Good evening special guests, John Paul College staff, parents and most importantly, students.
I’m Adeline Yen Mah, author of “Chinese Cinderella” and “Falling Leaves”. Thank you for having me in this very special night.
Firstly I will start with something simple. Please close your eyes and open your hands. Now imagine what you would like to place in your hands. It could be anything: a school report full of A+ and certificates, a wallet, even a house; it doesn’t need to be a specific object that fits. Now open your eyes. Would anyone here like to share with us what they had? (wait for hands up from audience) Okay you. What did you want? (the audience says) How about you? (point at someone else). That’s fantastic.
For me, I would want a pile
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I had been made to feel unwanted since my birth (start to speak with a sad and sombre tone). My mother died two weeks after my birth and my family saw me as a bad luck. I was unloved, isolated and abandoned. (slowly) No one was there to pat my head when I was chosen to lead the class and given a medal for my work in kindergarten. No one was there to pick me up on my first day at primary school. No one was there to welcome me when I came back home after moving from one boarding school to another. In the first twenty years of my life, I used to struggle with three basic issues. The first was identity: “Who am I? Who will I become in the future?” The second was importance: “Do I matter? Does anyone in the world care whether I win or lose?” The third was impact: “What is my place in life? What is the purpose of my existence?” …show more content…
While reading in the library of my boarding school, I found a magazine with an announcement of an international play-writing competition. Did I tell you that I love writing as much as reading books? I was so excited. But at the same time, my self-confidence was at an extremely low point. I kept asking myself: “What if I can’t do it?” then one of my teachers, Mother Louisa, helped me to change my mind. (picture)
She told me: “Anyone who enters has a chance. However, if you don’t enter, then you certainly will have destroyed your chance before you even begin. First, you must believe that you can do anything you set your mind to.” And this was what I did: I decided to breathe in my courage, exhale my fear, and apply. Mother Louisa was usually right; and this time she was again: I won the prize. (pause)
Before that life-changing moment, I used to immerse myself in striving for academic achievement in the hope of winning favour, acceptance and belonging in my family, but also for its own rewards as I found pure pleasure and passion in writing and reading.
I am in the process of writing my first novel in hopes to get it published after I graduate high school. Many students, and teachers unfortunately, have shot down my dreams of doing so but I have persevered with this aspiration of mine. I’ve found the people who think I can accomplish this are those who know for a fact I will continue with this dream.
In Chinese Cinderella, the autobiography of Adeline Yen Mah, the author experiences lots of conflict in her life. She encounters many hardships as a child as she is shunned by her family, who think her to be bad luck. Adeline's parents treat her unjustly and do not allow her to have the slightest luxury, accusing her of lying to get her way. Adeline's grandfather (Ye Ye) is as also a great influence, and after she gains so much confidence from him, he is gone from her life. Her pet duckling, PLT, is a massive source of Adeline's happiness, and she is unfairly killed to show the family dogs obedience. Through these adversities, Adeline's
That year, coincidentally, was when I also decided to pursue a growth mindset. According to Dweck (2006), the author of Mindset, lying inside all of those with a growth mindset is a, “passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even when it’s not going well” (p. 9). Passion may sound nice, but it certainly does not guarantee success. English class, for better or for worst, was best summarized as a constant battle. A battle between me, my failure to produce decent content, and my grade. Every essay I wrote was deemed average or even below by my school’s standards; until the last, notorious essay of the year. Through endless hours of analysing the novel, asking for assistance from my teacher, and cut-throat revisions, I was able to achieve my highest grade in
Wilson, 2001, pg. 78. 73) Throughout ones life these are the questions we will continue to ask until one part of this world. The first half of the book examines issues that a person may have encountered during childhood such as unavailable parents, shame, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and choices.
However, what might be the sources of Annie's low self-efficacy beliefs related to her writing beliefs? Bandura “suggests t...
As an unconfident child, I experienced constant difficulties in communicating with other people, even those who wanted to support me because of my loneliness. It is rather difficult to believe now, but I did not see any sense to life during that period, and it seemed that my life was meaningless. The only thing that made my life different and more interesting was reading. I adored reading books, and reading took up most of my free time, saving me from negative thoughts and obsessive ideas. Before, I did not appreciate life for itself, and I did not pay attention to the surrounding world or other people who might need some immediate assistance or ordinary human support. Undoubtedly, I was a small child who needed love and
It would be entirely wrong for me to describe my childhood as alone, unwanted, vulnerable, and hurt. I am privileged; I grew up with both my parents giving me more love and attention than I could hold. Most times I grew to hate all the constant affection and attention. To me, it seemed like my overprotective parents didn’t want me to have fun and live. I didn’t understand why they cared so much about where I was going or why I couldn’t go hang out with my friends. I remember all the times I cried because they didn’t let me go out—because it was dangerous—or when they didn’t let me sleep over my friend’s house. But that was the most of my problems as a child. Yet, I still saw their overprotection as horrific and annoying, because I saw all the
When I was younger, I remember feeling as though I lived in a bubble; my life was perfect. I had an extremely caring and compassionate mother, two older siblings to look out for me, a loving grandmother who would bake never ending sweets and more toys than any child could ever realistically play with. But as I grew up my world started to change. My sister developed asthma, my mother became sick with cancer and at the age of five, my disabled brother developed ear tumors and became deaf. As more and more problems were piled upon my single mother’s plate, I, the sweet, quiet, perfectly healthy child, was placed on the back burner. It was not as though my family did not love me; it was just that I was simply, not a priority.
Richard graduating school helped him reach his cognitive needs because he got education and knowledge “with almost seventeen years of baffled living behind [Richard] faced the world in 1925.” (178) Richard graduating helps him reach self actualization because of the education that help him succeed to where he is now which is being a writer Richard gained cognitive needs when he graduated because it gave him the education to become a writer. Writing helped him reach self actualization because of his curiousity. He wrote about his life from writing that helped him reach self actualization. Richards cognitive needs were somewhat met again in his young adult stage when he was picked veledictorian for his class even though the principal didn’t want Richard to say his speech at the assembly “I wanted to graduate, but I did not want to make a public speech that was not my own” (175) Richard confessed. He was so determined to say his own speech at the graduation that he wrote. Richard’s cognitive needs were met during this time because he got to say his own speech at his graduation. Richards cognitive needs were somewhat met during his young adult stage when the newspaper editor printed his story in the newspaper but his family thought it was a “lie” and a “sin” that made Richard angry “[Richard] would have been frightened altogether out of his attempts at writing.” (168)
English has never been my best subject. Reading books can be exciting, but the writing aspect of English can be dreadful. Somehow, however, I passed all my advanced English classes with at least a B, and my teachers always considered me to be “above average.” My impartiality toward English shifted to an indifference near the end of my high school career; my indifference then shifted to appreciation. This appreciation is attributed to American Studies and Honors Writing, the most difficult English classes at Belleville East Township High School. American Studies and Honors Writing have strengthened my writing skills beyond what I believed possible. I still do not believe that I am the best writer, and English may never be my best or favorite
My story began on a cool summer’s night twenty short years ago. From my earliest memory, I recall my father’s disdain for pursuing education. “Quit school and get a job” was his motto. My mother, in contrast, valued education, but she would never put pressure on anyone: a sixty-five was passing, and there was no motivation to do better. As a child, my uncle was my major role-model. He was a living example of how one could strive for greatness with a proper education and hard work. At this tender age of seven, I knew little about how I would achieve my goals, but I knew that education and hard work were going to be valuable. However, all of my youthful fantasies for broader horizons vanished like smoke when school began.
Thinking about a topic to write about is not always easy, and sometimes the process of writing can end up being difficult. Jennifer Jacobson discusses strategies to overcome the struggles that young writers can encounter while writing. I was interested in her book No More “I’m Done!” Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades because I feel like as a future teacher this could be a frequent problem among students. From reading this book, I hoped that I would learn useful strategies that I could use to help students overcome their problems with writing. After reading this book, I do believe that Jacobson has provided me with plenty of methods to use. I was surprised at the depth that she goes into in her text. There is a vast amount
As these few tales reveal, my memories of writing are strongly connected with the intense emotions I felt as I grew up. They are filled with joy, disappointment, boredom, and pride. I believe that each of these experiences has brought me to where I am today. I can only look to the future and hope that my growth will continue, and my writing will reflect those changes within me. As a writer, I have grown immeasurably and will continue to so long as I can find some paper and a pencil.
I grew up in a small farm town where academia was not immensely important. I didn’t read much and I did not travel. One could say I was small minded. However, once I read that slip of paper, I had this insatiable need to unfold within myself, and feel myself doing so. The thought of becoming wiser and wilder thrilled
Throughout people’s lives, many are tested, in which they are pushed to their own limits. These personal experiences help the person to realize what makes them different from others, what makes them unique and stand out from the crowd. Even, sometimes with these experiences, people learn more about themselves, push themselves to their limit and test their abilities to work under pressure and other times adapt. In my case, the most important experience that I went through that helped me develop skills that I use to excel in my academics is something that most people don’t go through until late in life, the loss of a parent, in this case, my mother.