18th CKY issue

Michael Chan
(Class of 2019)
Hi everyone! Michael here, class
of 2019, currently studying in
UCLA. University is a huge and
difficult place to navigate,
especially coming from a tight,
close-knit environment of CKY.
Like a bird with its wing clipped
off, the support system built
around you which you’ve grown
so accustomed to suddenly
disappears. There is nobody to
parent you, nobody to make you
do your work, and nobody to tell
you how to live your life. Clearly,
this could be heaven for some of
you; and for those who look at
this and feel a creeping sense of
anxiety, good. You’re on the right
track.
At the basketball court of UCLA that the d1 team actually play on
Perhaps especially true for
education in the US, studying in a
foreign country takes a lot of
courage. You are forced to “put
yourself out there”, to go out and
introduce yourself to people
proactively like a social butterfly,
something I suppose Hong Kong
students have to work harder to
do. This is the first barrier that I
n e e d e d t o w o r k h a r d t o
overcome. When I first got to LA, I
had no existing friends that I
could rely on. I acutely remember
telling myself “if this is how you
are going to act, you’ll end up with
no friends…” then I took a leap of
faith and tried to chat to
everybody I met. I got really lucky
at orientation and met a really
close friend, and since then
college was much easier.
Visiting my sister in Toronto jet
lagged zzzz
At Santa Monica Beach with friends!
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