Analytical essay

I have never planned for this. It is all unexpected. I have failed my goals and I came here. When it came, my mind was not blown. It was just that I got butterflies in my stomach. Am I capable of handling all the challenges ahead? I do not know.

Yes, I am here, being a first-year law student at the City University of Hong Kong.

As I have said, it is all unexpected. Law is not my first choice. In fact I dream of being a journalist. Writing articles is not just something that I am interested in, it is also my strength. In a student reporter program that I have participated, the article that I have written on the Cheung Chao Dajiao Festival was chosen among ten articles written by others to be published on the newspaper. It might seem to be a minor thing to you, but to me, it is a confirmation of my writing ability. This is when I started to develop a strong interest in journalism.

No matter how I have planned for my future, things did not turn out as I wished. Unfortunately what had awaited me is rejection from the School of Journalism of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I could not help feeling disappointed. At the same time CityU gave me an offer in LLB, which is a whole new path for me. So I accepted the offer.

But then questions came. Law is such a competitive subject that it seems to me only those who are either very hard-working or smart can master it. I think people like me who are often being described as careless and lazy might find it hard. I knew nothing about the law and I am surely not as ambitious as my colleagues. When I talked about this to a friend of mine, he told me ‘Well, no one ever comes here fully prepared. If you know everything before you come then there is no need to study here!’ Maybe he is right. I should get focused and stop worrying for the unknown.

After all the worries I have had, I started to think maybe doing law in university would do much good to a person like me. Studying law may help me to stay absolutely focused on my job in the future because it requires high level of concentration. I believe I would be much more hardworking and dedicated to work at hand, which are obviously beneficial to my future – either in further education or to my job. Things are not as bad as I first thought!

If I still want to be a journalist after these four years of law programme, I will do a master in journalism after I graduate to help me with my dream job – a journalist. I might be an article writer in a food magazine or lifestyle magazine. But if I change my mind and I want to be a lawyer, then I will complete PCLL first before going for a master of laws. I do not know yet whether being a barrister or a solicitor would be more suitable for me, but I guess the answer will come along as I progress in my studies.

Am I capable of handling all the challenges ahead? I do not know, but the challenge is accepted. What I could do is to fine-tune my goal, be prepared, and just keep going. Grabbing learning opportunities and being a hardworking person are the prerequisites to success in career. Once I could do both of them can I exercise on my full potential.