Consolation prizes - My journey

Name : Joanne Tan Mei Yen

No Matric : 205565

Title of Essay : My journey

Last year I joined ‘Just Write’ Essay Writing Contest and I remembered that I wrote on ‘Perseverance’, a very factual and formal essay. This time I want to write something different. I want to make it more personal, so I have decided to write an essay which is entitled ‘My Journey’. I am currently in Semester 3 and many things had happened throughout this one year in UUM.

I still remembered how I struggled to cope when I was in Semester 1. I began my journey rough. My orientation week was not very smooth as I did not make a lot of friends, I was ‘roommate-less’ and not to mention I was a ‘banana’. ‘Banana’ is a term given to Chinese people who cannot speak Chinese. Just like a banana, it is yellow on the outside but white on the inside. I could not write and read in Chinese and can barely communicate in Mandarin. Not many people would want to speak to me in English and some people will have this wrong concept that ‘bananas’ are egoistic. That is not true and actually we are quite friendly people. I barely get to know people and being ‘roommate-less’ for the entire one week makes the situation even worst. Orientation was supposed to be fun but to me at that moment it was one of the worst times in my life.

I was also exposed to a different system of education. University level is totally different with Form 6 in high school. In university level, we are required to be more independent, more self-directed learning and we had to do a lot of assignments and tutorials. Indeed it was a cultural shock to me whether in the aspect of the environment, people or the education system. Although this is still Malaysia and not overseas, I still experience cultural shock because Malaysia is a multi-racial country and the people I meet are of different races and from different states. One year has passed, I am now proud to say I can speak Mandarin fluently, I have made a lot of new friends and I have a good roommate. I have improved myself, my view and how I see things. I also learnt to be more independent and am stronger now. I got used to the culture here and have adapted to the environment quite well.

I believe everyone’s journey in university is different I am thankful that I did not walk alone in this journey because I have support and encouragement from my family and friends. They played an important role in my life and they are my cheer leaders. University life is very short; some of us may have 3 years here while some might have 4 years. We should embrace every moment in the university and make wonderful memories out of it. This is a process of learning and we should appreciate every moment what life has to offer and teach us. Lastly, not only must we do our best to excel in our studies but also be a man or woman with values and principles.