THE touching tale of an adolescent's struggle between fitting in and keeping his own identity won Michelle Ng Yun-yun of Diocesan Girls' School first prize in the Royal Commonwealth Society Essay Competition 1993/94.
Organised by the Education Department and sponsored by the Royal Commonwealth Society in Hong Kong and the General Chamber of Commerce, the contest was aimed at raising students' language ability and power of observation and analysis.
Participants were divided into four classes: A (ages 16 to 18), B (ages 14 to 15), C (ages 12 to 13) and D (age below 11).
Michelle, the Class A first prize winner, wrote about conformity and alienation.
'Adolescents like to hang around as a group because it gives them a sense of security. A lot of them try hard to identify with the group and lose their identity in the process,' the 18-year-old said.
The character in Michelle's story, Tim, represents a large number of young people in the community. He wants to make friends and is well aware that once he is accepted by peers, he would have to give up some of his characteristics to fit in.
