Talent Development Scholarship

I enjoy challenging myself.  This probably explains why high jump has become such a big part of my life.  Since small, I have tried many other team and individual sports, including basketball, cross-country race, rowing, handball and netball.  Admittedly, winning a hard-fought match with your teammates gives you the memory of a lifetime.  High jump, on the other hand, is a lonely sport that does not involve cooperation or confrontation.  The only one you are competing against is perhaps yourself.

In retrospect, I have been a high jumper for a decade or half of my lifetime till now.  There were times when I was at the top of my game and times when my performance was really awful.  I have talked about quitting many times but the truth is I have never really meant it, which speaks volumes about the allure of high jump.  If I was not a high jumper, I would not have had the experiences and memories that I treasure today, I would be lost without goals, and I would have a limited outlook.

High jump gives me my purpose since a young age, which is to keep breaking my own record.  Many have not been able to decide what to do with their lives even after reaching adulthood.  I am fortunate enough to find my own interest early and the pursuit of this interest has so far given me 10 rewarding years.  I also have the privilege to join the Hong Kong Athletics Team and represent Hong Kong in competitions around the world.  Travelling to different places enabled me to understand different cultures and meet local athletes.  My first overseas competition was the Children of Asia International Sports Games in Russia, where I witnessed the amazing white nights.  If not for high jump, none of these would happen.

High jump not only has broadened my horizons, but also had a great influence on my personality.  To me, an athlete’s best record represents his/her limit, and it is the athlete’s vision to break that record.  Take high jump as an example.  Scissors jump used to be dominant before Dick Fosbury popularised the flop-style, which was the technique used by subsequent record-setters.  Therefore, I am always prepared to challenge myself and give my all to everything I do.

Some are lucky enough to have their talent discovered and be entrusted to someone who saw the potential in them early in their lives.  For the rest of us, we can still develop our talent and become masters by simply practising over and over again.

Sometimes my family asks me whether I feel exhausted from practising every day.  For me, lying idly at home actually causes more physical and mental strain than keeping up my demanding but rewarding practice routine.

Currently, I have somewhat reached a bottleneck as an athlete and I look forward to finding my way to my next breakthrough.  Even though I may not work in a sports-related field after graduation, I will keep chasing after my dreams, just like what I did in the early years.  If one day I stop high jumping, hopefully it is because I am content with my best record.

The Talent Development Scholarship is an encouragement to me.  Many parents believe that sports do not benefit their children as much as study does.  However, from my experiences, apart from giving me a good physique, sports enrich my knowledge and expand my social circles, not to mention earning me a scholarship and the opportunity to enter my desired school.

I want to tell everyone that there is not a guaranteed pathway to success, but with perseverance and courage, success will be within your grasp.

I have a great passion for art, which has become an indispensable part of my life.  I like to explore different art media and gradually develop my own style.  Art and sport were my favorite subjects in primary and secondary schools.

During my primary years, I was drafted into the school’s volleyball, track and field and swimming teams while also dabbling in Taekwondo.  What about art then?  At the time, art was like a palate cleanser that helped to calm my nerves.  I insisted on pursuing both volleyball and art in secondary school.  In Secondary Four, I put aside sport for a year after getting injured in a friendly match and it so happened that I had chosen art as an elective subject.  I thus shifted my focus to art and participated in various arts activities during my recuperation.  In 2018, I was selected as an Arts Ambassador-in-School on the recommendation of my teacher.  What is more, I joined an arts camp organised by my school for three nights and four days.  There, I met camp instructors and joined a co-learning group.  Since then, my art world was no longer confined to the campus.  I was first exposed to ceramics in the same year and was fortunate enough to have my entry for the “2018 Tea Ware by Hong Kong Potters” competition shown in the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware.  That was a fruitful year in my artistic journey.  I also came to realise the importance of staying focused.  Since both art and sport involve a significant investment of time, pursuing two interests at the same time will only leave me falling between two stools, as well as physically and mentally drained.

The award of the scholarship was a pleasant surprise and wholly unexpected.  Besides allowing me to buy more arts supplies, it also gives recognition to my commitment to art.  I think we should be adventurous and branch out while we are still young.  Eventually, we will find the one thing that interests us most.  Do not be afraid of failure.  For doors to open for you, you have to keep trying.  Finally, I am thankful to the members of the Committee for the award.  I am also grateful for my parents’ continued encouragement and support in my art pursuit.