“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.