"What can you buy with $1,000? Well...You can't buy a house with $1,000. You can't buy a car with $1,000, you can't buy a private jet with $1,000, at least not in the Singapore context. "What can I do with a thousand dollars then?" you may ask. Well with a thousand dollars, i can get an i-Pod, buy a cute little puppy, renovate my room, and many others. Then again, these are merely materialistic wishes.

Before i look beyond my windows, I would like to use one hundred and fifty dollars to celebrate the occasion with my family if my entry were selected. I would like to thank my family members for their never-ending support in whatever i do; this competition being no exception. A scrumptious meal with my family to celebrate life and not take harmony in the family for granted. As the Confucius saying goes, "Harmony with the world must start at home, then be carried into society".

As my school still faces shortage of funds to convert the Indoor Sports Hall into a Multi-Purpose Hall, I would like to contribute four hundred dollars towards the fund. Afterall, my school has provided me with many things which money cannot buy, such as friendship and knowledge. Without knowledge, I would not have been able to start this essay.

My favourite charities will get some share. Two hundred dollars will go to SPCA as lives of innocent animals are being taken away every day. With more funds, these animals may be supported a little longer, and hopefully a suitable owner may come by and adopt a pet, saving a life. I would also like to donate two hundred dollars to Peace Haven, an old folks home which i frequent with my grandmother. I know two hundred will not do much but again, I hope it can contribute towards a better life for the elderly whom suffer from mental disorder there.

Finally, I will buy fifty dollars worth of warheads for my classmates. Not everyone has tasted warheads before. Warheads are extremely sour, but a minute after sucking it, it will become sweet. Those who freak out at the taste of the sweet would not be able to taste the sweet part of the sweet. However, if they persevere, and are determined to finish the sweet, they will be able to taste the sweet. I hope, after they have tried the sweet, they would understand that life is always unexpected, and can throw sour situations at you. However if you are determined, you will be able to overcome the obstacles in life, and enjoy the sweet success after all the hard work. As the saying goes, "If life throws lemons at  you, make lemonade." Furthermore, without perseverance, I would not have been able to complete this essay, as I could have given up halfway.

Life is great and we should make it great!

- Lai Shumin, Crescent Girls' School"

This article won a $1,000 cash prize in the "Life is great!" essay competition organised by Great Eastern.

Click here to find out more about the competition