❒ Comfort Zone
Let me talk about my comfort zone first.
The basketball team is one of them. I’ll never forget staying up all night with my roommates watching basketball videos in G1 to prepare for tryouts; The senior girls on the basketball team teaching me chemistry by the basketball court during the 24-hour basketball competition; The whole team crying together on the way back to school after losing the final game in G1; The cheers when I made my first buzzer-beater three-pointer; Making a commemorative album for our favorite coach Luke when he left the school; Customizing team hoodies together and winning the league championship together; Playing three hours of basketball every day in March while waiting anxiously for offers.
I am grateful to everyone I met here; the basketball team was the reason I chose SCIE in the first place. You all fulfilled my expectations for being in a team.
House is another. I like SCIE’s house system; it’s a very diverse and inclusive system that brings people together. SCIE has house competitions every Wednesday afternoon. There is a wide range of competitions, including various sports, knowledge competitions, and this year’s new additions like singing, dancing, and name tagging. When I first came here, I was infected by the enthusiasm of the senior students who loved the house system. I learned many new sports here and made many good friends.
The frequent house competitions also taught me to accept the results of competitions whether winning or losing (definitely not because we lost too much) and how to handle pressure in different situations. I got so used to the nervousness of weekly competitions that later I even joked with friends that house competitions made me more nervous than exams.
These comfort zones are an indispensable part of my four years in high school. Here, I could relax and adjust my mindset anytime, which kept my emotional state relatively positive and stable over the four years.
❒ Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone
Of course, while happily enjoying my comfort zone, I also learned a very important lesson here. When I first started playing in a team, I always just followed the ball, completely ignoring the positions of my teammates. This often resulted in collisions or missing defensive assignments because I was only watching the ball. Luke enlightened me; he told me that not all situations are as simple as following your instinct to grab the ball. You need to quickly judge the overall situation, including the positions of opponents and teammates, before making a move. He constantly reminded me to “Fight against your instinct.”
Although this is just a simple trick in a basketball game, I think its significance extends to other things. Acting according to your instincts is always the easiest and most comfortable, but to achieve a goal, you must step out of your comfort zone, expose yourself to discomfort to grow and learn.
Many things I experienced later validated the meaning of this statement. In four years, I made many choices that went against my instincts but ultimately benefited me greatly.
For example, even though I knew literature was difficult, I still chose IG and AS Literature in the first three years because I knew this course would train my critical thinking skills,which I was lack of. Although the process was difficult and painful, I met the most brilliant classmates on the path of learning literature and got inspired a lot by them.
Trying new things is also a breakthrough from the comfort zone. In G1, I interviewed for various clubs and roles, such as the economics club and the event division. I also participated in the graffiti wall design project outside the sports hall. At that time, I knew nothing about the design process but I just wanted to try.
I followed the street artist teacher through the project, from finding inspiration images, to designing, to spray painting, and completed the wall design project. I learned the general design process for the first time and discovered my interest in design. Although a lot of attempts weren’t successful, the process of trying is also a process of screening, gradually finding out what truly suits me.
Even though I used to be very introverted and stage-shy, Luke’s words still encouraged me to actively participate in many activities, interact with different people, and even take on the role of a leader in the team. Starting from my comfort zone, I first became the captain of the basketball team and Fire House, and later was elected as aPrefect and SELT (Student Executive Leadership Team) responsible for sports and house.
From a team member to a manager, I bore the pressure of students’ expectations for house competitions and the school’s requirements for these events. I constantly thought and discussed with my chairs how to make more people enjoy it. We made a new promotional video for house competitions, designed, and produced badges for each event as rewards, held new house competitions, and made a set of souvenirs to give to everyone at the end of the semester.
Luke’s words motivated me to leave my comfort zone and learn to coexist with pressure.
❒ Surprises Outside the Comfort Zone – Fashion Show
I initially had no interest in fashion; it was because I was tall and slim in G1 that I was persuaded to participate. In the first year, I originally signed up as a model and designer, but later, due to stage fright, I withdrew and only worked as a designer.
Although it left me a little regret, that experience allowed me to understand the operation and management mode of a fashion show backstage and meet some senior students involved in the organization. In G2, the advertising department was short of people, and I was invited into the club to help. Later, I was promoted from head of the advising department to the club president.
During this process, I learned and tried many design-related tasks for the fashion show, such as posters and stage design. I looked online for relevant materials and contemporary fashion show cases, discovering that an impressive fashion show requires not only outstanding clothing design but also the coordination of music, model routes, and stage design.
I became interested in many fashion-related fields, such as the link between fashion and sports or architecture. I started collecting various sports-themed magazines and learned about different architects’ fashion projects, such as OMA’s famous architect Rem Koolhaas, designing a paper house for Prada’s fashion show.
These also became part of my architecture college essay as well. I also fell in love with fashion photography, forming a fashion photography group with friends to plan, shoot, and release a fashion photography project.
A1 was the most challenging year as president. Due to insufficient budget, I kept negotiating with the school and stage contractors. Together with my excellent team members, we proposed and implemented some new ideas: a check-in wall, new model routes, and an exhibition.
These results came from various nervous meeting with the strict Russian teacher Mr.Boris. Finally, the fashion show with over 30 groups of models and a full audience was successfully held, which gave me a great sense of accomplishment. The positive feedback afterward made me feel that what I did was meaningful!
Until A2, I finally fulfilled my G1 regret, transitioning from a backstage worker and designer to a model on stage. Even though it was just a few seconds of catwalking, it was the most nerve-wracking moment in my four years of fashion shows.
I am grateful to my G1 self, who, despite retreating, bravely stepped out of my comfort zone once, allowing me to discover many surprises outside my comfort zone.
❒ An Uncomfortable Major – Architecture
I discovered the major architecture by a very coincidental opportunity.
Like many people, when I hadn’t decided on a major, the first activity I did for applying to the US was rural village teaching. However, during this process, I didn’t feel that I provided valuable help to the local children.
Our short-term teaching quality was not as good as the local experienced teachers, and we couldn’t make large changes to the lives of the local children. Although I was unwilling to do something meaningless just to enrich my resume, the village where the teaching took place sparked my interest in architecture.
This teaching support trip introduced me to Banwan Village – a village once featured on the TV show “Dream Renovation”, transformed by a professor from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. This professor brought his team to research, conduct material experiments, renovate houses, and turn the village into a tourist attraction with Buyi ethnic characteristics.
These experiences made me determined to apply for architecture. I began preparing my portfolio. Although I hadn’t chosen physics in G level, I caught up previous content and chose it in A-level as it is required for applying architecture. I also returned to Banwan Village annually to join the rural construction team for relevant activities.
❒ Last but not least
I am grateful for my decision to apply for the US, which gave me a chances to do these seemingly unrelated things to studying, providing many opportunities to break through my comfort zone. During this process, I learned how to relieve stress, manage time, interact with different people. I gradually changed from an introverted person to an extroverted one. I also discovered new interests, learned how to lead a team, and how to propose and implement new ideas.
Most of my friends know that Cornell has been my dream school since G2. Looking back, the moment I saw “Congratulations” still feels surreal. In the mystical process of applying to American colleges, I was rejected by many schools which I thought were safety schools and saw many talented friends not get their desired offers. I feel that I only had a bit more luck than others among a group of outstanding people.
After enjoying the joy of receiving my dream school offer, I need to face the challenge of going to Cornell. Can I still find my comfort zone there, or will I find new ones? Can I adapt to the rural campus, depressing weather, and the notorious sleepless five-year architecture curriculum?
I guess I just have to make stepping out of my comfort zone a comfort zone itself.
- Article / Dora He
