Transferring from a high school in Ontario to Nanyang Model Private School, this sounded terrifying to me back in August, 2020. I kept worrying about how I will make new friends with my classmates as a transfer student. I still remembered the first day of school, I was asked to introduce myself to everyone in the class, my voice was even shaking. This was me stepping completely out of my comfort zone. The warm applause after my self-introduction made me relax a bit. I have always considered myself as an outgoing person, and that makes it a lot easier for me to connect with new people. It turned out that students in my homeroom were way more friendly than I originally thought. I found two of my best friends within the first month of school, and that was when I started to have a sense of belonging.  

The fact that I haven’t been studying in China since 2017 after the ZhongKao made me feel nervous. Will I be able to do a good job working with the traditional Chinese education system? What if I don’t? Before I even found out the answer, my homeroom teacher William Li noticed my worries and talked to me. He had a meeting with me and my mom about how well I did in my previous school and also how well I will do in Nanmo. This conversation indeed cheered me up. It was quite obvious that both the Chinese and the Canadian teachers in Nanmo were kind and talkative. They were always there when I needed them. If I have questions about homework or projects, I can come and find them during office hours and that can be very helpful. I built strong relationships with several teachers and that made me adore this school more and more. 

The next task was to adapt new ways of learning. I soon found out that the science courses being offered here were much harder than those in Ontario. I started to lose confidence when I saw my grades kept dropping. That’s when my friends stepped in and helped me out. They told me it was completely normal to feel upset about grades, but the key was to not let it affect my overall confidence. I accepted the fact that academically I did better in Ontario than I did here in Nanmo, but this did not stop me from working hard. My term 3 grade was significantly higher than my term 1 and term 2 grades because of my great effort.  I knew that I wouldn’t have this achievement without my friends’ encouragement. My favorite subjects were English and Macro Economics. It was fun talking with Mr. Hillian and Mr. Schwartz, since both of them offered great help to my studies.  

I attended many activities during my Nanmo life. We had things like the Terry Fox Run, Adulthood Celebration and Graduation Banquet. The event which impressed me the most was Adulthood Celebration. Since I took a gap year after Grade 11, I was one year older than my peers. This meant that I had already turned 19 before the celebration. My older age meant I had more things to take responsibilities of. During this event, we were asked to read our parents’ letter. I saw many of my peers were moved to tears. This was one of the most meaningful moments I had ever experienced in Grade 12. The graduation banquet was a total success as well. Although I didn’t get to know my classmates at the beginning of Grade 10, that didn’t mean I couldn’t build strong connections with them. Later is always better than never. When Mr. Dyck got on the stage and shared his sincere thoughts about his career at Nanmo, I started to feel nostalgic for the very first time. 

My time in Nanmo was not long compared to my peers’, but I did learn a lot of things during this period of time. Nanmo taught me how to be resilient, confident and strong-hearted. It provided me with opportunities to meet new people and start new conversations. I want to show my gratitude towards Nanmo teachers and all of my peers. I wouldn’t be who I am today without any of them. I will forever be grateful of my time at Nanmo.