my school subjects.
- Make new friends and maintain contact with old ones.
- Seek help from teachers and professors when needed. Don’t be afraid to ask.
- Move on with the divorce. Forget the past but don’t forget the lesson involved.
- Continue to on Memorizing all the major produce codes at work.
- Striving on learning how to be a manager/leader, that listens as well makes informed and decisive decisions.
- Learn not be worried about impressing especially my dad or his especially new “wife”.
- Get elected as a Member of the Youth Parliament of Canada.

**More Will Be Added as Time Goes On. Also, note: I have actually set goals and have achieve them in the past.**

By Jermyn Voon

As I reflect on the past 3 months of college and life, I am still in awe that I am here at this point. It seems like yesterday, it is a dream, a dream that seemed so distant and big or too far out for a person to get. Wow! I don’t why I all of a sudden starting to think about my life and the memories I have had but I think it is because the weather outside.

I am here now and I was there. Wow, I guess this is what life is all about. This is what it means to “take” a piece of paper and a pen and write the next chapter or chapter(s) of your life. I guess this is what it means when people say that in college, you will find out what life means and what is important to you. People have told me that you go through some very happy and joyful times and will also experience some rock bottoms where times of sadness & hardships will test your mental, physical, and psychological strengths. I guess in those times of sadness & hardships, you will find out what your life means to you.

I miss confronting sense of the familiarity and known. Elementary, Junior High & High school, gave us and give me (me especially) that sense. A sense that you knew what or where you were going to be and what was expected of you. You knew the future and you knew that if you messed up there was always someone to pull you back. For me, even work is starting to feel the same way. Being a cashier, I knew what I needed to do and what the expectations were but for some reason now (being a senior cashier/supervisor) I have started to noticed that I am at times missing that sense because I am supposed to be the one who is giving that direction or providing that guidance. It is funny to think, how in 18 yrs of life, that the roles change and that it is now up to you to do same thing as what your parents or guardians used to provide you. You need to provide yourself with your own mission and vision, and now it is up to you to make the decision and provide your own sense of expectations.

I know it’s hard but one thing is for sure is that I am starting to realize that I really don’t know what is going to happen in my life. Life is so unpredictable and ever-changing and moving. Life is like a non-stop roller coaster going up and down on the tracks. This is a perfect picture of what life is like. I think that it shows the happy or joyful times and at times the sad times or the hardships of life. It is funny that one minute life can be a blast then the next minute life can be at its worst. People go through a wide range of feelings and emotions throughout the day. If though that is how life will be, one thing is for sure, you can create your own sense of destination. The destination of people and the meaning behind it will vary greatly but it is at the sense of fulfillment that you can sit back after you reached there and relax. You will have a sense of accomplishment and content knowing that you have survived, knowing you can survive anything you want and that you did everything you could. This the true meaning behind life, life is all about how you survive, what you did to you survive, and feeling like you did everything in your humanly power to survive it and make it come true. That is what I mean when I say “Life just keeps on going and going…and that is truth. Learning never stops because as long as you are still alive, you will still need to learn as well if you as one of the quotes by Henry Ford say “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.”

Hello Everyone,

I hope that everyone is having a great December, and is ready for Christmas! This is my first letter that I have sent out to my family and friends. I thought it would be a good & easy idea to keep in touch, and keep everyone informed about everything going on in my life.

I am almost done my first semester of College, and it is very exciting. It is definitely much better then high school and a lot more fun but with that comes more responsibility on yourself to keep on top of the work. The tests and exams I have finished so far, I did alright but not great either. It comes with the whole adjustment thing, it is a pretty big jump from high school to college. I am struggling to get a GPA of 3.0, so I can get transfer to the University of Lethbridge for my Management degree in my third year. I have met so many great people here, and I am slowing realizing why College is supposed to be the best time of my life. I am also slowly but surely getting into the whole routine of things and also realizing what I need to do to succeed and be successful in College.

I have been taking a Marketing course in college and I am currently working on a group project for a local company entertainment company in town called Quicksilver Entertainment. The company specializes in high-quality entertainment particularly in street magic performances. If you want to check it out, you can visit the website at www.quicksilverentertainment.com. I have attached my business card for your viewing.

On the job front, I am still working at Sunterra Market but in a more senior role. I am a senior cashier which means that I supervise, provide on-the-floor leadership and also assist the managers when they need help. I am allowed to do refunds, exchanges, get change for the cashiers, sign out the people out after their shifts are done, assist customers and provide extra help in all areas in the front if needed. I am very happy to have the opportunity to be given more responsibility since I have worked there for about 18 months but that comes more stress and more expectations. My manager is very understanding, patient and kind to me which makes it worthwhile.

I have a blog at www.jermynvoon.wordpress.com, if you want to keep updates on my life. I will try to post as many updates as possible but it might be hard. If you want to keep in contact with me, you are welcomed to send me an email.

My family is doing amazing, and I can’t really inform you on any news on that front. Everyone is healthy, happy and keeping busy, and for that we are truly fortunate for.

I hope you and your family have an amazing Christmas, and a prosperous Happy New Year. May this Christmas bring you much joy and happiness, and may the New Year fulfill all your wishes.

Best wishes,

 Jermyn Voon

After reading one of my friend’s notes about Love, Lust and Relationship, I got me thinking about the subjects of what is love, lust and what does it actually mean to have a relationship or to be in love. In a society where relationships and love are made out to be something that people live for, the different opinions about the subjects has made me more and more confused about the subject then I have ever felt in my life. I think sometimes in life it is good to find words to display my thoughts and feelings.

Lets be honest here me as your normal everyday guy, I struggle with the distinction between the two. Sometimes, I am blinded with lust that I fail to see the love or the good in people. Lust is defined as “is any intense desire or craving for self gratification”. Remember they there many different types of lust.

As There were for lust there are also many different meaning for what the word love means but I found one those when I was searching on the internet. Love can be defined as “an intense feeling of affection related to a sense of strong loyalty or profound oneness”. Well, I think this definition covers some of the major stuff of what love means but it also misses out on some of the other stuff that are essential to love and what love means.

For me love means, of course there needs to be attraction but there has passion. I know what you think when I say passion, I don’t mean that passion but something deeper and something that can not be seen with the human eye. Passion, for me means there has to be a not only physical, but also a mental and psychological desire to find out about that person- an inner hunger to learn and grow with that person. But remember it takes two people to make that work. It doesn’t matter how hard you can try but if the other person is not willing to, the relationship will not work and doesn’t have any merit. Well, I will be honest again; don’t misunderstand me for saying that being attracted to someone is not important. It is most definitely, the most important or if not one of the most important. For us guys, it gets our attention and makes us notice you from the others girls. But remember girls, if that guy is a true guy, he will want to get to know you first and find out about your personality. There a quote that I live with everyday that puts this into perspective “Good looks catch attention but personality catches that heart”. That quote is so true.

I know that people will be very critical of me and what I have to say but I know I have to say something about it. It is unfortunate that society say that all males are like that. That is simply not always true. Remember I am not downplaying it or trying to minimize that the truth of the matter but I am trying to make you notice the there are guys that try to be the best guy they can be. Unfortunately just like with everything else, people stereotype people and can put people into categories because of the action of a few people. People have to realize that people are not perfect and that people no matter how good they may assume or try to be, people will mess up from time to time. That is human nature and can never be changed no matter how hard we try. The important thing is for people to be less critical of others. Yes, I know that everyone is looking for the perfect someone or something that will never make mistakes or do anything wrong but the reality of the matter is that there is no one out there like that.

Just like the quote says “”We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” I think it is important that we change our perspective about what love is meant to be and think about that quote. Have you ever thought maybe that is what it means to find love and be in a relationship?

Welcome to www.jermynvoon.wordpress.com, the personal blog of Jermyn K. Y. Voon, College Freshman at Mount Royal College. I decided that it was time to post a blog about my thoughts and feels about life, politics, relationships, friends and etc. Please feel free to post comments and suggestions about anything that you may have.

By Jermyn Voon

Wow, what a summer it has been? It felt like it was just yesterday that we finished grade 12 and started summer. As I look back my summer, I am excited to what is going to happen in the next few months. I am starting a journey, or if you want to put it, I am sailing a new ocean.

As look back my grade 12, I am sadden with fact that some of my friends I know I will never see again, others will come and go and others will be back for the new year. I just never know what the future has in store for me and you but all I can say “have fun, enjoy life and embrace and take the opportunities that life offers you”.

This summer, I finally turned 18. I got to experience my first drink, my first time to a pub and a nightclub/bar.

Remember the first night that I went out, it was fun. I drank 6 drinks that night. Two actually drinks and 4 shots, a night that I will never forgot but also a night to forgot as well. That type of buzz only happens once and for me it was for my 18th birtthday. I am thankful for the opportunities and for the friends that have made during the last 2 months of summer but I know there is alot more of those things to come.

Reading Kabs’ and Brieanne Biblow’s, note made me think about my high school years all over again. Wow! Everything was soo much fun but its all done. It happened to way to fast. Well not really, to be honest, it’s just starting. This when real life starts. This when there are opportunties and only those who are able to and who are willing to grab and hold on to them will have many successes in their life.

To my friends, class of 2007, I thank you again for the great times and the bad time. You may ask, why the bad times- well you need to be thankful for the bad time because without those trials and bad times, you would never have the good. As the saying goes “you want to see the good times, you have to put up with rain”.

Good luck to my fellow classmates and remember all things are possible.