This year was an extremely busy year for me. One of the major events that occurred in my life this year was that I was accepted into Anderson Junior College. I heard that it is a good school, ranking NO. 6 among Junior Colleges in Singapore; thus, I chose it as my first choice despite the fact I was competent enough to seek my education in better colleges. I loathe over-competitive learning environment, which makes me stressful and uncomfortable. Another major event was that I was appointed as the vice president of CLDDS after undergoing training in a one-week Alpha-Bravo camp in June. Never in life have I been given such a high position and entrusted with such a great responsibility. Thus, I was thrilled to take up this challenge. However, the camp was not all that pleasant because I had the feeling of being demoralized with all negative comments that could ever be found in my entire life when I was being trained. Maybe I was not sufficiently mentally prepared to attend the camp that everything went around became a terrific surprise to me.

One of my greatest lessons was how to be patient and perseverant. Through the tight lesson plans of various subjects, I learnt to hold my breath and endure till the end. Life in Junior College is suffocating and stressful. This is especially true in AJC, where CCA leaders are always required to attend enrichment and leadership training courses, plus organizing college-based activities. I knew that I need to strike a balance between my social and school life, or I would collapse. After going through thick and thin with my classmates, I learnt that attending class outings is sometimes a good way to distress. Keeping good relationships with others is also a pretty good method, for students like us often need someone to pour out our heart at.

My greatest achievement this year was being able to be promoted to JC2. For foreigners like me, being unable to get promotion is equivalent to getting an official letter that terminates your education in Singapore. Thus, being able to further my education here, as a JC2 student, is a great opportunity for me.

Life in Singapore is not that easy to get by. Having a fabulous certificate does not mean having a guarantee to a good future. To attain a comfortable life in Singapore, we have to be all round in the first place because here is a competitive place. This is also a reason why the school wants us to organize activities, attend courses. It is all part of the effort to plan for our future. I knew that universities will always consider those people, who may not have marvelous results, but have good experiences in organizing activities, good performance in competitions and serve the community well, first. For now, I should not possess the thought that study is everything of my life. Serving the community may take away some of our precious study time, but what we get in the end may be something that means more than just good results.

“In no more than 500 words, tell me about the activities and interests which you believe best represent the values and beliefs you hold strongly to.”


I strongly believe that patience is a virtue, thus I joined the calligraphy section of CLDDS. Using a brush to write is tremendously different from using a normal pen. You need to be extremely patient and concentrated and follow strictly the ways that the writing brush should be held when scribbling. Also, you need to take note of your sitting gestures, ensuring that every single stroke must be of same thickness and strong vigor. Besides, you have to bear in mind the aesthetic component of the word that you are writing. So, it often takes one a good long time to complete just one Chinese character. It is therefore not easy to be a good calligrapher, as it requires years of training and practicing. To achieve that, one must be very perseverant and focused. According to my tutor, without perseverance, it is impossible to even produce a single stroke on the paper. In real life, patience is a key to success and this is especially true for students. Often, we have to deal with a great deal of work, be it school project work, and be it homework. They require good amount of knowledge and cooperation in order to be accomplished. We have to be patient, allowing our minds to calm down to find out the right kinds of knowledge that are needed. We also have to be patient to our group members when preparing for a group presentation because not all people are equipped with equal capability. In my opinion, patient people tend to be rational and they would not get hasty easily. They know how to adopt a calm mentality to evaluate situations and derive proper solutions for problems occurred. I strongly believe that practicing calligraphy will train one to be more patient, as calligraphy itself is a process that thrives on patience. I believe that when one has learnt to brush sitting for a few hours without getting anxious and agitated, one is believe to be a patient and virtuous people.

In addition, I strongly believe that we need to treasure friendship and the interest that best represent it is collection of stamps. Friendship is like stamps, which have to be protected, loved and treasured. From stamps, one can learn much different knowledge around the world as different stamps tell different stories, informing us different events that are going around the globe. Similarly, one can learn through sharing knowledge and ideas with friends.

Moreover, one has to be respectful and filial to one’s parents. The activities that best represent this is taking care of one’s parents at their old age and never argue with them the way you argue with your friends or your opponent team in a debate. I am a traditional Chinese man, who believes that one has to repay what one’s parents have contributed to one. When one is willing to take a good care of their old parents, talking to them, making them feel wanted, one is considered to be filial.