Recently, I had got the most unforegettable experience in my life, which was taking the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). Though you may think that it is an ordinary experience which over thousands of candidates had joined the HKCEE in the past twenty years, I still regarded it as the most unforgettable experience not only because of taking the last exam but also taking it in a hospital.
Back to March 2010, it was the time for most students to work hard and revise for their mock examination. Yet, I was one of the minority students who did not revise anything. I even stayed at home and did nothing. At that time, I was suffering from arthritis. It was not the first time I suffered from it. The previous case happened when I was in primary six. Whatever it was the first or second time, the pain made me unable to concentrate on textbooks. It was sbsolutely the dark age because I could olny sleep for one to three hours every night. If you asked me whether I had worried about the HKCEE, my answer would be'no.' At that time, I was even unable to walk without a pair of walking sticks. I got ten 'As' in the exam, I was still a disabled. Thus, I had no fear for getting a bad result in the public exam, I only cared for my health, whether I could walk again.
Things were getting worse. Soon, I had to stay at hospital for a series of of body checks including CT and MRI. In those days, my mum advised me not to take the public exam. But after I got better, I decided to have the public exam in hospital. So, I applied for taking the exam in hospital. I wrote to HKEAA. Eventually, I finished my exam in hospital. It was quite an interesting experience because I had never had an exam alone while only one invigilator was near me. My friends asked me whether I was nervous during the exam. I answered, there was no examination hall atmosphere so I did not feel nervous.
In those days, I realised it was fearless when you were struggling against difficulties because there was nothing worse than you were facing. If you put efforts to it, things would only be tackled because you had already stayed at the bottom. It seemed to be a simple logic which every one understands, however, you would understand the power of this logic after you had got an unforgettable experience like mine.
A year ago, there was an incident that suddenly divided all Hongkongers according to their ages, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. The Choi Yuen Village incident created great feedback from different classes in society. One unforgettable experience is that I actually went to the Legislative Council when the council members had to decide whether to demonish the village or not in January.
Maybe you may ask me how it is related to you? I am not one of the villagers in Choi Yuen Village nor a member of any organizations that protect the village. So why did I take part in protecting Choi Yuen Village? That is somehow I understood as part of the society, I have the responsibility to do what are supposed to be fair and just. Therefore, when the government was trying to demonish this treasure village for some unnecessary highway and trails, I thought I should stand out for justice.
Why would I regard this as an unforgettable experience? It was because I saw care and warm hearts outisde the Legislative Council and I was so happy that villagers didn't fight alone. There were so many people that also cared about the others but not only for money. Although these people were regarded as violent or radical, they just cared about this society and the needy. They dared to conflict with the government officials, they were not greedy for money. Meeting these people made me learn a lot of things. I now understand what is going wrong in this society. And since then, I started to think more, and care more about the society.
Indeed, I did not just shout the slogans. I participated in the barefoot trail to save the village. When you hold some rice, walk twenty steps, you kneel down and touch the ground with forehead for a few seconds. It was not fun or something that brings happiness. There were so many people on street staring at us (classmates and I), and we had to have great strength to do this. I know, those who supported to build the highway were laughing at these barefoot walkers. But in fact, I felt proud of myself, because it was like doing the right thing, and I don't care about what the others think about me. That's why I will never forget this experience.
Everyone has their own unforgettable experience and I have some too. Did you feel delighted, touched, or wonderful in one of them? Or was your experience awful, full of sorrow, or did it make you feel ashamed? Mine is a complicated one as it included all of these feelings.
In a volunteer activity I joined two years ago, I developed a deeper friendship with one of my friends. We promptly became a pair of good friends, we shared everything in our daily lives no matter how boring or interesting they were. I seldom cried in front of the others. In my school life, she is the only person who saw me cry. Also, I had never talked with anybody about the negative side of my family, and she was the first and only one who I was willing to share.
However, our deep rooted friendship collasped last year because of a sentence spoken by her, 'I don't want to be friends with you anymore, I'd like to make new friends.' I was shocked and hurt as deep as the ocean. I don't know what I did wrong and I tried to maintain our relationship and kept close contact with her but it didnt work. My feeling of frustration turned to anger gradually.
After a few months, she cried and lost her temper frequently. At the begining, I tried to console and comfort her. Yet, I was blamed and even hit by her every time. As time went by, I lost my patience and decided not to contact with her anymore.
Recently, a social worker told me that my friend was suffering from a mood disorder. Realizing the fact, I was really ashamed and my regret was magnified. I was so unccountable that I chose not to contact with a friend who shared laughter and tears with me. I was so abominable that I got angry before understanding what was going on. And how stupid I was that I could not discover there was abnormal in moodiness of my close friend.
Touchingly, she forgave me for my evil doing. And the only thing I can do now is to help her to get along with us easier, giving her presents like chocolate and encouraging cards in order to cheer her up and the most important thing is always to be with her and listen to her more.
Although we experienced those unpleasantly events, it helps us to build an endless friendship and I believe that our friendship will be tougher in the future.