[Edited]
Language has always been difficult for me.
After 16 years of education in primary, secondary and junior college, I still
would not dare to say that I have mastered the English language.
In secondary school and junior college,
I would struggle so badly with comprehension where one was to read a text and answer
questions. While I felt that I had understood the text and the author’s
intentions, the results would show otherwise. If the section was upon fifty
marks, I would usually hover around the pass/fail border. A score above seventy
percent would give me much joy and happiness and I would wonder if my English
was improving. However, that bubble would soon be burst by the next test. This
was also the case with my mother tongue, Chinese.
I remember once in junior college when my
General Paper (GP) tutor called me out in class for misusing the word
“androgynous” and I was embarrassed. In my essay, I had used it wrongly to account
for the choice of gender blurring in fashion and dressing (I actually cannot
remember how I used it wrongly). This was just the tip of the iceberg with my
struggles with GP. To date, I still feel that counter-arguments and rebuttals
are so counter intuitive. It always seemed schizophrenic to be arguing a point
in one paragraph and countering in the next.
My weakness in languages was the main
factor why I had been a science student throughout my schooling life, until
now. Arts and humanities always seemed more fascinating and interesting and in
spite of my weakness in English, I have taken a huge leap of faith to jump ship
to be a student in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
I hope it is worth it.
<295 words>
