Jasper Wong

My name is Jasper (B.Y.) Wong and I'm 19. I'm currently in my second year at University of Kent.

I find that the struggle for the summation of ones identity into a small box is one that is at once common as it is scarcely defined. The easiest and most socially acceptable way I can define myself, I suppose, would be to state what country I am from, where I call home and what kind of person my friends would describe me as, yet to attempt to fill in this category in this way would be providing you with a fairly superficial and impartial look at who I am. I think it makes more sense to write here that I struggle with how to describe my own identity. This difficulty stems mostly from the fact that I have a strong sense of my individuality and that it would be difficult to write a summation I find represents me on enough levels.

I am not plugged into the alcoholism that seems to be deep-seated in certain societies, nor do I isolate myself in a spiritual quest for self-discovery. I am not religious, but understand the impact and power of religion and admire, in particular, how it lends hope to the less fortunate. I do not judge people based on their race, colour or sexuality. These things do not factor in to me: a good aura is what I look for in a person, and it does not matter to me how this aura manifests itself. I tend to get along very well with creative people who are intelligent about themselves and others, though this obviously isn't a static requirement! Lastly, to describe my heritage and culture, I can say that I am ethnically from Hong Kong (not China) and that despite this, I am culturally very Western, although I have certain Eastern ideals and beliefs that creep up in my thought processes.

I look at life as a large collection of walls to bypass. You can do this through drudgery (climbing the wall), brute force (smashing down the wall), method (disassembling the wall brick by brick), or just walking around it to see how long it stretches. You walk all the way down till the wall stops, then walk forwards. You're in a different place but further along your journey than you were before the wall. It could be more constructive...