According to a newspaper article, Hong Kong students have low self-esteem because of the emphasis placed on academic performance.

Students only interact with their close friends. They don't want to make new friends.

I believe both parents and teachers can encourage students to be more active. This will help boost their self-esteem.

Dream, Our Lady of the Rosary College

Good schools offer more than studies

I am proud to be a student of The Chinese Foundation Secondary School.

I really like it here, as it is very different from other schools. We are encouraged to develop a variety of interests besides our studies.

For example we have many different clubs, including those for art, maths, drama, English and social services.

I joined the social services club, where we learn to help the poor, the weak and the elderly. This has been a great experience for me and all other members.

I wish all students had the opportunity we have to explore their interests at school.

Toby Chung, The Chinese Foundation Secondary School

Taxi drivers wrong to protest

The new taxi fare policy has really angered taxi drivers, who blocked the highways to protest.

Although I think the government's new fare policy is wrong, I think the taxi drivers are also wrong to show their anger this way.

Their protest actions delayed other Hong Kong residents and visitors, and could ruin Hong Kong's good reputation. This will not do them any good because if fewer people visit our city, the drivers will have fewer passengers.

I think they should discuss the problem with the government calmly, and make reasonable suggestions on how to resolve the issue.

Chan Lok-sze, STFA Tam Pak Yu College

Wealth does not bring happiness

In Hong Kong, most people believe being rich means success, while being poor means failure.

This is an unhealthy attitude that causes much unhappiness and stress in our society.

Lots of Hongkongers study subjects such as law, business and medicine because they see them as a path to money.

These subjects may indeed make you wealthy. But you will never be happy if you don't enjoy your job.

Though we need to earn money, we also need to follow our dreams, and to live happily and meaningfully.

Everyone should try to make their dreams come true.

Francis Tse Man-chuen, NLSI Lui Kwok Pat Fong College

Positive thinking leads to happiness

One of the best ways to find happiness is to have a positive attitude.

Try to always look at life with a sense of hope and optimism. Being too self-critical will never do you any good.

The things that you tell yourself have an impact on your mood and your body.

Negative thoughts and stress trigger the release of chemicals in your body that make you feel even worse.

To end this self-sabotage, make a decision to be nicer to yourself. Pay close attention to your thoughts, and when you find yourself having negative thoughts, replace them with positive ones.

For example, if you make a mistake, replace the 'I am so stupid' message with 'everyone makes mistakes and I've learned from this one'.

This kind of positive approach towards life is one of the surest ways to find lasting happiness.

Zunaira Malik, California School

Communication is a skill we must master

Words give us the power to communicate, which is very important.

In fact, communication between people is what develops our society and culture.

However, although most of us know it is important, few of us really know how to communicate well.

Firstly, communication involves at least two people, so we have to learn to listen.

When someone talks to you, you must pay attention and understand their key points so as to get their main idea.

Secondly, we must be able to convey our opinions to others. A useful tip here is: use simple and short sentence to express your idea.

There are more skills to communication, but I think the two skills I have written about are the most important, and we should all learn to master them.

Kevin Cheng, STFA Tam Pak Yu College

Read more books - you'll benefit

Nowadays, few Hong Kong students have much interest in reading books.

This is a huge contrast to the students in some other countries.

Reading has so many benefits. Firstly, from books we can learn useful words and phrases. This can enhance our ability to express our ideas and communicate.

Those who seldom read will have a narrower vocabulary than those who read a lot.

Secondly, reading widely broadens our general knowledge.

Thirdly, reading is great entertainment and can help us to relax.

Let's all read more.

Leung Sze-man, SKH Lam Woo Memorial Secondary School