Embrace the Challenge - Mr. Marcus Wang-Hin CHAN

I am Marcus Wang-Hin CHAN from the Class of 2022. I am now a student in life science at the University of Toronto and the Assistant Principal Double Bass in the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.

I have been studying abroad in Canada for three years. The first place I settled in Canada in 2020 was a small town called Yorkton in the province of Saskatchewan. Most Canadians call this province “the middle of nowhere” because even its capital city Regina is not as densely populated as other major cities in Canada, and most of the land is farmland. Yorkton is definitely a retirement community. The population is around twenty thousand people, and there is no public transit, skyscrapers, or shopping malls. Compared to my hometown in Hong Kong, Yorkton is like a village. The lifestyle there was tremendously different from the one in Hong Kong. It took me a while to adapt to this different lifestyle. A few weeks after I settled in Yorkton, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada. The entire country went into a complete lockdown. School and daily activities were cancelled. To make my days meaningful, I decided to help my uncle out on his farm. Working on the farm was rough and tough. We spent eight to ten hours on the field every day, doing various kinds of labor. I sometimes wanted to quit. However, my mum encouraged me every day. She told me, “Son, things that do not kill you will make you stronger. If you can endure these tough days, you can endure anything for the rest of your life.” Her words motivated me to carry on working on the farm. Without paying attention to time, I completed an entire farming season. Although the long hours of work on the farm made me feel frustrated and exhausted for the entire summer, it made me learn many skills: I learned to drive different farming machines, such as grain trucks, tractors, and combines; I learned to do basic mechanical work; most importantly, I learned to be responsible and persistent in life.

Because I want to prepare myself for university with a better education, I moved to Markham, Ontario, for Grade 12 in August 2021. In addition to my hard work at school in the past years, I kept striving for the best in my Grade 12 studies. This year, I have been accepted to study life science at the University of Toronto, one of the best universities in the world.

Back in August 2021, after settling down in Markham, I applied for the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra (TSYO,) under the auspices of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). In September, I was officially admitted to participate in the TSYO for the first time for the 2021/22 season. With my dedication to the orchestra throughout the year, I became one of the four recipients of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra Award among my eighty-three colleagues in April. In season 2022/23, I was promoted to assistant principal double bass in the orchestra.

Life is unpredictable and challenging. Like Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” After being away from family for three years, I found that being optimistic and positive is the key to success. If you make a mistake, or mess up one of your days, it is absolutely fine because no one in the world is perfect. I also made mistakes on the farm, at school, and in the orchestra. But it is more important to learn from the mistake and the experience. On the other hand, my uncle taught me that a wrong decision is never wrong, because it can always let you know what you actually want for yourself. Trust yourself and do the best things for yourself. Embrace every challenge in life and move on because the world will never stop for us. Carpe diem—seize the day!