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發表於 2016-12-7 15:17:11
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My name is Manci. My parents were not there for me when I was young. I was raised by my grandmother. My mother is not a Hong Konger and left the family when I was still a child. I did not have any memories of her. I only knew her name. I still do not have any news from her today. My father was also a very irresponsible man. He abandoned the family and disappeared for many years. He only re-appeared when my grandmother passed away. At that time, he was already in late age and so, he passed away in a year or two from old age.
Due to the changes from home, I was unable to get an Identity Card. That was why when I was at the right age, I could not enter the first year of kindergarten. I was only able to apply for the upper level of kindergarten. When I transited to Primary school, my grandmother went to look for schools for me. Eventually, I got into a Primary school located in a public housing estate in Tsing Yi. I lived in a public housing estate with my grandmother but she was already very old. That was why we had to receive welfare support. Back in the days, the happiest moment of my life was my birthday. Although, we did not have money to buy a birthday cake, my grandmother would cook me her best dish – red eggs. I was already very grateful at the time.
When I was in Primary three, my grandmother passed away because of old age, as well. I did not have guardians. That was why I had to live in the Children’s Home. At first I stayed at the Tai Wo Hau Salvation Army Children’s Home. There was a period of time when I was extremely rebellious. I thought I was different from other children. I deeply envied my classmates. Some of them had cell phones. Some had designer school bags. But I had nothing. I only lived on welfare support that was why I had little pocket money. When I got to secondary school, I started to mature. Although I understood I did not have a lot of material possessions, I believed that with my own hardwork, I would have a bright future. From then onwards, I was no longer rebellious.
My academic grades were very mediocre. Fortunately, I was allocated to a secondary school that honored on sports. I took part in the school Physical Education team, volleyball team and track and field team. Sports changed me immensely. It led me to find that I also had my strengths. I was also very interested in art and thoroughly enjoyed drawing. When I was younger, my classmates would go on school trips with their parents and it got me very upset but I did not want to tell the staff at the Children’s Home. I only kept drawing by myself, which led me to have a very low self-esteem.
During secondary school, I came across many kind teachers and classmates. When I was in Form three, my grades were very bad. There was a chance I could not make it to Form four. My track and field teacher expressed to me that if I wanted to keep on running, my grades must reach the benchmark. I then studied extremely hard and my grades improved tremendously. Not only did I transit to Form four smoothly, I was able to pick my favorite subject, science, and also choose Physical Education as my minor. My secondary school public examinations results were average. I could not make it to Form six in my school but I did not repeat Form five. I did not hope to find a job too soon so I chose to the path of further studying.
As I did not like routine work, I took a diploma program in Hotel studies. At the same time, I was unable to live in the Children’s Home because I was already eighteen years old. That was why I rented an old apartment in Sham Shui Po. The rent was $4,500 dollars at that time (excluding transportation and living costs). I had to juggle work and studies to complete my diploma program. I had to work seven days a week to support myself. I applied for grant loan from the government. As my income was limited, I had to be a very wise spender. My life back then was very difficult. After completing my diploma program, I wanted to further elevate myself and that was why I undertook a degree program at the City University of Hong Kong. I still worked in the hotel during the day and went to class at night. I lived that way until 2015 and that was the year when I completed my four years of university studies.
I no longer work in a hotel. As of now, I am doing overseas real estate work. It happened coincidentally. But I am very interested in my work. It might be because I did not have a stable place to live since I was young. That was why I really aspired to have the ability to buy property and started to take notice of the market situation when I was really young. I already knew the differences between public housing estates, HOS flats, second-hand HOS flats and private buildings. I also enjoy calculating property prices. I just applied for a Masters of Surveying program. I hope to obtain a Surveyor license. I feel that I can flare in this field of work. Although I am a nineties child but I am not one of those that are labeled as ‘useless youth’. I work hard at my job and self-study. I do not look for fame and fortune. I have a clear goal in mind and how to walk my future path. I did not win at the starting line. I only studied in a public housing estate school and my school public examination results were subpar. However, I am very satisfied with my life right now. At least, I am living happily each day. I still keep up with my childhood interests: running and drawing.
When I left my job at the hotel industry, I had a month of break. I went to Africa to do voluntary work. I taught local children English through drawing. I grew up in a broken family that was why I often felt my life was very tragic when I was young. But during secondary school, my mind broadened - I am actually not the most unfortunate one. Instead, my experience has led me to believe that I should help others even more. I hope everyone can understand that we are very lucky to live in Hong Kong. You should not force yourself to become successful. As long as you live each day happily and with no regrets, that should be enough.
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