Nana Prempeh and Ernest Sowah win 2007 Essay Competition
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Nana Prempeh was recieving a haircut when he got the news that he is a winner
The following are Nana Yaw Prempeh's 2 winning essays for the form 1 category:
Essay Number 1:
What are you most afraid of?
*Fear* is a distressing emotion caused by impending danger, evil or pain and
especially dread to meet or experience the danger.
Psychologists such as John B. Watson and Paul Ekmann have argued that fear,
along with a few other basic emotions such as joy and anger, is innate in
all human beings. Fear is a defensive, survival advantage, and may have
evolved in a variety of organisms. It is usually a response to a particular
stimulus. For example, a person may see a spider and experience fear. Fear
serves as motivation to escape to safety.
An example of this may be something dangerous and spontaneous, during this
situation the blood goes to big muscles (like legs) and adrenaline is pumped
out to the muscles allowing the person to run faster. In addition, the body
freezes up just an instant allowing the brain to decide if another reaction
would be better (like hiding). In the brain, hormones are released centering
the attention on the threat always looking for the most accurate reaction.
There are varied forms of fear such as the follwoing:
ailurophobia (fear of cats)
didaskaleinophobia (fear of going to school)
entomophobia (fear of insects)
glossophobia (fear of speaking)
myctophobia (fear of darkness)
ophidiaphobia (fear of snakes)
xenophobia (fear of strangers or foreigners)
zoophobia (fear of animals)
All these are forms of fear but what I fear most is to die and leave my
young children behind. Dying and leaving my children behind is my greatest
fear as I would not know what would happen to them. Child delinquency is on
the rise in Ghana and most of these children who fall victims have their
parents or father dead.
It breaks my heart anytime I see children engage themselves in prostitution,
gambling, drug abuse, smoking, drinking and the latest act in Ghana,
"contract killing." These children who are victims of these acts had less or
did not have any proper upbringing due to the fact that they either lost
their parents or had irresponsible parents.
On televsions, we see children who are holding guns and fighting in Darfur,
Sudan and other countries.If their parents were to be alive, I believe they
would be able to advise their wards to turn away from social vices and the
killing of mankind. Death they say is a necessary evil but I would not like
to die before my children while they are young.
Further more, the extended family system that is seen in Ghana is phasing
out. We are in the times where uncles do not care anymore. Grandfathers and
aunts are busy looking after their own. When you die leaving your children
so young, it will really be a major problem as no one will look after them.
They will have to fend for themselves and that is when they get themselves
in bad company leading to their involvement in atrocious acts which serves
as a canker in the society.
What I am therefore most afraid of is dying while my children are still
young.
Essay Number 2:
What is the greatest advice you ever received and how did it change your life?
When I sat down to list useful advice I have been given over the years,
there were about half a dozen of them, but fascinatingly, they are all
variants on the same theme, and that theme is one of *saving* *and investing
for the future.*
**
Nana Prempeh
In common usage, *saving* generally means putting money aside, for example,
by putting money in the bank or investing in a pension plan. In a broader
sense, saving is typically used to refer to economizing, cutting costs, or
to rescuing someone or something. In terms of personal finance, saving
refers to preserving money for future use - typically by putting it on
deposit.
I was in JSS 2 at that time. My teacher used to say a lot about saving money
instead of using them on "lollipops" and "abele walls." Madam Vida was very
good and though she was telling us the right thing, we all thought it had to
be done when we are 40 years old and above. While others giggled, some
played with the table till she finishes what was termed "oldies lecture."
She would say,"whether you want to go on a vacation, buy a house or enjoy a
comfortable retirement, you need to save money."
I therefore went to her one afternoon during break time to get to know the
real meaning of saving and investing. Some of my classmates really teased me
as my dad was very rich and owned a company and a hotel in Accra. They
wondered why I had to save since my dad was there for me.
I then went home after school and told my parents that I want to save so. My
mother was really enthused about the whole idea and I realised that what my
teacher was saying held a lot of water. With the help of my parents, I
bought some shares and also opened a savings account at a bank where I used
to deposit money.
I started saving some of my pocket money and bought some treasury bills. One
Saturday evening, I was hit by the worst news of my life. My parents had
died in a car accident on their way from a funeral in our hometown. My
father's relatives came to the house and the final funeral rites were
performed. Life became a little different as I was not getting the money I
used to get from my parents. All their properties were taken over by my
family members and they never really bothered about my education.
My school fees was been paid alright but I was not made to take part in all
vacation and extra classes. I knew very well that I was weak at Mathematics
so needed special attention. I then went to the bank and used some of the
money I had saved to pay for my classes as I was so much bent on making it
to Prempeh College. I knew without the Mathematics, my dream of becoming a
school mate with the president of Ghana would be futile. When the Basic
Education Certification Examination results were released, I came out with
flying colours in all the subjects and had admission at Prempeh College, my
dream school.
Had I not had that great advice and saved, I could not have made it to the
college. I however owe my success to the advice I had from Madam Vida and
will stick to it till I die. "Save and invest for the future" is
the greatest advice I have ever received and it has influenced my life a
great deal.
