中文
HOME
HOME / LATEST NEWS / Content

Grade 8: Our first Model United Nations Meet-up Was a Process of Growth

November 22, 2018

Rather than a “competitive meeting”, I personally prefer the phrase “a process of growth” to describe SHAMUN, which was our first Model United Nations meet-up.

Although the two days were extremely tiring and required a certain amount of courage to survive, it was totally worth it. We had to wake up at six o’ clock on Saturday in order to make the competition, and that was only the start. The Shanghai American School’s campus was very confusing, and I didn’t know what was going on. However, I went with the tide and checked myself in. While all of this was very confusing, it was also a great opportunity for personal growth.

Napoleon Hill once said, “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” Indeed, this is very true. The contrast between the first and second day serves as a great example of this notion. Perhaps it was due to our lack of practice, but almost nobody asked questions to the other delegates or gave speeches on the first day, as we all had stage fright. The feeling of having something to say but being afraid to express it is extremely tormenting. That night when I got back home, and I believe this is true for everyone else, I started to think. Through this process of thinking, rethinking, and critiquing myself, I overcame my fears. If we are going to be called on at some point, why not voluntarily talk to avoid embarrassment?

As a result, the MUN conference on Sunday was much noisier than the previous day, and almost everyone that went to SHAMUN spoke, made amendments, and had fun. After this experience, I can say that I strongly believe that Model UN is an activity worthy of devotion, and we can honestly get a lot out of it as a whole.

(Written by 8(3) Ian Lu Pictures by Jason Brigham)