Taihang S3 students experience sharing2018-11-14   Source : Taihang Student Union

️Q: Hi，Fiona! I am Helena from T2. I have heard that you have done very well in your study. Can I ask you a few of questions?

Q1: I guess it might be hard for you to manage your study and your after-school activities, can you tell me some tips you have knew?

A1: For you guys as senior 1 who have just come in and still groping for a new educational system and campus life, you have plenty of time for participating in activities according to your interests. Therefore, I would suggest that you may choose to take part in and become active and core members in clubs, no matter it is sports-related such as basketball and football, or other recreational stuff like drama club and dance studio. Those activities are there to broaden your horizon, enable yourselves to discover interests and develop friendship with those who have commonalities with you. In order to maximize your enjoyment, the most important thing is the balance between study and extracurricular activities, that is, time management!! This requires high efficiency of self-study in school or the period between dinner and sleep if you live outside campus, so that you can enjoy your extracurricular activities without delaying your study or homework. This requires you to have clear perception of time arrangement and distribution. 

Q2: You are also one of the leaders of recreation sports department, and you are good at plan our student’s activities! You must spend some time on it, how are you planning your school day with that kinds of stuff?

A2: I think the main thing is to make a plan and prepare well in advance. For example, I use mobile software to remind myself of my daily plan. Make sure you have a clear breakdown of things and keep the deadlines to remind yourselves. Also, the deadlines need to be earlier than the actual due date to prevent hurry and confusion. The point is to plan ahead and remind yourself all the time through many means. 

Q3: After this great achievement, how you feel about it?

A3: There will be a sense of fulfillment and growth when I look back at what I have done during the process. Usually I don’t have much precise feelings but just trying my best to manage everything. The consequences and ‘harvest’ are the products for my hard working if I really have to define that (laughter). The most proud part is when seeing someone benefiting or learning something from me, that means what I did actually helped and are therefore worthwhile.  

Q4: What are you going to do and which is your dream-school in the future?

A4: My intended major is psychology, and UCL is my dream school. I studied psychology in AS and currently doing it in A2 level as well in order to adapt to the university curriculum and lay the foundation. A-Level Psychology is the curriculum that triggered my interests in this field and enhanced my determination in pursuing further learning in university. I also did some reading and researches beyond what I’ve learnt in the textbook to deepen my understanding (e.g., reading The Crowd: A Study of Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon, reading articles in public accounts, asking questions and exchanging ideas with teachers). I would also recommend you guys to do so, engaging in activities related to your intended major to prepare for university learning and enrich your personal statement at the same time.

Q5: why are you doing Friday’s presentation on how to handle stress and be resilient?

A5: About several weeks ago I underwent a period of stress and depression, from intrinsic (pressure I imposed on myself) and external (application, MPT, etc.) perspectives. Luckily, I managed it and went through it with the help of my family, teachers and dear friends. However, I noticed that senior 3 students around me also have their own pressure, so I want to help them to overcome some psychological setbacks in an applicable manner. In fact, it's not just senior three students, students throughout the school and even teachers have their own stress that they might have problems dealing with and ‘digesting’ them.  I don’t have the magic to interpret others’ mind, but I indeed wish to help and save those from frustration and desperation through myself, through this brief but sincere presentation, to help the relief and catharsis. On Friday, I also mentioned about resilience: errors cannot be predicted, same with downfall. We all experience mood disturbances and immerse in grief at some point, and the ability to recover after that is the main issues, which is what many of us lacking--a positive attitude. We all make mistakes but these are the foundation of evolving and shaping ourselves better and more perfect. If the result is beneficial and encouraging, why choose to be pessimistic?