Essay:Describe some of your experiences in shopping malls. How important are such places in your life as a teenager in Singapore?

 How often do you visit shopping malls? Perhaps you visit them once a week, once a month or once every six months? For me, I visit shopping malls around Jurong as well as in the city every weekend. Undoubtedly, I have many experiences that have influenced me and they are important to me as a teenager in Singapore and I will be discussing three experiences in the following paragraphs.

  Do you realise that shopping malls that house supermarkets are more crowded? Yes, and for me, my main purpose of visiting shopping malls is because of the supermarket. In fact, most supermarkets are filled to the brim with strollers, wheelchairs and now even small "vehicles" for children to sit inside to accompany parents on their grocery shopping trip. Well, this is what you can expect- long snake-like queues that seem unending. Despite these inconveniences, through my experience shopping here, I realised that Singaporeans are actually passionate, kind and willing to help, contrary to the survey that showed that Singaporeans fell low on the graciousness level among over one hundred countries. Once, the 3M company held the "Step-up" campaign in the supermarket at a shopping mall and people from all walks of life were willing to chip in a number of steps to help contribute to a cause. For every five hundred steps accumulated, one sponge would be donated to a needy family. I myself joined in and I witnessed an elderly woman enthusiastically stepping up and down on the equipment at an even faster rate than me! To be honest, I was a little ashamed at the rate I was going at. Regardless of age, Singaporeans came to help out, and I could see their passion in helping others. This is important in my life as a teenager in Singapore as  I can understand more about the people of Singapore. Singaporeans are not as cold as they seem to be, and when the opportunity arises, they are willing to lend a helping hand. From experiences of fellow shoppers helping me to take a product that I have been struggling to reach for and friendly and amicable shoppers and cashiers chatting with me, which brighten my day, I can truly taste the "spicy" flavours of tropical Singapore here. I can feel the kindness and am touched by it as it inspires me to be a kinder and Singaporean who contributes as well. 

  Another memorable experience I had was in Jurong Point, a shopping mall situated in Boon Lay. I was shopping as usual with my family members when all of a sudden, an ear-piercing alarm sounded and the curtains or shutters started to unfold. We were totally thrown off guard and taken aback as we did not see this coming. It was a first time that such an incident has occurred and we stood rooted to the ground upon not knowing how to react. An announcement was made through the system that this was a false alarm and there was no fire. Fortunately for us, as a thought struck in my head that I did not know where the emergency exit was! Had this been a genuine emergency, we may have been engulfed by the fiery flames already. It was such a huge relief to me but this experience was important as it taught me that I must be ever-ready and well-prepared for any unexpected encounters that may come my way. Therefore, this experience was a valuable lesson on safety for me. I may not have experienced much in my sixteen years of my life yet, but this serves as a constant reminder that  I should be ready all the time.

Lastly, one more experience was during my visit to the shopping mall,JEM, which is linked to the Jurong East Mass Rapid Transit station. Wouldn't the experience be something different from usual? As it was Chinese New Year, only a few shops were in business, namely Han's,a  restaurant, Watsons and only a handful more. The major supermarket was even closed for the day as the staff headed back home for reunion dinner. We strolled in the shopping mall, happy and carefree as there was no crowd to avoid crashing into. However, the exceptionally silent surroundings did make us feel a little uneasy as it was way too quiet compared to the normal conditions. The silence even made us extremely self-conscious and not at ease to speak at our usual volume, for it may be heard as shouting. Most of the workers who were serving as waitresses and cashiers were foreigners, and there was hardly any Singaporean in sight. As a teenager, it made me realise that I should be grateful for what I have. It is the little things that I forget but they do matter. This experience caused me inconvenience as many shops were unavailable and there was a limited choice of dining selections to choose from. It was only then that I became aware that I had taken the shops and services available in shopping malls for granted! Maybe this is how it feels like to live in a country deprived of basic necessities? For this, I felt grateful with all my heart for the fact that I am living in Singapore. I also became more appreciative of the foreign workers who serve us, who play a prominent role in shaping our country as well!

  Therefore, these three experiences, in the supermarket,  during a false fire alarm and Chinese New Year were quite memorable to me. I believe they have helped me to learn more about life and the attitude we should take towards it. as these experiences have shaped me as a person, shopping malls definitely are important in my life as a teenager in Singapore.

Score:23/30

Comments: Such interesting anecdotes. :) I enjoyed the content of this essay! You have good control of the language. Edit your work very, very thoroughly.