The Real World

Terence is 18 and in his year 1 of the undergraduate course. He is quiet. Today, he said:


"I could see the real world is poor and difficult."


"When I was in SIS, the classmates around me were rich. Now, I found one of my friends is studying university with the government grant; another one has started to work when he was 12 and now still earning 20 dollars an hour; his sister could not study well, I mean far behind the average, the father is a gambler...... The real world I am seeing now is so different. It also reflects my inmaturity."


"I was brought up in a family with much safety where I did not need to struggle to alive. My friend's father was with the triad society and she was not well taken care by her mother when she was small. Then, through out her childhool, she searched her life on her own. She is much mature and independent. Of course, she also lost her childhood happiness."


"I am now encountering the real world meeting people in poverty, with father from triad society and addidicted to gambling, low earning ability, not educated......running a tough and difficult lives."


I could see Terence is having his empathy on those people who are in a more difficult lives. He does not feel good about the gap of the reality between rich and poor. He appreciates the independence and AQ maturity of those young people. Contrary, he discovers his weakness in life survival comparing with them. That unfolds his inmaturity, his weakness in understanding and communicating with others, his relationship building capacity........

"I belong to the photography society and went for their new working member committee election. I found some people are very outstanding in telling people how they could contribute for other. I did not say anything or I did not know what to say and express myself. Finally, I decided not to take up any post there."

Terence felt sad about his leadership in a group.

"I have two friends who are having such leadership but could also able to have and express themselves. One is in the Year 4. I like to get along with them and feel very comfortable."

"I am a kind of childlike (with an exprimental heart) during my brought up and able to express who I am. However, I an not able to intergrate myself with others as a group of society in sharing each other's idea. I dont know how to work on others' idea. Thus, I am immature in the real world. However, in contrary my creation in art requires such childlike passion. It's a dialenma."

"My classmates who are from local high school are found lacking of understanding and expression of themselves in their artwork creation. I just do a creation as a work."