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Hall 10 Scholarships

Miss WUN Yuet Yee, Hilary

Why live at the University Residence? I began living at Hall 10 for convenience, but later realize the reason is beyond a bed and shelter. At the end of the residency. I found life-long friendships and a sense of achievement.

As an introvert, I used to savor solitude and avoid group works. The idea of having a roommate made me anxious. But my positive roommate experience has taught me the benefits of companionship. While it may be refreshing to spend some time alone and replenish your soul, talking about your worries can unwind your thoughts. Roommates are the best candidates that you can open up to and share your troubles with. They are always there to listen at the end of your laborious day. I found it much easier to open up to my roommate, probably because we have spent a lot of time together. Our therapy sessions in dorm rooms certainly kept my optimism in check during stressful finals. I also realized the benefits of socio-learning activities thanks to my roommate. At the beginning of the semester, I struggled a lot with essays because of the change in genre. I could not adapt to the formal writing style required in assignments and got serious writer’s block. Fortunately, my roommate was very nice and helpful. She helped proofread my essays and gave me a lot of advice in context and style. Since then, we have developed a habit of reading each other’s essays and giving each other advice. We combined our different perspectives and produced better essays. This made me realize the rationale behind group work. Group work promotes discussion and enhances our performances. This realization alters my perception of group work and made me enjoy projects more. During my stay, I grew so much as a person and I am thankful to my roommate for that.

There are a plethora of activities in Hall 10. On weekends, we have interesting classes like yoga class, art class, and cooking class. I developed a newfound interest during the classes and it was cooking. While I failed terribly by undercooking the yellow coconut rice and fried tofu long beans, to which my poor roommate had to taste, I began to find cooking interesting. I took some extra classes from my Russian hall-mate who was an excellent cook and learned to make a few dishes that I am confident to let others try. Apart from cooking, the most memorable activity for me was joining the Professor Edmond Ko Cup basketball competition. Although I was not good at basketball, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone, so I joined the competition. Our team was vanquished 40-0 in the preliminary round. Surprisingly, I felt the greatest joy during the competition. At that moment, I enjoyed the bond between our teammates so much, that the score didn’t matter to me. Through joining these activities, I was able to connect with people from every nationality and form beautiful friendships. These friendships are what make hall 10 valuable to me.

Henry David Thoreau once said, “ There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.” To all the introverts, try to connect with your roommate, join hall activities and reach out to people. It might just lead you to a special place.

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