• Volunteering

01. Guide at Olympic Education Museum

I volunteered as a tour guide for children and foreigners, sharing the history of the Olympic Games and the stories behind each exhibit. I still remember the joy of passing on the Olympic spirit to the next generation and to people from diverse cultural backgrounds, especially when I introduced the Olympic torch wall.

I attended the Olympic Pin Exhibition for the Paris Olympic Game and gave my calligraphy work, “Sport is peace” as a gift for celebration.

02. History Teacher in Orange Academy

During the entire school year in Grade 10, I worked as a volunteer teacher for Orange Academy. I was responsible for the culture-sharing class for children from remote regions, so I chose to teach them about simple Chinese history. I simplified the middle school courses and searched for interesting stories to share in the class. During the teaching process, I got a sense of achievement from the children’s positive responses and was moved by their curiosity about knowledge.

03. Volunteer for ASD children

At the beginning of Grade 11, I got the information that one of my relatives had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). To get knows to what the illness is and the group of people who suffer from this illness, I joined the volunteering work for art therapy for ASD children. By playing instruments, singing, doing handcrafts, and drawing, to accompany ASD children, I learned that although ASD cannot be cured, sometimes it gifts the children with art talents, I actually got to know an ASD child who is excellent at singing through this activity. This volunteering work also inspired me to dedicate myself to easing the discrimination of certain groups of people.

• Reading and Writing

Reading is a necessity for me. From primary school, I went to the public library every weekend and spent my whole afternoon there. During the pandemic, the isolating days actually offer me a great chance to read and explore different genres of books. Also, I expanded my booklist with the calendar my mother gave me, which contains quotes from famous books for every day. I extract the sentence into my diary and consider the meaning behind the words. If the sentence really interested me, I buy the book. Therefore, I have a broad range of reading in various fields. While I enjoy fiction books, I am also fascinated by non-fiction books such as books about news, philosophy, and economics. Moreover, I started to read English books and feel the beauty of expression in different languages. The poems from The Lord of the Rings open a door for me to feel the beauty of the antithesis of lines and the rhythms created by combinations of syllables. I also attend an English creative writing class driven by my curiosity about this different expression.

In middle school, I persisted in writing essays every week about my thoughts even on the tiniest things, such as a leaf crashed by bicycle wheels or a cloud bringing rain and then the sun. At the end of each school year, I edit them into a compilation. Then, I established my personal blog account, sharing my essays and writing pieces on the social platform, gaining followers from different age groups and regions.

•  Chinese Calligraphy

I started to practice calligraphy at the age of eleven and held my personal calligraphy exhibition the next year. To me, calligraphy is a form of art that contains the evolvement of Chinese characters and symbols of Chinese culture. I was fond of the process of understanding how the strokes and different concentrations of ink make an impact on the final effect, contributing to being a fast learner in calligraphy.

Unlike the normal process of imitating masters’ works of writing Chinese calligraphy pieces, I developed my own aesthetic perception of calligraphy and created works. My works were awarded the national first prize in the competition and exhibited in the China Century Forum for one month and several regional first prizes. Last summer, I was invited to Japan as a member of the China representer group for calligraphy communication, and my work was also exhibited in the Tokyo Chinese Culture Communication Center. During this trip, I learned a different emphasis in Japanese calligraphy which is the contrasts of shape and shade of the work, inspiring me a brand new way to increase the tension of calligraphy works.

In middle school, Chinese calligraphy provides me with a quiet and calm heart when facing multiple tasks to study. Every time I am trapped in anxiety, I practice calligraphy to regulate my mood and pace of study. The effect is significant since paying full attention to one thing slows down my spinning brain and calms down my worried heart. When practicing calligraphy, concentrating on one thing, and enjoying the whole process, I could feel the flow that was proposed by Mihaly.

Then, during the further understanding of the history behind famous calligraphy works, I realized that calligraphy is also a way to express my thoughts and feelings and try to give meaning to my works. From the choice of content to the application of artistic methods, calligraphy has become my “third language”. I use dry strokes to express my determination and braveness in doing things, smooth strokes to convey scenes in nature, and extended strokes to show my feeling of pleasure and freedom. For example, one of the works shown below has content that eulogizes the resilience of wild grass, I use the smooth stroke for the overall style and also add heavy stroke to emphasize the vitality of life.

• Drawing and Painting

Visiting various museums at a young age, I was impressed by how lines and color combine with images and how images convey content through symbolization. I started to doodle on my sketchbook to construct my own stories and to design bizarre characters. For me, drawing is always the most explicit way to express my thoughts. Then, unsatisfied with my technique, I attended professional training classes since Grade 5 and started to learn a variety of drawing and painting styles. Although I learned professional techniques in class, I never forget to apply those techniques when I construct and express my thoughts and feelings at home.

One painting style that is different from all others is Chinese painting. Not only is the chemical content of the pigment and the brush different, but the way Chinese painters portray the world is also different. While in other painting styles, painters focus on almost all kinds of things, Chinese painting focuses on people’s daily lives and natural scenes more. The topics that I most enjoy painting are birds and flowers. Depicting the dynamics and characteristics of flowers and birds, I feel like I can sense the breeze that touches the flowers and hear the singing of birds. It is an escape from busy city life and also a path to my secret garden in mind.

Now, even away from the studio or home, I can pick out my iPad and create electronic works. Those techniques I learned allowed me to fully express my situation and feelings at that moment, and leave those experiences with that painting for me in the future to look back and explore.

• Musical Performance

My mother said that when I just learned how to stand, I could hold the edge of the sofa and move with the rhythm of songs. I enjoy watching live music performances all the time. Music is a magnifying glass. I like the way how the performers suddenly put into the performance and magnify their personal charm, and I have been singing on stage since primary school to experience those feelings.

During the pandemic, I fell in love with Taylor Swift’s album folklore, of how the songs appease the anxiety of isolation and convey thoughts and stories gracefully. I am also fond of analyzing the lyrics and the meanings behind the symbols that artists chose. For example, in Taylor’s song mirrorball, she uses the mirrorball as a symbol of a group of people that wants to show the best and shiniest side and reveals the idea that mirrorball is splendid just because it is broken into thousands of parts. Every time I hear and play this song, I accept my desire to express myself and am encouraged by the meaning behind the little mirrorball.

Moreover, I noticed that the use of an acoustic guitar creates most of the organic and peaceful tones, and then determined to start to learn to play the guitar three years ago. With the accompaniment of guitar, my personal style of music performance and the courage of playing and singing in front of people increases. I started with experiencing singing on the streets and parks, feeling more and more free whenever others looked at me. Then, last term, as a performer in the pressure-releasing concert, I stand in front of students from different grades and departments, expressing my enthusiasm for music in my heart. In my spare time, I always pick up my guitar as a temporary trip to the land of music and the meanings of every song.

• Sports

I regard sports as a way to express my attitude towards life. Sports provide me with a road to a healthy lifestyle. By exercising even in the cold winter, I can maintain my physical fitness and strengthen my immune system. Also, my mind is clearer after exercising. Sports is a unique way to adventure in normal life. Sometimes I would follow professional groups to climb mountains and cross wild areas in the countryside, and sometimes I like to challenge myself with harder sports to boost my courage. Every time I play sports, I express my ambition, persistence, and how I face obstacles in life.