<p>We went for an excursion and I remember being so excited for it, only to end up disappointed. They had taken us to a large office complex - with its dull grey walls, very rectangular and symmetrical buildings, a place that seemed to suck out any semblance of enjoyment - instead of the fun and colourful amusement park I had envisioned. To rub salt into the wound, the place was deserted. </p><p><br/></p><p>The teachers separated us according to our classes and led us through different hallways. The teacher who led my group started talking about the history of the place. A boring speech about how the land was acquired, how long it took to build, even going further to explain that the materials used were of the highest quality and that the building itself would stand the test of time, could withstand any storm or earthquake. They raved on about how it was a new addition to the wonders of the world but alas, not even their excitement could make it a less boring lecture.</p><p><br/></p><p>Suddenly, an alarm blared. There seemed to be an emergency, I heard hurried footsteps from outside our hallway. Another teacher ran in and frantically whispered something to my teacher. The other teacher left almost as soon as they came while my teacher corralled us down another corridor into a large room. </p><p><br/></p><p>This new room was designed oddly. There was a large empty space where all of us in my class were gathered and behind us where a wall should have been, was another room. This one was more like an office, with desks, rolling chairs and fancy looking desktop computers. </p><p><br/></p><p>My teacher told us not to leave the room and to never cross into the office space. I remember thinking that was a strange request, while my friends and I moved closer to the threshold separating the large space from the office. I noticed there seemed to be even more space behind the office. Behind all the desks and chairs, there was a wall with many staircases unlike the one we had used during the tour, leading to places that seemed illogical based on the exterior of the building. Almost like M.C. Escher's Relativity, with no way to escape and I could see similar offices in the distance behind the staircases.</p><p><br/></p><p>Once we got to the threshold, I felt an overwhelming urge to go into the office space or maybe it was my friends that dared me to cross over but something called me and I heeded the call.</p><p><br/></p><p>I stepped over the threshold into the office section, everything was still and felt unnatural. Everyone was still in their own groups talking amongst themselves, speculating about why our teacher left in such a hurry and wondering why we were all alone in the room. They all seem to ignore the strange office; it felt like they were purposely avoiding the elephant in the room. </p><p><br/></p><p>Then I set out to explore the room. Surely, I think, it couldn't be that boring. I walked past rows and rows of desks and chairs that seemed to go on forever and wondered how a room so large could exist in a place that looked smaller from the outside. </p><p><br/></p><p>Some knicknacks on one of the desks drew my eye and I picked up one, all I remember about it was that it was something unusual that I had not seen before. That seemed to have triggered something because I heard a weird click and all of a sudden the walls started to close in. I started running towards the other room, towards my friends who were beckoning to me while I was trying to avoid being crushed.</p><p><br/></p><p>As I got closer to the threshold I noticed that that one was closing too. Like a garage door that didn't exist previously suddenly spawned into existence and rapidly separated me from my classmates. I started to pick up speed, that door must not close. There was no other way for me to get to my classmates.</p><p><br/></p><p>Just as I reached the threshold, there was only a sliver of space left between the rooms, not enough for me to leave the office. My friends were calling to me, screaming my name, bending down to look at me while the door kept on closing with no levers or any way to stop its descent. </p><p><br/></p><p>The metal door closed completely, I stopped hearing my friends. The walls stopped closing in and the room is now a fragment of what it was. I looked around trying to find another way out. </p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>Then I see one! Behind me, in one of the rooms I could not really make out in the staircase, I saw my friends still calling my name and I ran towards them. Luckily, I reached them this time. But for some reason I could not go to them. We were only a few inches away from each other but I cannot cross this new threshold. They kept calling me, telling me to hurry up, but I could not. An invisible wall prevented me from going to them. I'm trying my hardest to explain this to them. When suddenly another garage door appears and shuts and I am alone once again with the voices of my friends still ringing in my ears.</p><p><br/></p><p> </p><p>I close my eyes trying to figure out what happened and if I should try climbing up the strange stairs hoping it will lead me out.</p><p><br/></p><p><br/></p><p>Then I open my eyes. I'm no longer in the office. I'm on my bed, dazed and wondering how I got there. </p><p><br/></p><p>Thankfully, it was all a dream. </p><p><br/></p><p>……………………………………………………………………………………</p><p><sup>It has been a while because of procrastination but since I talked about my dream about secondary school last time, I think it's only fair that the next one I talk about should be the one I had about primary school.</sup></p><p><sup><br/></sup></p><p><sup>I moved primary schools and I remember telling it to some of my friends at the time and one of them said I had it because some of my old friends missed me and were calling me back.</sup></p><p><sup><br/></sup></p><p><sup>I need to have more dreams so I can write more.</sup></p><p><sup>HAPPY NEW YEAR!</sup></p><p><br/></p>
At the end of the month, we give out prizes in 3 categories: Best Content, Top Engagers and
Most Engaged Content.
Best Content
We give out cash prizes to 7 people with the best insights in the past month. The 7 winners are picked
by an in-house selection process.
The winners are NOT picked from the leaderboards/rankings, we choose winners based on the quality, originality
and insightfulness of their content.
Top Engagers
For the Top Engagers Track, we award the top 3 people who engage the most with other user's content via
comments.
The winners are picked using the "Monthly Engagers" tab on the rankings page.
Most Engaged Content
The Most Engaged Content recognizes users whose content received the most engagement during the month.
We pick the top 3.
The winners are picked using the "Monthly Contributors" tab on the rankings page.
Here are a few other things to know for the Best Content track
1
Quality over Quantity — You stand a higher chance of winning by publishing a few really good insights across the entire month,
rather than a lot of low-quality, spammy posts.
2
Share original, authentic, and engaging content that clearly reflects your voice, thoughts, and opinions.
3
Avoid using AI to generate content—use it instead to correct grammar, improve flow, enhance structure, and boost clarity.
4
Explore audio content—high-quality audio insights can significantly boost your chances of standing out.
5
Use eye-catching cover images—if your content doesn't attract attention, it's less likely to be read or engaged with.
6
Share your content in your social circles to build engagement around it.
Contributor Rankings
The Contributor Rankings shows the Top 20 Contributors on TwoCents a monthly and all-time basis.
The all-time ranking is based on the Contributor Score, which is a measure of all the engagement and exposure a contributor's content receives.
The monthly score sums the score on all your insights in the past 30 days. The monthly and all-time scores are calcuated DIFFERENTLY.
This page also shows the top engagers on TwoCents — these are community members that have engaged the most with other user's content.
Contributor Score
Here is a list of metrics that are used to calcuate your contributor score, arranged from
the metric with the highest weighting, to the one with the lowest weighting.
4
Comments (excluding replies)
5
Upvotes
6
Views
1
Number of insights published
2
Subscriptions received
3
Tips received
Below is a list of badges on TwoCents and their designations.
Comments