One’s childhood experience has a profound influence on his present life and even on his future. At least it is true in my case. I believe that is the reason why I still cannot write beautiful English letters on paper.

In primary school, I was forced to use a handwriting workbook titled hao zi xing tian xia (A Good Hand Helps You Win) to practise writing my Chinese characters. The booklet contained too many spaces to fill, and it exceeded the workload appropriate for a primary school student. As a playful child, I found it a pain to sit down to the lengthy tedious practice daily. Of course, I ended up reprimanded by my parents and my teachers alike. It cast a shadow on my childhood.

Psychologists believe that people spend their entire lives trying to recover from their childhood traumas. According to the experts, only after the wounds are healed can they embrace their present and their future.

My humiliating childhood memory of calligraphy workout still rankles with me today. That’s primarily why my handwriting is as cramped as it was years ago. My handwriting, called “chicken scrawl” by my teachers, has hurt my grades in exams time and again. I still have a long way to go before I own a neat hand, but I’m patient. I have realised that I will have to improve the way I construct my characters and letters to give myself an advantage in exams. It is the plain truth that graders have a partiality for a smartly presented paper.