Competition. Life is full of them. It's all about the rat race. You win, you're the best. You lose, take a hike. Tie? Let's battle it out again.

Competition has both is positive and negative aspects. The positive attribute being it pushes people out of their comfort zone and causes them to work harder, to be better, bringing them to a new level of experience. To me, the negative aspects far outweighs those that are positive.

Trained since young to compete, we start on the path of primary school (kindergarten for most). Parents send kids to good schools just to prove that their kids are smarter and by doing so, compete, in a certain way, with other parents who have children of the same age group. And as if the taxing education system have not taken a toll on us, parents compare results:"Eh.. Why Ah Boy get 99 marks when his classmates all get 100 marks?". It has also been overheard from students of a certain JC that they're unhappy getting A2 for their GP despite getting straight As for the other subjects and yet claiming the exams to be of 'no kick', while their peers in the other schools are crying their hearts out because they genuinely did badly. Looking at O levels, we spend 4 years of education, to be technically correct, 2 years of education and cramming everything into one's head just for a paper that lasts 2 hours and students, with all the anxiety and nervousness just will have a blank mind upon told to start writing. Such kind of competition isn't really fair, don't you think?

Sometimes, one has gotten so competitive, it becomes an annoyance to others. Worst still, that person knows that he/she is good but they have to add fuel to the flame. There are things in this world which are really not necessary doing and not worth doing. There are other things which could be treasured and appreciated.

"The world doesn't accept failures", I once heard. Is it really true? The push to strife better has made everyone forget to stop and smell the flowers, enjoy the breeze, listen to the birds twittering in the trees.

Where humans are existent in this world, the challenge is still on. Till then, competition will be here to stay.