My Corner for Education

With mixed feelings and a twist of fate, I was ready to enter my senior high school. When I first saw the senior high school above Fu Shing Gong in New Pei Tou, Taipei, I immediately fell in love with that environment. Where the school is situated is outside the noisy Taipei city and half way up the hill surrounded by lush green. The school campus was designed to have multi-levels on a hill. Taipei Fu Shing Senior Public High School was a co-ed high school (I don’t know if it is still a co-ed.) The boys’ section was high above the main school office buildings. The girls’ section was at lower level close to the field. The whole school looked so new and refreshing then. It was quite rare to find a campus with such a relaxing atmosphere like that in Taipei.

I fell in love with the campus right away; however, the thought of going through another three years of  torture somehow clouded over my head. The reality was that if I would hope to enter any university in the future, I really should have secured myself in the top three female high schools. Unfortunately, attending any school other than the top three schools would only mean there would be an uphill battle for me in the next three years. Let's face it. Fu Sing Senior High School was the last one on the public school list at that time. I didn’t have high hope or any hope on the school, a “partying” school in many people’s view. So, I thought I could just forget about my dream of attending any university right there and square.

On the second thought, it was a complete surprise and a wake-up call for me to get on the high school band wagon since I thought that I would never be able to pass the entrance exam anyway. I always criticized myself for not preparing well enough for the exam. After being accepted for a high school, I thought, maybe I still had a glimpse of hope. I realized that I should use my time more wisely for the next three years if I ever wanted to advance myself to a college or a university. Put it this way, I was at my wits end because it was impossible for my parents to send me to a private college. I really had nothing to lose at the time; therefore, my attitude towards my next three years in high school was somehow changed. I had to!

Whenever I have confronted an obstacle, I am able to analyze the outlook from different perspectives with a humble but positive attitude. That is really a lesson learned from my life experiences. When I was young and hot headed in high school, I would have never thought of that. After the reality check after that summer before my senior high, interestingly, I ended up enjoying my three years of high school at Fu Shing. I met a lot of good friends, friends who have impacted on me and friends that I would keep for life.(Note 1) I also received and willingly accepted guidance from my teachers who believed in me.

I had very interesting life turning experiences at Fu Shing. I took the leadership role again throughout the three years of senior high and was actively involved in many extra curricular activities at school. (That would be another story on its own.) Since it was a co-ed school, it actually gave me a very positive experience for my character development. I had the opportunity to compete with many male counterparts at school instead of being distracted by the opposite sex at that awkward “hormone raging” age. (Apparently it was the first and foremost concern for my parents, or any parents at that time.) I was trained to be an independent thinker, and most importantly, I was able to endure hardship and overcome obstacles with patience. I realized that positive attitude is everything!


Note:1. Pamela was one of my classmates for three years at Fu Shin. She is a talented writer. Here is her link. http://www.wretch.cc/blog/pam1130