Towards the end...

This morning, I finished the last class of my second year of study in UMAC, and there are complex emotions in me that I have to share with you.

In this year, I grew from a freshman who was filed with curiosity to a big sister who can take care of other Year One students. Although only one year passed between this transition, I can say that I've grown up a lot in this process, and my growth is marked not only by achievments and happiness, but also by challenge sand frustration. Maybe there is no need to remember those not-so-happy moments, because after all, I've picked up myself and decided to preserve only happy memories! :)


This academic year is also my first year in HC. I guess everyone in the HC would agree with me that we have become closer friends, better co-workers, and greater leaders in this year, right? Looking forward, there are more to come---a new HC cours, the thrilling exchange program, a new batch of members of HC...I hope everyone is ready to continue our exciting journey with a fresh start!

I'm happy that I've lived up to my promise of keeping this blog. Just now as I browzed through all the blogs I've written in this semester, those beautiful memories once again arose in my mind, and I couldn't help by smile. Who said we can't preserve the past? As long as we have the wish to do it, and hold on to that wish, there is simply nothing we can't accomplish.

Even though I said it's almost the end, but I really don't mean it's the real END. In the nearest future, our final exams are coming; a nice summer vacation is waving to us; a more exciting new semester is waiting for us...and in the long term, we still have countless miles to go along the path of life...Can you say it's the END?

In the end, I cross my fingers to everybody in their final exams! Let's fight for the nearest future now!

Art exhibition at Macau Tower

This after noon, I visited an art exhibition with some of HC students at Macau Tower. The works in this exhibition were all from a famous Chinese artist Liu Sifen, who is a painter, a poet, as well as a calligrapher. From Mr. Liu's self-introduction, I got to know that he perceived the production of spirit different from industrial produciton. He said, in industries, each worker should have his/her own specialties, but in arts, all the fields are connected. That's why artists are usually not constrained to a specific field.

I also leant how important creativity is to an artist. Mr. Liu told us he tried to make every work of his different from the other works, so that the visitors wouldn't be bored with his exhibition, and he wouldn't be bored with himself.
One thing special about Mr. Liu's paintings was that he liked to paint modern elements using traditional ways of Chinese painting. This clever combination of tradition and fashion again proved his creativity. Uniqueness is always pursued by artists. Although I'm not an artist, I also want to be unique. Mr. Liu told me with his works that people's potential and creativity are boundless, as long as we don't give up discovering them.
Tomorrow Mr. Liu is going to give a speech in our university. Can't wait to hear from him!

Hard to be Sleepy...

To be honest, before today's HC class, I was quite worn out and sleepy. However, after the two-hour intense yet exciting class, my sleepiness was completely wiped out.

First of all, I was surprised by the award given to me---one of the TOP 10 best bloggers! When I heard my name announced and the HC clap applauded, I felt as if my heart was also pounding with the rhythm of their applause. It's a good idea to keep this HC clap and pass it on to the coming HC students, isn't it?

The following was even more exciting---the Pik Pak Boom! The game was easy to carry out, but not so easy to play well. Our group, with four girls, did a good job and survived the first round. However, in the second round, competing with the other six groups, we didn't make it till the end. The final round was the most thrilling, since only two remianing groups were competing agianst each other. They did so well that I wondered if there was ever to be an ending...Finally, Professor Udani gave in, and he announced that both the two groups were today's champions. Actually I was quite satisfied with the performance of our group. The four of us were all concentrated with our "job" and my hands were even sweating. There was one time when our group's number was called but I was looking backwards. I nearly ruined everything, but thankfully I wasn't too slow. "Even one nerve can't be spared!" I told myself after this incident. If I can remind myself of this saying in the future when I'm occupied in other tasks, I'm sure I can make a big BOOM!

We will have our last HC class for this semester next week. It's sad to part, but I know HC students won't part no matter where we are and what we are doing. Throughout this semester, HC has really become a warm family for each of us. In this family, no one is left out, and no one will feel lonely. Let's move on as a whole, my dear HC friends!

Hard work paid off!!!

It's almost nine o'clock in the evening now, and I'm really tired. However, I've decided to update my blog as my memory is still fresh, since this has been a really memorable day.

What happened today? Our "CAN" workshop was finally held, and it proved to be a big success! Since two weeks ago, our group has been working on it and making progress bit by bit. Some produced wonderful videos, some designed various activities, some took nice photos...honestly none of us were left out!

Many of my groupmates began the preparations of this afternoon's workshop from as early as twelf o'clock, but I had to be late because of my three-hour class in the afternoon...I really want to apologize to them, and feel regretful for having missed part of the workshop. Inspite of that, I enjoyed the remaining part so much that I could show nothing but awe to my HC classmates. They are not only intelligent, but most importantly, they are hardworking and responsible, which also distinguish them from many other students I've seen in Macau.

There were quite a lot of participant from outside the HC. From their performance and feedbacks, I'm sure they must have learnt a lot about leadership and about HC. In the past, we were always carrying the "learners' role", sitting in the classroom and listening to lectures. This time, however, we became instructors! The switching of position gave us a valuable chance to share what we've learnt with peer students and also allowed us to digest the knowledge. We've made newpaper towers and spaghetti towers, but looking at other students making balloon towers brought me some fresh feelings; we've heared about "HOST", "WHAM" and "WHAW" many times in class, but when these interesting things were introduced to Year 1 students, I seemed to have understood more about them. The Year 1 participants surprised me as well in the drama perferming part. They could comprehend the videos so well, and produce so creative skits in such a short time---all were beyond my expectation! Good job, everyone!

After the successful workshop, we had a short debriefing with Professor Udani. By listening to my groupmates' reflections, I could sense that everyone was proud to say that he/she had worked with"WHAM" for this workshop, and everyone had gained a lot from it. Just like our professor said, we would never have another chance to do the same thing again. Congratulations to all of us for having seized this opportunity! Should there be any more challenges ahead, I'm confident that HC students will say, "Yes, we CAN!"
I often wonder what the spirit of the Honours College is. Is it collaboration? Kindness? Or hard work? It's really hard to conclude in one word, and maybe each one has a different interpretation. But no matter what the spirit is, let's PASS IT ON.

Aiming to be the tallest!

Are you the tallest? Do you want to be one?

You may never become the tallest in the world, but you can make the tallest tower! And, with speghetti!

This class, we were devided into small groups, each group having a bunch of speghetti and a marshmallow which was to be placed on the top of the tower. We've made towers out of newspapers, but speghetti, with its crispy and fragile texture, would be such a challenge...After we were told to start, Cathy, Ray and I immediately set down to our work. At first, we were running quite fast, as the base and part of the body completed. But when it came to the top, we were always thinking we could make the tower taller, so we kept adding more anbd more speghetti to it, letting the tower grow longer and longer. However, after a while, when Cathy tried to let go of the tower, we found that the tower couldn't stand on its own! Unwilling to sacrifice its "height", the only thing we did was strengthen the foundation, but no matter how hard we had tried, this naughty tower still resisted to stand still...

Finally time was up. Looking up at other goups, I found almost all the towers were different from the rest. Some towers were extremely artistic, like the one from Happy's group---

Some were quite "elastic", like Steve's "feeding machine"---(The marshmallow is already in his mouth!)
There are also some awesome ones, being both tall and stable. However, ours could only be called a "tower" with my hands holding it...

Such a tower-making activity seems simple, but actually we can derive many reflections from it. From the variation of the shape of towers, I saw how differently people think when faced with the same problem; from the failure of our group, I realized how important the foundation is; from the success of Helen's group, I had to admit that professional knowledge did help a lot because they had two engineering students. It also came to me that human mind is indeed creative---even speghetti can be used in such a way!

After this team-building activity, we had a chance to say "thank you" to HC classmates, as many as possible! In the five minutes' time, I wrote five thank-you notes to different people, which was better than last time, but I was still not satisfied. To my great delight, I received six in turn!!! Reading the notes my dear classmates sent to me was really a comfort. Most of the notes said "thank you" to me for organizing the BBQ, which may be the biggest reward for all what I did. Since I was too busy sending my thanks to my classmates, I didn't have time to write one to Pro. Udani, but I'm sure that everyone of us want to say THANK YOU aloud to him, who has made so many efforts to bring us together as a sweet family :) Thanks sooo0 much!

After several cuisines, our class ended with a perfect dessert. I mean, real dessert! Thanks to Echo, she baked another cake for us. Looked delicious, right? It tasted even more delicious!

A "special" Wednesday afternoon

Yesterday I had a very special Wednesday afternoon, which began from 12:30 p.m. On the previous day, I was informed to attend a department meeting as a student representitive. Thrilled by the news, I was a bit worried as well, since I didn't know what to do in such a formal occasion. Fortunately, my mentor, who would be in charge of this meeting, proposed to have lunch with the four student representitives including me. ^^

In the lunch, my mentor not only talked about the main content of this meeting---the revision of English curriculum, but also cought up with all of us and introduced us to each other. The four representitives were from different years of study, and it was such a good chance to meet with other excellent students! What my mentor did showed his concern for students, which had always been one of his "charms" to me. I often take him as a model leader, because I strongly believe that a good leader CARES.


Returning from our lunch, we got to the meeting room to get ready. One by one our professors came in, and to our surprise, we were seated at such important places! This kind of attention paid on us made me feel so honoured to be there. I've never joined any department meetings before, and it was also my first time to meet with all the professors in the English department. Throughout the whole meeting, we felt we were treated equally as everyone else, and the head of department sometimes asked for our opinions as well! I raised one question about the required elective courses offered by our department, and made a suggestion to conduct a survey before deciding on which courses to offer for each semester. I was so happy to see the smiles of several professors, and even happier to hear one of them saying, "It's really a good idea!" Their attitude towards the opinions of students left a deep impression on me. Hope more and more departments can do the same!

I had to leave the meeting a bit earlier since the HC class would begin soon. In yesterday's class, Pro. Udani asked us to write some words of encouragements on a piece of paper, then give it to the person we wanted to encourage. I sent my encouragements to Shelly, wishing her all the best in the coming TOFEL test. Just when I was guessing maybe nobody would give me a piece of paper, I saw Happy smiling at me, and handed me her paper! She called me "my dearest princess", and suggested that I open up to more friends, so that I can be more energetic. I was really moved by her sincere encouragement, and meanwhile very regretful for not sending her any encouragements. How I wish I could have more than one piece of paper! Anyway, encouragements can be given to people at anytime, and I decided to send her some words of encouragements after class. This simple but meaningful activity let me feel how easy it is to draw myself closer to the people around me, and what a difference I can make by encouraging a person.

After the class I was quite tired, but I felt that I had been nourished in this special afternoon.

BBQ at Hac Sa

The Honours College has held its second activity this semester---BBQ! This time, I played a "dominant" role, which helped me learn a lot and also experienced quite complicated feelings throughout the process.

To be honest, the preparation for a BBQ is tiring. We need to reserve the food, plan for various games, and arrive at the beach very early to make sure our classmates have enough space to cook and eat. I really want to say "thank you" to Yolanda and Jackon, who gave me lots of assistance in the preparation period! Jackon, thanks for reserving the food! Yolanda, thanks for coming with me three hours earlier before the BBQ!

Fortunately our hard work paid off. Although not every student participated, we saw a big group, and I was very very satisfied to see them eating happily, playing excitedly, and having a lot of fun. I knew it was impossible to make everyone fully content, but we had done our best, and that's the most important thing indeed.

Maybe our professor was not very happy to see many students come late. I was a bit disappointed as well, but I can understand them, since we are all extremely busy in April. Just hope that they can be on time in the future.

Cooking food and sharing with my classmates was great fun! I felt that my relationship with other students has been drawn closer after this activity, It's also my first time to organize a BBQ, and I learnt from it how it works, what needs to be done ahead of time, and what people usually do in BBQs. I believe that next time if I'm gonna hold another BBQ activity, I won't be so messed up like this time ^^

Moumou~we'll miss u

Last night I got an e-mail from my classmate Moumou, a girl who has been in bad health for a long time but has never given up. Guessing what would be in her e-mail, I opened it by a click, and the next moment, my eyes were welling with tears.

She told us she had decided to quit school for a period of time until her health turns better. She also wrote about the happy moments we had shared before, and how unwilling she was to leave her English major peers. What moved me the most was her last paragraph, which was particularly dedicated to individual persons. She said to me, "Christine, you are an excellent girl. I appreciate that you are not proud, and you are such a nice and helpful person. I really enjoyed working with you, since we don't need to spend a long time doing a project, and you often like to negotiate with us. I've learnt a lot from you. So lucky to have you as my friend!"

This is my first time to be so positively and expressively recognized. Not only was I thrilled to hear these words, I also realzed how important it is to express what we think. Being quiet may be a characteristic of eastern people, but I do feel the need to receive recognition directly from somebody at times. Thank you Moumou! Thank you for your compliments, and for the valuable lesson you've taught me.

Be THANKFUL, and say your THANKS aloud!

Do I have enough motivation?

How many points can you get as a leader? Do you know that leadership ability can be scored?

Today, Professor Udani sent us an interesting link, which is an assessment of leadership motivation. This assessment is quite simple compared to the others that I've done before, and only contains 14 questions. It took me less than 10 minutes to finish the assessment. By clicking "Calculate My Total", I got my score immediately, which was 52 points. According to the score interpretation below, I fell into the second category, saying my score implies some uncertainty over my motivation to lead.

A little bit disappointed at my result, I had to admit that sometimes I lack motivation of being a leader, although most of the time I'm willing to lead---that's why I was only 3 points' off the best level. Besides the final result, actually every single question of this assessment gave me some thoughts into my attitude towards leadership. From scoring myself in each aspect, I found that I seemed to be better at encouraging and recognizing others, but weaker at challenging and coaching my team members. After knowing this, I have a clearer goal for my next step along the path to a successful leader.

Hope next time when I do this assessment again, the result will say that I have a much stronger motivation!

p.s. Here's the link of this on-line assessment. Take a look at it and give yourself a score!
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_01.htm

VIP Project finished!

Today, our group finally finished the last part of the VIP---Video Interview Project. Through this process, I not only learnt from the leader, but also from my peer classmates. Different from my previous experiences, in which I usually had to take up a large proportion of the workload, this time, each member in our group was responsible and helpful. Jackon produced a wonderful video, Ivy wrote out what we said in the interview word by word to make subtitles, and Helen acted as a talented interviewer! I know that April is a busy month for everyone, but my hardworking HC classmates brought me into deep reflection---Am I complaining too much? Can I do more work in a limited time? Inspired by my groupmates, I also did my best to contribute to our project, which made me busy but happy.

I think people are very easily influenced by others. If no one in a group is willing to make an effort, this group can hardly make any progress. On the other hand, if everyone is eager to contibute a little bit, like the case in my group, who can prevent you from achieving your goal? I'm not saying we are the best in this VIP project, but I really enjoyed the experience of working with HC students, and I believe this sense of fulfillment is more valuable than a decent score. (Certainly we are looking forward to a decent score^^)

I don't want to say much about our interviewee Mr. Augusto here, since I've written so much about him in the group report. Wanna know more about the interview? Come and have a look at our video!

Share & Care

After every HC class I often have something to write about, and today is no exception. At the beginning of the class, the whole class celebrated Cathy and Shelly's birthday together, and Ray gave them a big surprise---Chocolates! Cathy shared the chocolates with all of us, and Ray led us to sing the happy birthday song to these lucky girls. Unfortunately my birthday is always during the holiday, but seeing every HC student has already made me very happy :) Our professor pays attention on everyone's birthday on facebook, and celebrate his/her birthday in class every week. I think he is not just doing it for fun; instead, this small thing shows his concern for each student, and sets us an example how to care about others in our daily life. I hope we can celebrate Dr. Udani's birthday together as well!!!

In each class we learn some interesting abbreviations. Today, I got to know what "share" and "care" stand for:

S---Smile

H---Help

A---Advice

R---Resources

E---Ear

C---Concern

A---Acceptance

R---Respect

E---Empathy

With the ability to share and care, we can demonstrate kindness to people around us!

When talking about teamwork in our class, there was one sentence that has left a deep impression on me---All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. That's very true. People form groups everyday in all kinds of situations. But people only form teams when they have a common goal, and when they can strive for the goal whole-heartedly. One thing I enjoy in HC is that most HC students are spontaneous to build teams. Be it whether doing a project or holding an activity, I can always find my peers supporting me and offering help. I believe the HC family is really a TEAM rather than a group.

In addition, I've got a new interpretation of HC---H for Hardwork, and C for Change. HC people are not only hardworking, but also love changes! Maybe we can bring changes to other people and even to society in future.

Towards the end of today's class, our professor proposed that 5 students give a 30-minute inspirational speech. Those who made their speeches were much more than five, but I learnt quite a lot from their impromptu speeches. I remember Vicky told us a story about the life of three trees, which expressed the idea that everyone has his/her uniqueness and value. Ana read a Portuguese poem and explained the meaning of it. Some other students inspired me by their smiles, attitude, and encouraging words.

When it was my turn, I first talked about the importance of dealing with pressure, because April is a busy month for everybody. Then I invited my friends to the upcoming BBQ, which will be held on next Sunday, and I'm busy getting ready for it with my co-organizers!

Be a HOST

Having talked so much about the idea of being a HOST (Happy, Optimistic, Serene and Thankful) in class, I'm starting to be a real host now. This afternoon before our HC class began, I joined a small meeting about the promotion month of HC in May. I've signed up for a member of the cabinet of this meaningful activity and have been selected. My job will be organizing a sharing session with Year 1 students on May, 7th.

With quite a lot of things to do at hand, I still consider this activity a valuable chance to get more experience of coordinating and team-working. Cathy and I are going to select some photos of HC students and design a banner with the help of James. Besides, we need to make arrangements for the run-down of the sharing session and design as many interesting activities as possible.

I've hosted some in-class activities in my high school, but none were as big and formal as this one. It is a challenge, and I enjoy challenging myself! I'm looking forward to May! ^^

Let's go travelling in SPRING!

I'm happiest at this time of every year, because it's spring now! Since I was very young, it has become my habit to go out into the nature in spring, and this year I went farther. First let me show you some pictures. Can you guess where I was?

If your answer is Japan, I'd be extremely happy, since you've been taken in by these beautiful flowers which are famous in Japan. But I was not in Japan, instead, I went to Wuhan, a province in centural China. Acturally these pictures were taken in the University of Wuhan, and the flower trees were gifts from Japan from decades ago. Each year at the end of March, the University of Wuhan welcomes tourists from all over China, and even from all around the world.

I was lucky that I have a high school friend in that university, and she was really an excellent tour guide! Besides visiting her campus, she also took me to taste all kinds of delicious food of Wuhan. Below are pictures taken in a street selling those special food and snacks---they were really yummy!

This is my first time to travel to another city all by myself. From booking the air tickets to arrange my schedule with my friend, I've gained lots of experiences from this trip. If I can be given another opportunity to travel alone, I won't be afraid any more!

Holidays are always short. After this wonderful trip, I'm back to my projects and exams agian. Wish me good luck in all of them!

Upcoming BBQ!!!

During my coaching session with Dr. Udani, I was assigned the job to organize the next outdoor activity of HC---BBQ at Coloane! Although I've never organize a BBQ before, I'm confident that with the help of the other five co-organizers, we can accomplish this task successfully---and it will be a lot of FUN!

My next step is to decide on the date and contact a BBQ shop to reserve our food. Thankfully, Jackon said there was such a shop near his home! We would also need to design some team-building activities and interesting games, so that everyone will have a wonderful time eating and playing :)

I've been to several BBQs since I came to Macau, and here I'd like to share with you some of my pictures. Hope I can see the whole class at our next BBQ!

An Enriching Lunch Break

Today, Happy and I had a nice lunch with Dr. Udani---the food was nutritional, and our conversation was more nutritional. We first talked about our summer plans, as both Happy and I are going on the summer exchange programs. Compared to regular academic study, we found that joining summer schools is more about experiencing and having a taste of different cultures. As I'm going to France, hopefully I can get to know more about European culture, and I know I will.

Then we focused mainly on our personal growth in HC. However, when asked about what significant improvements I have made from last September, I couldn't come up with a ready answer at once. Yes, I have made improvements, but in which aspect? Finally I got my idea. I said that since the concept of "leadership" has been instilled in my mind, I'm now more spotaneous to take a leading role when holding an activity or doing a group project. That's true. Actually I've never imagined I would take a leadership course in university, but now I know it's not impossible for anyone to be a leader, only if he/she puts his/her heart in it.

We also talked about our friends in HC, our personal purposes, and what we can do to help those who are in need. I think personal coaching sessions are very effective, since we can share more and dig deeper into our mind. Besides, I can feel I'm an important part of the HC. My progress and my help really count!

Looking forward to my next coaching session! ^^

Hot Pot on a Hot Day

For me, who is from northern China, hot pot is always held in the freezing winter. However, here in Macau, hot pot can be held at any time of the year! Tonight the HC students and our professor Udani had a wonderful time at 乾坤阁，a small but cozy restaurant for hot pots.

To our surprise, some Year 1 students also joined us, and I was sitting next to Tiffany, a lovely girl who was very interested in the Honours College. In our conversations, I explained to her what we are learning now, how to apply for the HC, and what to prepare for the interview, etc. It made me feel good to be looked up to, but meanwhile I could sense the weight upon my shoulders. I think this may be the very situation of leaders. To achieve a distinguished level, they must have put in great efforts. But it will never be the end of the story when they have reached this position, since they are looked up and motivated by all their subordinates, who may not be so kind to tolerate any of their mistakes.

Sorry I've gone too far from the Hot Pot...When a string of thoughts are formed in my mind, I can seldom stop myself from writing them down.

Tonight's dinner reached its climax when Udani made his address for toast. Every glass was raised, every good wish was exchanged, and everyone's face had been flashed by the cameras.

Cheers!!!

have you got a SEAT?

Today's leadership class began with an interesting discussion about SEAT. What's the big deal of a seat? Well, the "seat" we were talking about could not be so simple; instead, it stands for four important elements of a good leader.

S---Skill
E---Experience

A---Attitude

T---Talent

Now you know what it is, don't you? In my opinion, except for "talent", the other three can all be obtained through trial and error. Among them, I think "attitude" serves as the foundation, just like the saying goes, "Attitude determines your altitude." If I have a positive and right attitude when faced with difficult tasks, I may not get too upset and I can acquire valuable skills as well as experience from the process. Talent? I'm afraid I'm not a leader in nature; however, it doesn't mean I can never become one. Although I seldom play dominant roles, I'm friendly, patient, and helping, which I think may assist me in many ways. Next time when I ask you if you have got a seat, think twice before answering me, haha~~

I've noticed that in each class, our professor would ask us to communicate with others as much as possible. Sometimes we exchanged words of encouragements, sometimes we shared our happiness, and this time every one of us told the whole class what we need from the others. Everybody's need was somewhat different, but what I heard most often were "love", "support" and "encouragement". This is true. I think what distinguishes human beings from other animals is that we have spiritual desires. Especially when it comes to the relationship with peer classmates, the most precious gift they can give me is their support and their confidence in me. After I said this, my classmates gave me a warm applause, which proved their great confidence
in the girl called Christine.

Speaking up makes me feel sooooo good! It may seem a bit intimidating at first, but after you conquer this barrier and make your voiced heard, even the sky will become bluer.

Mar.10th class reflections

Every HC class is a trip of the soul, and yesterday was no exception.

First of all, I got to know the definition of "servant leader"---in short, a leader who is always willing to serve others. In this material world, I have to admit, many leaders have forgotten their role as servants. To them, leader may be an equivalence of status, wealth, etc. However, these rewards should be built on their service, their helping hearts, and their sacrifice for the well-being of their subordinates.

Fortunately, such leaders have not extinct yet. When asked about specific examples, the first that came to my mind was the past Chinese Premier Zhou En Lai, who was working in the same period with Chairman Mao. I believe he is the role model of a vast number of Chinese people, because he really made enormous sacrifice for the future of China. As a Premier, his life was incredibly simple; having adopted many children, he didn't have his own child; he didn't live a very long life, but his death was mourned nationwide. He achieved these not only becasue he has the "charisma", but he could whole-heartedly serve his people.

Around me, there are also such models. They are there guiding me to be a leader as well as a servant in the future.

Another touching moment in yesterday's class was the playing of a video about poverty. It made a heartbroken contrast between the extravagant life we are living and the impoverished life some other people are struggling with. Following the journey of a bag of "rubbish" from the KFC, we learnt how unfair the world is to some people, and how blessed we are.

As I shared with my classmates afterwards, I noticed that the poor family was smiling from the beginning to the end. From their smile, I can see bravery, hope, and faith. Then think about myself---how often do I lose them? How guity I am to live a life of such abundance? Just as one sentence from the background music said, "someone's launghter brings us to tears".

There's always so much to be thankful for...

Do It Anyway

Inspired, really inspired!

I’m talking about an inspiring piece of writing by Dr. Kent M. Keith---The Paradoxical Commandments. I met it in my HC class this afternoon, and I fell in love with it at the first glimpse.

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway…

With “anyway” at the end of each line, I can say that no one with a less loving heart as this author could ever compose such a thought-provoking writing. Not only is “love” an essential part of being able to “do it anyway”, courage is also required so that we won’t be easily swayed by what other people say.

I feel very much inspired mainly because this article can be a valuable advice for me. I tend to think too much when it’s not necessary, or worry about things that are not even going to happen. At such times, it’s not the task that is intimidating me, but my own mind. If I can be like this author, believing in my decision and my creed of life, I will save much time and trouble trying to satisfy everyone else.

In today’s class, we were also asked to share a best piece of advice given to us. I chose “To be yourself”, which was given by my mother and my high school English teacher. It may sound cliché to the others, but it means so much to me. When I’m trapped in a dilemma whether to follow my belief or to “float with the wave”, I remind myself of the advice again and again, until I can see clearly what I want.

I’m not saying that shutting my eyes and ears will be helpful. For most of the time, listening to other people’s ideas and suggestions makes one reflect, and one may be enlightened by a piece of good advice like myself. Therefore, it’s not wrong to listen. It’s wrong to blindly follow everything you hear.

No one is liked by every creature in the world. If we are always trying to meet others’ satisfaction, we won’t meet our own, because we must have already forgotten who we are.

Will my peers agree with me? What will they think about my writing? Shall I post this in my blog???

Yes, I’ve heard your answer---post it ANYWAY!

Meeting with the 1st leader of this year ^^

Yesterday, the Honours College students welcomed our first guest of this year---Dr. Chui Chi An. Before the guest arrived, my former experiences told me that he must be an aged guy---wrinkled face, grey hair, and maybe a grey beard. To my surprise, however, Dr. Chui didn't fulfill any of these "requirements". He was only about 40, quite a "boy" among those who have made a name for themselves. Young and energetic as he is, Dr. Chui has become a leader in his field---urban planning.

Although I'm not a science student, his sharing gave me much inspiration from his view of life, his personal creed of being successful, and his attitude toward his job. I remember the word he emphasized most often was "creativity", which, I believe, is his secret to success. I also believe that creativity is a crucial element of making remarkable achievements, especially in this world of rapid changes and heated competition.

Some people hold the view that doctors are usually "bookworms", and that they know little about the world ourside their study. However, Dr. Chui and many other scholars I've met have overthrown this false assumption. They are all fast in thinking, logical in speaking, and attractive in smiling! :)

The meetings we've had with several great leaders have again and again roused my ambition to be as successful and influencial as them. Behind their brilliant achievements, the efforts they made are hard for me to imagine. I have to admit that I'm a bit lazy sometimes. I hope that these leaders will be a reminder for me to conquer laziness and hold on to my ambition.

Thanks to Dr. Chui! Thanks to the Honours College!

Great Quotes from Great leaders

I'd like to share an inspirational video clip with you---future leaders! Let's see what have other famous leaders said and what we can get from them.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn8KGBwa0BY

To be on TOP!

Every beginning of the Honours College is sure to be an exciting one, and this semester is not an exception. On today's morning, we got to the top of Macau, and walked on the edge of it all together!

It is called "skywalk", and just as the name suggests, it felt like walking in the space since we were well-harnessed and had nothing to hold on. To be honest, I'm a coward in terms of playing extreme sports. Before this day, after watching several video clips of other people doing "skywalks", I couldn't help being nervous. However, when I was really up there with my groupmates, seeing so many encouraging faces around me, nearly every nervous feeling was gone! The wind was strong, and the temperature low, but our spirit was lifted as high as the Macau Tower! To my surprise, I even dared to sit on the edge with my legs dangling in the air. I thought our group only spent less than half an hour finishing the walk, but as my watch said, we spent one whole hour! Time really flies when people are over-excited.

After the thrilling walk, I still couldn't be cooled down, since I was so proud of myself---a girl who had never ridden on a roller coaster! For most of the time, it's our attitude that defeats us, not the events in themselves. Like today's "skywalk", things may not be so incredible as I imagined beforehand, and I may have enlarged the difficulty too much that I'm conquered even before having a try. As the result turned out, walking on the top is not that scary, and I'm not that timid, either! You know what, I'm even considering trying the roller coaster!

The climbing activity in the afternoon was another kind of challenge. Although I didn't have the chance to try once, I could imagine the determination required when my classmates were doing their best climbing. Obviously, those who went later did better than the first ones. I don't think it was the problem of strength or energy; however, I believe it was the spirit of perseverance that mattered. I especially admired the girls who made it to the bell,. Even for those who failed in the midway, their courage has been proved.

Since I was on the ground all the time, I noticed some boys who contributed a lot to the success of the climbers, such as Steve and James. They kept shouting instructions to the climbers, "left foot, right hand...", until their throat became hoarse. The sense of cooperation is what I enjoy the most in the Honours College. No matter it's playing a game or discussing about an event, every member is spontaneous to make an effort and no one is ever left out. I really hope that this spirit can be carried into our future studies as well!

Today's retreat ended in the cold wind, but I'm sure the inside of each HC student must be as warm as the sun of summer. Looking at the pictures we took today, I couldn't help but smile! ^^

birth of my BLOG!

I have a new home now at BLOGGER! This blog will be a witness of my growth, and hope more people share the happiness in this process, like appreciating flowers in a big garden! Let's grow in the sun, and finally, shine in the sun^^