When There is No Opportunity, Create Them

I moved from the capital city of China, Beijing, to a small area right next Macau in the province of Guangdong. Guangdong has two cities that has one of the highest GDPs in the nation, which are Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Together, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are called “北上广深”, which are basically the four most developed cities in the nation. You would expect Guangdong to have a lot of MUN conferences hosted by both professional organizations and schools. But the truth suggests otherwise—there are little to no conferences hosted by schools in the province, but more (like Harvard MUN and Yale MUN) are hosted by professional third-party organiztions during the summer for more commercial-based purposes. 

However, with me being a MUN enthusiast, I cannot just give up and accept this truth. I spotted this issue in the market and I will now be hosting a conference at my school to let more students engage in the activity at a lower cost, and gain their interest in the club for the development of their diplomatic skills. I began my MUN journey in seventh grade, and I would say I have learned along the way in the process. When I was a delegate, I learned every lesson a beginner delegate would learn but through the hard way of experiencing all of it—not being afraid to speak up for your own stances and ideas, valuing quality and quantity equally, remaining diplomatic no matter what is being discussed or negotiated, and simply trying your best no matter how “good” the other delegates are. I remember being personally insulted by other delegates, being attacked by other countries in the committee directly, and feeling defeated because of the skill of other delegates in the room. However, MUN providese a platform for all delegates to perform, which leaves us with an equal starting point of always being treated fairly and always having respect for one another during discussion.

However, through this growth, not only have I learned how to be outstanding for myself, but learning to be courageous to build something out of nothing is what I believe, always makes the experience special.