What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
We asked our readers: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Here are our favourite answers
Relax before sleeping
Sleep can be more valuable than an extra hour of studying. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, try to relax before sleeping, take in a deep breath, count to three, and exhale. Works every time!
Anne Kwok, 16, Milton Academy
Sip water to get rid of hiccups
Once I had a bad case of hiccups in history class, and I didn’t know how to stop them. I hiccup rather loudly, so I was afraid I was going to embarrass everyone on my table and myself. Luckily, two of my classmates, that I’d never talked to before, advised me to slowly swallow 10 sips of water, but on the 10th sip gulp as much water down as possible. I tried it out and it worked! Hiccups begone!
Ady Lam, 14, Island School
What new trick would you like to learn?
Importance of getting along well with others
Aside from your personal ability, being able to get along well with others is the key to success. In our daily life, if you don’t know how to cooperate with others, you cannot perform well, especially in doing group projects. In addition, if you become a leader, you have to manage plenty of people. Therefore, the skills of cooperation and your own ability are both very important.
Mimi Wong, 15, The HKMA K S Lo College
Aim high in whatever you do
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is from my mum. She always tells me to aim high in whatever I do and take care of myself constantly.
Bobbi Lee, 12, South Island School
Which shop would you shop for free at?
Pick yourself up when you fall
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received was in the form of a quote by Serena Williams: “A champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.” Nowadays, lots of people are over competitive and care too much about winning titles and being better than others. This often leads to negative feelings like jealousy or hatred. I think the quote is very true in that even if you fail, you are still a champion if you stand back up again and don’t give up. A champion is not defined by how they do in a competition, but by how they handle the highs and lows life. This quote inspires me to feel brave even when I face difficulties.
Chloe Lau Hong-ching, 13, St. Mary’s Canossian College
Show appreciation
Our school has been teaching us to express gratitude more. It’s hard to appreciate the beauty of life when we’re constantly faced with difficulties. As students, we often complain about the exam-oriented education system. This can cause us to be stressed and even demotivated. Being thankful for little things like having a roof under our heads, having food on the table at least three times a day, and having the opportunity to study in a safe environment, and so on, can help us get past challenging moments as well as inspire us to look forward to better things on the horizon.
Jacqueline Guico, 19, Belilios Public School
If you could read minds, whose thoughts would you start with?
Devotion, dedication, and determination
The best advice I’ve ever received is from my grandmother. She taught me the three D’s: devotion, dedication, and determination. I think these three words sum up the real values in life that one should work to embody.
Saanchi Shah, 14, King George V School
Never lose hope
“Never lose hope.” This is a phrase my teacher said to me once that’s been helping me. There was a time when I was failing at almost everything and I was feeling really low. I didn’t see the point of working hard any more. But this phrase gave me hope and I gave me the energy to work again. Whenever you feel down, don’t stress it out. Just remember to never lose hope.
Natasha Ho Jo-wei, 13, Carmel Pak U Secondary School
Who can you trust with your deepest secret?
Face your problems head on
It’s the quote “fake it till you make it”, but with a clever twist from my mother. She says, “Face it and you’ll make it.” Instead of faking confidence, or putting on masks to get to the top, face your problems instead. When you deal with your shortcomings and accept them, you can allow yourself to grow; evade them, and you’ll only be left with a fragile facade.
Jess Yung, 16, Shatin College
It's okay to make mistakes
“Don’t expect to always get it right the first time”, is probably the best piece of advice I’ve received. In a world where there is constant competition and high standards to be met, we must remember that it’s okay to get something wrong, and we should see it as a way to get better and improve ourselves, rather than seeing it in a negative light and not doing anything about it. I believe that this quote is very relatable, seeing as a lot of students feel dejected if they receive a low exam score rather than use it as motivation do better next time.
Aiswarya Rambhatla, 15, South Island School
For our next Top 10, tell us:
Which dead celebrity would you bring back to life?
Send your answer, together with your name, age and school, to [email protected] with “Top 10: Best advice” in the subject field. Our favourite answers will appear in next week’s Top 10 page, and on our Facebook page around 4pm-5pm!