Posted on 26-Dec-2014
By Brendan Eu Che-Jie of 12th Kuala Lumpur Company
October 26th, 2014
What is a phone? A phone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are not in the same vicinity of each other to be heard directly. It was created in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. If we compare technology as puberty for phones, then I would say that puberty hits phones like a truck. In these 138 years, phones really gone through a huge change in everything. From its size to its appearance, to functions, the phone has changed inside out. With the creation of phone, human history took a big step forward. Nokia 3310 was once so popular that almost it can be seen everywhere in the world. It is also so durable that it was joked to be the strongest phone in the world which cannot be destroyed. Recently, iPhone 6 was released. iPhone has become a trendy item that all youngsters want to have. iPhone 6 is now the sixth generation iPhone and we can know that even iPhone itself has gone through a huge change.
Just like a phone, The Boys’ Brigade has gone through a drastic change since it was founded. A phone, which was almost as big as our face and as thick as a dictionary changed to something so small that we can actually hold it in our palms; 12th Kuala Lumpur Company, from a company started with only 20 members grew into a company that is known as the fastest growing company in KL state with a total of around 120 members.
So, how is BB related to a phone? I will say that it is most related to its application. For example, I have learnt how to manage my time properly through BB. So the application that has the same function will be the clock. In our smartphones, clocks do not have the function to just show the time, it also acts as a timer, a stopwatch, and an alarm. A timer is a clock that constantly reminds us how much time we are left to finish the task given; a stopwatch tells us how much time does it take for us to finish a task given; an alarm acts as a reminder to remind us about the tasks we have to finish on time. Through BB, I learnt time management. As BB members, we all do know that punctuality plays a major part in everything we do. When any events or camps are being held, we are always reminded that how much time is allocated for this session, and that’s where it’s related as a timer. Those who went through physical training lessons will know what stopwatch acts as here. Creating a healthy competition among members to finish tasks faster is also included as one of the roles of a stopwatch. I will say that meetings for plans acts like meetings, as they often remind us how near the events are and they prepare us to run the plan perfectly.
Life in BB can be just like social media applications, for example Facebook and WhatsApp. Some of the BB companies are church-based while some are school-based company. No matter what it is, we still get a chance to meet new friends. For me, I have met friends from other classes and even another form. I even had the chance to meet new friends from other states and some of them are even from other countries in BB Asia, like Indonesia, Hong Kong and Macau. Usually when we get a new friend, we will save their numbers in our contacts list with their phone numbers. Basically, BB did the same thing to me too! I was not very sociable when I first joined BB as I was a very quiet person. I did not dare to make new friends or even introduce myself because I was just a shy person. Now, I have not only bond friendship with members from different classes, and even to other members of other forms despite of our different age. My social circle was expanded when I joined BB.
Promotions of ranks are a big thing to BB Boys and they do play a main part in our BB life. Therefore, how will that be related to BB life? Think about system updates of a phone. Apple has released their new system, IOS 8 months ago. Usually, a system update will make the phone to perform faster and better. Just like humans, we are the same. When promotions come in, that also means we have more responsibilities. Tasks such as planning an event will let us learn new things. No one is perfect, therefore we will make mistake while doing these stuff. These errors act like a software updater, they will remind us about our mistake and they will make sure that these flaws will not happen twice. With that, we get to learn and evaluate ourselves. Errors after errors, learning after learning, we will perform better and better, just like an updated phone.
There are many more applications and functions of the phone that are yet to be invented. I cannot relate everything as they are just too many of them. But, I am sure that there a lot more similarities than differences between the life of a BB member and a phone. Just like a phone which is something we always bring around no matter where we go, a life as a Boys Brigade member would always be with us no matter where we go. Once a BB, always a BB!
Page Created: 26th December 2014
Last Updated: 26th December 2014