GOOD LIVING

What is your idea of good living?
What advice do you have for living a fulfilling life?
Do money, health and love play a role in your conception of good living?

Being able to spend time with family and friends and also having the ability to get what I want are good living. For me, my family is the most crucial element which makes my life more precious. Spending time with my family by picnicking at the beach definitely works to release tension. During this leisure time we can also discuss our problems such as mundane assignments, crazy charity projects, etc. My family can definitely soothe my mind and boost up my motivation again. Furthermore, hanging out with friends at the mall allows us to share or exchange our views about something that we like: football! Other than that, through our chatting I can learn something about them that I don’t already know.
Having the ability to get what I want is good living for me but it doesn’t mean getting everything that comes across my mind. What I mean is having the ability to get something but I need to put effort into it. As I believe that if in our lives we can get whatever we want our lives must be quite dull. On the other hand, by putting some effort we will appreciate the stuff more and it will have a sentimental value for us (LOL).



Afandi bin Suhaimi




Good living is everyone’s dream. It is everyone’s ambition. Good living is when you have enough or excessive money to spend, when you are in the pink of health, and you have your loved ones by your side. However, a dream will only stay a dream if you don’t work your fingers to the bone. No pain, no gain. Here, I would love to share a quote from a successful entrepreneur, who is also the founder of one of my favourite labels of all time, Calvin Klein.
When I started the business, I hardly went home. I became very driven about work and about my career.
~ Calvin Klein

His saying shows how he burnt the midnight oil to become who he is now. Yes, he is surely living a really comfortable life now. But, come to think of it again, how did he achieve his good living? “I hardly went home.” This sentence tells us something. He actually sacrificed his ‘good living’ before achieving a higher level of ‘good living’. So this concludes that, if you want a good living in the future, you better start to work all the hours that God sends.

PS: I take this opportunity to wish GOOD LUCK! to the IB seniors, as well as the IB juniors who are striving to excel in their studies.

Azlan bin Latif


What defines good living? It is something subjective. Each person will have their own opinions about good living. There are some standards that people commonly use to set a good living. The standards could be in terms of level income, education, peace, gender equality, job opportunities, or illiteracy rate. It is very difficult to measure these standards. Usually, people refer to accredited organizations like the United Nations to obtain this data. However, the data cannot be trusted 100% as it may be biased or hold calculation errors. Good living varies from country to country. A good living in Nigeria could not be a good living in America. It seems to be a lot of problems in defining a good living. Yet, these obstacles cannot be the hindrance for us to achieve our own good living.
In my opinion, a good living is made from one word: gratitude. Gratitude is the feeling of fullness. You yourself feel enough of what you have. It does not matter whether you have lots or little. The most important thing is to realize that you have something and try to appreciate that thing. Try not to look up but look down. Consider yourself lucky as you have something compared to the others that do not have. You may be fat but you are still healthy. You are poor but you have a happy family. You are ugly but you are physically perfect.
This way of thinking promotes positive thinking. You can excel with your abilities rather than fail with your flaws. In life, people need to keep moving. Only by feeling enough can you move forward. Make full use of what you have and everything will be alright. At the very least, you will satisfy yourself as you have given your best shot. Gratitude is a symbol of supremacy. You do not need other people to help you feel gratitude. It is already built in yourself. You just need to ‘harvest’ it. In the end, it could be you who do not need other people as you can stand alone by yourself.
This is the good living for me. I want to live in the world with fullness, satisfaction and completion. One could be the happiest man on earth by feeling gratitude.

Firdaus b Roslan



When I hear the term “Good Living”, what immediately comes into my mind is to live outside the IB world. (haha!) I really miss the old days when I did not have to work like a machine. It is just so hectic living in this “IB world”. There is always something - never-ending IAs, homework, EE, etc. Okay, I better stop now. x)
After a year of living in this IB world, I would definitely say that I am already married to IB. Everything is all about IB. Even during our lunch breaks or outings, no matter how much we try not to talk about anything related to IB, we will still end up talking about IB. However, I am thankful to IB because it has made me ask myself: Who am I? I never asked myself who I was or what I wanted in my life before this. Thanks to IB, it opens up my mind and really makes me think about myself.
My vision of a good life is to live a Iife not filled with ambitious plans but live a life that is worth something. I believe that IB will definitely mould me into a better person rather than a robot because money is not everything.  Money is only a means to an end in pursuing the important goals in life. And for now, the good life is about living my life each day engaged in activities, assignments, and new learning that bring personal satisfaction and fulfilment. 

Fazlin Fuad


You need the following things to lead a good life: Health, Passion, Love.
Health is the absolute essential because without a “cooperative” body you would be quite lost in the woods. Keeping healthy is always on everybody's lips, but it is not something as simple as flicking a switch. This is because healthy food is hard to come by in Malaysia. For a country that prides itself on delicacies, there is preciously little here that will help you sustain a balanced diet. The rich, oily local dishes aside, what is to blame is also the onslaught of American chain-restaurants (Chili's, TGIF, Bubba Gump) serving junk food that could ruin your health with just one serving. So if you are reading this, stay away from American restaurants!
What will help you keep fit and lean are FISH, FISH and FISH. I don't mean fish done “The Manhattan Fish Market” way; I mean fish done the sashimi way. The rawer, the better. If you can taste the sea, you are doing something right. Raw fish, especially the oily ones, are high in Omega-3 fatty acids and will keep your cholesterol level in check. On top of that, they will give you a shiny skin and a youthful appearance. Granted, fish are an acquired taste. But if I had to choose between slimy marine and excess poundage, just give me a slab of the rawest salmon any day....

I also swear by berries – the whole range of them. Not only do they taste wonderful, but they also do wonders for your skin and your overall well-being. And consume lots of greens!

Drink at least three cups of green tea a day. No, not Lipton, but the authentic imported Japanese miracle that contains an antioxidant (catechin) that can blast abdominal fat. Avoid soft drinks (Coke, Diet or otherwise, Mountain Dew, Sprite) at all costs. Do it now or you will have much to regret when youth is no longer on your side.
Passion can take many forms. For me it is definitely the capital A: the Arts. Literature, music, cinema – the sources of my inspiration and the very means that allow me to dream and create. I take these art forms very seriously (reading a book is not a pastime for me), to the extent where I get completely absorbed and can think of nothing else. There are some authors (Paul Auster, Virginia Woolf) whose works I love so much that it feels like their ideas and personalities are an inseparable part of who I am. Without them I would still be searching for a lot of answers. Music and cinema work the same way for me. I have no appreciation for classical music, so laymen's pop/jazz will have to do the trick for me. The hairs on my arms stand up every time I hear Carly Simon or Diana Krall. As for cinema, give me the visionaries of the industry (David Lynch, Woody Allen, Pedro Almodovar) and I will walk with them...
I remember writing about Love in a previous issue. I don't remember whether the views I presented back then were cynical, but it is undeniable that Love, in all shapes and degrees, plays a vital role in making life worth living. Whether it is love from a friend, a colleague, a lover or a parent, it is a force that arms you against the ugliness of the world, and your life has meaning and purpose simply because it tells you you are precious to somebody.

Edward Ong


Money is Central to Happiness
 Money is not everything but without money, everything means nothing. I know that people may say I am a narrow-minded person but this is the reality. People cannot live in this world without money. In order for us to get better health, we must have money to buy medicine, supplements and health care. Even to get someone that we love we also need money. Money is the centre of everything.
From the day we were born until now, thousands and millions have been spent by our parents on us. When we were kids, we asked a lot of things from our parents. They used some of their money to get the things that we wanted so that we could be happy. After we have grown up a bit, we need to go to school. To buy books and other school equipment, we need money. After we have finished our days in school, we then need to enter university. Now, the same things happen. We study for one purpose: to have a better future. But what is behind this purpose? To get a better paid job. Are we willing to work without being paid? Ask yourself!
 Not only that, after we have worked, when we want to get married and after we have our own family, we need money to support our lives. It is just a matter of fact that people cannot live without money, and with money, it can lead us to the “good living” that we are searching for.

Mohd Izzuddin Bin Nor Azminuddin

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

~ Agatha Christie

This statement cannot be argued anymore. We cannot find any human beings who do not suffer from any hardships in life. We can only see people who are trying to be happy instead of being sad all the time. The sadness and sufferings will however teach us to be more independent and strong to face all the challenges in life.
For me, living with 7 of my family members is one of the most precious things in my life. I have a sporting, convincing yet strict father, loving mother and the naughtiest siblings! Who says I have never fought with my brothers and sister? If we are all home (my brothers are now studying at Muadzam and Serting), the house will not be in the silent mode. Everybody will tease each other until one of us cries, especially my cute youngest brother. In the meantime, we all have different types of challenges to face in life, such as my father’s and mother’s workload as a Director and Executive respectively, big exams for my siblings and the most crucial problem in my life: the IB. So, we appreciate good living by spending time together, especially every holiday when we MUST go somewhere either in Malaysia or overseas, by having dinner every night and watching cartoons such as Ultraman, Nexus, Hagemaru, Fukuchan, Tom and Jerry and others every weekend :D

In my opinion, it depends on us whether to show appreciation in life as everyone has their own commitment. Although we think that we are the unluckiest person, there are actually huge numbers of people who are leading unpleasant lives, especially those who live in countries that are facing wars. Sometimes, we are just thinking too much and being too emotional about each problem that we have to face. So, what do we have to do now? Live life to the fullest! Go and enjoy ourselves because we only live once!

Fatin Shazea Jamaludin