On November 11th, the Remember Day activity was held in the main hall of Nanmo at half past ten. A famous historian once described wars like this “Young generations never know how ruthless wars are unless they manage to reflect on them.” Indeed, a solemn Remembrance Day was important for every Nanmo student to know the unacceptable cost of wars, and to show their proper respect to those who sacrificed their lives in World War II. We all live in peace, but the peace we have now was earned through fire and blood.
After entering the main hall, we all waited for Mr. Chen who is the drama and choir teacher in our school to start his anti-war monologue. He was serious, and he spoke with a clear voice. From his deep-set brown eyes, I could see his hatred of war and respect for the martyrs. When the picture of thousands of allied soldier tombstones was shown on the big screen, it was silent in the hall. It seemed like every person was imagining how these young vigorous lives were cut short so tragically. Moving on, students from choir classes entered the stage to sing canticles. As the melodious sound of the piano echoed in the hall, they started to sing. Honestly, not all of them were excellent singers, but from their serious facial expression and determined eyes, we know they wanted to remember the warriors and the cost of the war from the bottom of their heart. After that, drama students including myself entered the stage. We performed a silent movie in which we first pointed guns at each other. Then, we shot and fought. Finally, most of us fell in the war, and only a few survived, but the scar the war left on people was irreversible. I am glad that the silent movie turned out to be a success. It was praised by many teachers and students.
Honestly, Grade twelve is a busy year. Before this Remembrance Day, I had never thought about the reason why we study. Is it for money, for a fancy life? No, of course not. Those who started a sinful war, they might not be evil people. In fact, many of them had quite good educational backgrounds, but they made mistakes because of their greed, and arrogance. Therefore, one important goal of studying is to learn from history, and to not make the same mistake as people did before. That’s what makes Remembrance Day so special.