jinified
Mar 24, 2013
Scholarship / I still cherish my failures; Singapore Government Scholarship [3]
Instruction
Write an essay on any topic of personal importance to you. ( 300-500 word)
What I talk about when I talk about me
There were times when victory and success triumph above everything. There were several nights I spent awake to add some finishing touches onto my project. All I ever wanted was the title of champion, nothing else matters anymore. Imagine how I felt when the prize slipped away, leaving nothing but a void inside my heart.
Though failure is painful, but it has led me to discover who I wanted to be. I was deeply frustrated when I failed to comprehend a language that was introduced by my computer club president, Jen Sern. However, we are not learning a human language; instead we were taught computer programming language known as C++. It is widely used in the software industry for its robustness and efficiency. But the language had a very steep learning curve, and I was not able to write a proper sentence to execute a given task. My failure had inspired to learn more about computer and start from basic, HTML which is a basic building block of a website. I was able to pick up the language fairly quickly by following on line tutorial and books. The experience made realize how easy it is to learn a skill with the openness of the Internet, where everyone is willing to share their knowledge. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to participate in an international web design competition, GVC Web Design Contest in 2009 where 3 countries collaborate to design a website. The competition allows me to practice what I have learnt and produce a website that is open to the public. Although you may encounter many problems when you try to implement your code, but the satisfaction when you see every component falls into place performing its respective functions like an orchestra in harmony is just priceless. Slowly, I realize what I love to do every day for the rest of my life; I enjoy programming a solution for people around me. Although we only managed to win a bronze award, but the time I spent communicating with students from other countries when designing the website did not go to waste. I learnt to present my ideas clearly and listen patiently to suggestions from my teammates. This proved to be of great benefit when we joined the same competition in 2011 and won the gold award. I am brave enough to voice out my idea as the center theme of our website, Women's Rights. To my surprise, most of the students and teachers from the other countries supported the idea. Furthermore, I had also decided to take responsibility in designing the homepage using CSS3 and HTML 5, which were fairly new standards. Why do I take the risks with the theme and technologies ? I guess having fail once made me stronger and I was able to deliver my idea more clearly to my teammates. The words of Robert Sculler resonated in my ears, he said "What great things would you attempt if you know you will never fail". Thanks to his words, I was able overcome my fear of public speaking to deliver a speech on Women's Rights to my class.
Finally, my failure to comprehend a language had motivated me to get into web design, public speaking and programming. It had taken me to places I will not normally go such as the UNESCO Youth Peace Ambassador Workshop. I want to be a better programmer and in the near future, I hope to find a partner to launch my own startup like Wordress's Matt Mullenweg and Dropbox's Drew Houston. What is a better place to meet people from across the world than Singapore ? An international hub for tertiary education that attracts talents from across the world. I do not wish my financial condition to be a roadblock to my dream because my experience in programming had taught me that persistence and grit will help me overcome the greatest problems . Although failing to achieve my goal may fill my heart with negative emotions, but it will grow stronger. Yes, I love success and victory; who doesn't. But I still cherish my failures.
Instruction
Write an essay on any topic of personal importance to you. ( 300-500 word)
What I talk about when I talk about me
There were times when victory and success triumph above everything. There were several nights I spent awake to add some finishing touches onto my project. All I ever wanted was the title of champion, nothing else matters anymore. Imagine how I felt when the prize slipped away, leaving nothing but a void inside my heart.
Though failure is painful, but it has led me to discover who I wanted to be. I was deeply frustrated when I failed to comprehend a language that was introduced by my computer club president, Jen Sern. However, we are not learning a human language; instead we were taught computer programming language known as C++. It is widely used in the software industry for its robustness and efficiency. But the language had a very steep learning curve, and I was not able to write a proper sentence to execute a given task. My failure had inspired to learn more about computer and start from basic, HTML which is a basic building block of a website. I was able to pick up the language fairly quickly by following on line tutorial and books. The experience made realize how easy it is to learn a skill with the openness of the Internet, where everyone is willing to share their knowledge. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to participate in an international web design competition, GVC Web Design Contest in 2009 where 3 countries collaborate to design a website. The competition allows me to practice what I have learnt and produce a website that is open to the public. Although you may encounter many problems when you try to implement your code, but the satisfaction when you see every component falls into place performing its respective functions like an orchestra in harmony is just priceless. Slowly, I realize what I love to do every day for the rest of my life; I enjoy programming a solution for people around me. Although we only managed to win a bronze award, but the time I spent communicating with students from other countries when designing the website did not go to waste. I learnt to present my ideas clearly and listen patiently to suggestions from my teammates. This proved to be of great benefit when we joined the same competition in 2011 and won the gold award. I am brave enough to voice out my idea as the center theme of our website, Women's Rights. To my surprise, most of the students and teachers from the other countries supported the idea. Furthermore, I had also decided to take responsibility in designing the homepage using CSS3 and HTML 5, which were fairly new standards. Why do I take the risks with the theme and technologies ? I guess having fail once made me stronger and I was able to deliver my idea more clearly to my teammates. The words of Robert Sculler resonated in my ears, he said "What great things would you attempt if you know you will never fail". Thanks to his words, I was able overcome my fear of public speaking to deliver a speech on Women's Rights to my class.
Finally, my failure to comprehend a language had motivated me to get into web design, public speaking and programming. It had taken me to places I will not normally go such as the UNESCO Youth Peace Ambassador Workshop. I want to be a better programmer and in the near future, I hope to find a partner to launch my own startup like Wordress's Matt Mullenweg and Dropbox's Drew Houston. What is a better place to meet people from across the world than Singapore ? An international hub for tertiary education that attracts talents from across the world. I do not wish my financial condition to be a roadblock to my dream because my experience in programming had taught me that persistence and grit will help me overcome the greatest problems . Although failing to achieve my goal may fill my heart with negative emotions, but it will grow stronger. Yes, I love success and victory; who doesn't. But I still cherish my failures.