“Oh My! Is It Real?”
Today, April 20th, is the day for the outcome of “Caves 4th Annual English Book Review Contest”. In 8:00p.m., with my hand sweating, my heart thumping, and my head spinning, I check the result. On the top of the college advanced group, I saw my name. My brain was in a whirl. It just couldn’t be. I glimpsed at the result once again. “Oh my gosh! Is it real?” I couldn’t believe what I saw. “I got the first place!” I screamed to Alfee on the phone.
It’s never an easy job for me to write to clarify my thoughts and feelings. That is part of the reason I used to be fear of writing. My inner self have a cognition that writing is never going to be my strong suite. So when Dr. Chen asked whether I want to join the Caves Book Review Contest at the end of last semester, I hesitated. I don’t have any confidence in myself. But Thomas J. Watson, head of IBM, once said, “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.” I hope to improve the weakest part of my English ability. Therefore, I decided to make an attempt. I thought I should at least give myself a chance. After all, everything is hard before it gets easy. Having chosen the book, “Night Without End”, for the contest, the journey to an unexpected accomplishment began.
The writing of the book review was torture. I finished the book early. But it took me so long a time to think about the content. The skills Dr. Chen taught in the composition class seemed useless, for my train of thought was in chaos. I searched every information I could get form the internet, trying to clarify my reflection on “Night Without End”. Whenever sentences popped up in my head, I wrote them down, although they didn’t make sense to me at all. At last, combining all that I squeezed out from my brain, I finished the ugly book review. What a suffering! Since Dr. Chen was abroad at the time, I turned to Dr. Chang for help. The result was a bit terrible. She said I couldn’t give a clear idea why and what did the book impressed me so much. At that time, I have almost given up hope for joining the contest. But I am not a quitter. Despite the setbacks, I persevered in revising my crappy work. I rethought over and over again. With the company of my good friend in Chiayi University, I finished the revision. On March 20th, 3:30a.m., I clicked and sent it.
The process of writing a good book review is actually a transition of trial and error. It requires repetitive meditation. Today I rejoiced to know I got the satisfying result. But the greatest reward is to have stuck to my goal— to give myself a chance for improvement.
2010年4月30日 星期五
2010年4月14日 星期三
Personal Journal 6 Apr.26~May.2
A lesson learned-- Making A Choice
One of the important things I learn during the whole freshman year is learning to make a choice. For me, making a choice was never an easy thing, especially when facing the dilemma of things that I both don’t want to let go of. The misery was beyond description. It was not until one thing happened during the term that I realized the point of making a choice. That is, only when I understand what I truly pursue can I accept the choice I make with philosophy.
During the term, I joined two activities: “YA! CAT! Theatrical Club” and “American Language Village (ALV)”. The former is the musical workshop in CCU while the latter is an organization in which I work as a teaching assistant in their ALV English camps. Previously, they were not at all related. One would never have interfered with the other. However, one day I got two emails from each of them. And problem popped up. YA! CAT! Theatrical Club arranged an actor training program from 6/29-7/4 while ALV informed me that I was assigned to take four English camps during the whole July. I was troubled. 7/3~7/4 are two important days of both activities. I can’t ask for leave. So, I write to the person in charge of the camps, informing him the situation and seeing if I could still join the first camp (from 7/3-7/9). The answer was no. His letter suggested displeasure and that a choice had to be made. It’s just too hard for me to think clearly when being stuck in the situation. But thinking of the problem deeply, I heard my voice. I love singing. And I have long dreamed about singing and acting on the stage. During the training, they will select the best six actors for next year’s musical. As for ALV, I still have the other three camps to take during 7/11~7/30. I want to get myself a chance to perform on stage. Therefore, at last, I choose to join the actor training.
Although I was deeply sorry to have failed to abide by my promise (I told them I won’t have any other plan in July), I was glad to have chosen what I truly want. Inevitably, I may still encounter similar situations in the future. So, I considered it a good lesson learned.
One of the important things I learn during the whole freshman year is learning to make a choice. For me, making a choice was never an easy thing, especially when facing the dilemma of things that I both don’t want to let go of. The misery was beyond description. It was not until one thing happened during the term that I realized the point of making a choice. That is, only when I understand what I truly pursue can I accept the choice I make with philosophy.
During the term, I joined two activities: “YA! CAT! Theatrical Club” and “American Language Village (ALV)”. The former is the musical workshop in CCU while the latter is an organization in which I work as a teaching assistant in their ALV English camps. Previously, they were not at all related. One would never have interfered with the other. However, one day I got two emails from each of them. And problem popped up. YA! CAT! Theatrical Club arranged an actor training program from 6/29-7/4 while ALV informed me that I was assigned to take four English camps during the whole July. I was troubled. 7/3~7/4 are two important days of both activities. I can’t ask for leave. So, I write to the person in charge of the camps, informing him the situation and seeing if I could still join the first camp (from 7/3-7/9). The answer was no. His letter suggested displeasure and that a choice had to be made. It’s just too hard for me to think clearly when being stuck in the situation. But thinking of the problem deeply, I heard my voice. I love singing. And I have long dreamed about singing and acting on the stage. During the training, they will select the best six actors for next year’s musical. As for ALV, I still have the other three camps to take during 7/11~7/30. I want to get myself a chance to perform on stage. Therefore, at last, I choose to join the actor training.
Although I was deeply sorry to have failed to abide by my promise (I told them I won’t have any other plan in July), I was glad to have chosen what I truly want. Inevitably, I may still encounter similar situations in the future. So, I considered it a good lesson learned.
2010年4月7日 星期三
Personal Journal 5 Apr.5~11
The Best Gift
For so long a time, I have been thinking about what is the best gift for me. Beautiful clothes, expensive electric appliances, and fancy trips to foreign countries used to be good gifts. But recently, I realized that a “book” is in fact best gift. When a book becomes a gift, it must be a special one. Maybe its content is great, or the name or the cover of it is related to the receiver. Up to now, I have received three books from my teachers. Each book has a story.
The first book I got is “Collins COBUILD Learner’s Dictionary”. T. Ted, my English teacher in junior high school, gave me my first English-English dictionary as a gift for entering the English department. The dictionary helps me a lot in writing and speaking (I installed its CD-ROM).Whenever I use the dictionary, I remember his earnest in teaching as well as his love for our class.
“The Notebook” is the second one. Heather, one of my favorite teachers in Lizen senior high school, gave it to me when I was about to graduate. Heather is like either my best friend or my sister. We once talked about secrets, went to Hi-Life and gym together, and sometimes she drove me home. I liked to help her with her never done works in Foreign Languages Center. One day Heather introduced a famous movie “The Notebook” to me. I wept throughout the second half of the movie for the touching love story. I love the story a lot. So, when I opened the wrapping, I was surprised to find that the gift was the book of “The Notebook”. Every time I see the book, I remember the wonderful days with her.
The third one is “Heidi”. I got it from Ryan, also one of my favorite teachers in Lizen. “Heidi” is a gift for graduating. It’s a book of my name, and its cover is green (my favorite color!). I love the book so much! Ryan, Charlene, Lisa, Fiona and I often hold reunions in Taichung. We are all teachers and students from the same high school. Now, after graduated, we become friends. The book always reminds me of the fabulous memories with them as well as the gorgeous food in restaurants we visited.
Books are in deed best gifts. The books I got from my teachers and friends not only allow me to absorb new knowledge and admire the beautiful lines, but also remind me of the time that has elapsed. With these books, whenever I am under pressure or sad, I can once again call those beautiful memories to mind.
For so long a time, I have been thinking about what is the best gift for me. Beautiful clothes, expensive electric appliances, and fancy trips to foreign countries used to be good gifts. But recently, I realized that a “book” is in fact best gift. When a book becomes a gift, it must be a special one. Maybe its content is great, or the name or the cover of it is related to the receiver. Up to now, I have received three books from my teachers. Each book has a story.
The first book I got is “Collins COBUILD Learner’s Dictionary”. T. Ted, my English teacher in junior high school, gave me my first English-English dictionary as a gift for entering the English department. The dictionary helps me a lot in writing and speaking (I installed its CD-ROM).Whenever I use the dictionary, I remember his earnest in teaching as well as his love for our class.
“The Notebook” is the second one. Heather, one of my favorite teachers in Lizen senior high school, gave it to me when I was about to graduate. Heather is like either my best friend or my sister. We once talked about secrets, went to Hi-Life and gym together, and sometimes she drove me home. I liked to help her with her never done works in Foreign Languages Center. One day Heather introduced a famous movie “The Notebook” to me. I wept throughout the second half of the movie for the touching love story. I love the story a lot. So, when I opened the wrapping, I was surprised to find that the gift was the book of “The Notebook”. Every time I see the book, I remember the wonderful days with her.
The third one is “Heidi”. I got it from Ryan, also one of my favorite teachers in Lizen. “Heidi” is a gift for graduating. It’s a book of my name, and its cover is green (my favorite color!). I love the book so much! Ryan, Charlene, Lisa, Fiona and I often hold reunions in Taichung. We are all teachers and students from the same high school. Now, after graduated, we become friends. The book always reminds me of the fabulous memories with them as well as the gorgeous food in restaurants we visited.
Books are in deed best gifts. The books I got from my teachers and friends not only allow me to absorb new knowledge and admire the beautiful lines, but also remind me of the time that has elapsed. With these books, whenever I am under pressure or sad, I can once again call those beautiful memories to mind.
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