Students have no holidays, especially Form Five students as we have to practise day and night for the HKCEE. I believe the more I pay attention, the more I gain.

Also, as a student, I can see that teachers have lots of work to do too. They have more pressure than the students.

Nowadays, teachers not only need to teach, but also have to attend meetings and courses. So 24 hours are not enough for them.

I think life in Hong Kong is like this, but we must try to enjoy our lives. Otherwise, you will end up moaning everyday. So appreciate every little things in your lives and be optimistic.

Sweety Wong, Tin Ka Ping Secondary School

Plastic bag scheme was too rushed

I am writing about the failure of 'no plastic bag' scheme implemented by ParknShop. I think Hong Kong citizens should get rid of their habit of abusing plastic bags. At the same time, ParknShop should have implemented this policy step by step in order to make the campaign a success.

One of the reasons for the failure of the scheme was that it was going too fast. ParknShop suddenly ended supply of plastic bags and buyers had to purchase one if they didn't have their own.

This led to complaints and to the failure of the scheme. Some people blamed that this policy added additional financial burden on them.

However, I think people of Hong Kong should change their attitude of using plastic bags in their everyday lives.

Undoubtedly, plastic bags are very convenient but as they are not bio-degradable, they harm the environment.

I think the 'no plastic bag' scheme of ParknShop was too radical. They should have implemented this scheme step by step in order to make people get used to it.

Ray Wong, Methodist College

Discrimination based on gender

Most people think that men should do heavy work and women should become housewives. According to some data, 98.4 per cent of car craftsmen are male; 91.3 per cent of nurses are female.

Since men are physically stronger, they are asked to do heavy work. We usually think that women are more gentle and caring; therefore they are chosen for jobs like teachers or nurses. We should change our thoughts on gender and occupation and make sex discrimination disappear from our world.

Mok Ka-ying, Our Lady of the Rosary College

Best help you can get is you yourself

Motivation in life, no matter what the source, leads to an active and positive lifestyle which helps self confidence. In order to complete tasks in an efficient manner, one needs motivation either from within or from another person.

Self-discipline is also important if you wish to improve as nobody can make you better than you yourself.

Nigel Wijoyo, California School

HD broadcast fails to reach the masses

Hong Kong started digital broadcast earlier this month, called high definition broadcast.

Though this gives high quality TV programmes, I think the coverage is not wide-spread.

Firstly, it covers only in parts of Hong Kong and Kowloon.

Secondly, the decoder is very expensive and costs around HK$1,000-HK$2,000.

Thirdly, even if you buy the decoder, old TV sets are not enough to give the quality. So you need new TV set that supports HD and that means more money.

Kwan Yee-ki, Christian Alliance S. C. Chan Memorial College

Don't try to hide your wrongdoings

When I was in kindergarten I took out my parents' wedding rings and it rolled under my bed. To avoid scolding, I kept my mouth shut. But after my mother found the ring while sweeping, I was scolded for hiding my wrongdoing.

From then on, I realised the significance of honesty and trust. We should repent sincerely and take remedial measures instead of hiding our blunders. When we are forgiven, we feel relaxed.

Yancy Siu

The pros and cons of mobile phones

Do you have a mobile phone? I'm sure that you would reply with a 'yes'. But have you thought about the reasons why you have a mobile phone?

It allows us to contact people and communicate with them by talking, sending text message or via the internet. Besides, functions like calendar, reminder, data storage and other features also help us.

Mobile phone can also reduce stress by providing us with entertainment. It can play the role of an mp3 player, a video player, a game boy, a digital camera or a radio. We can enjoy all this by having just a cell phone.

In addition, latest models of mobile phone are also well designed and have become one of our fashion statements.

But mobile phones have some bad points too.

Firstly, using mobile phone frequently can be a health risk. According to some reports, its frequent use can harm us through radiation. There were even cases of mobile phones exploding when not used properly.

Secondly, we become over-dependent on mobile phones. If we lose our mobile phone, we lose important data like the contact list and are left helpless.

But the pros of using the mobile phone are far greater than the cons and that is why we have the mobil phones with us today.

Chan Ka-yan, Tsing Tsung College