When I first became a high school student, I wanted to follow my brother’s steps,

who’s currently studying abroad, where there’s better education systems and more
opportunities to gain experience that would help me in my future job applications.
My goal was to study fine art as a major and, in the future, studying in the topics art
universities in the UK, hoping that some day I can become a concept art artist who
works in a movie or game studio. Art has been my greatest interest since I had my
first memory. Due to inheritance from my father, I guess. My parents have always
supported me on that. They took me to different sorts of art lessons for the past
seven years. And I have become an outstanding student, among others. However,
reality sometimes just doesn’t turn out as we expected it to be. As I started my high
school life and started to pay attention to my future career, I looked into some
examples of success applications to college，what a decent art portfolio looks like. I
noticed that it wasn’t enough to just be good at it; practical skills wasn’t the only the
characteristic that colleges are looking for; there’s also creativity and good thought,
and I can’t ensure that I can stand out among thousands of people who might have
the same level of practical skills as I do. After the results of IGCSE exam were
published, I did not get the grades I expected, this makes me wonder: Is being an
artist really the most suitable job for me? Is there a major that can both raise my
interest and where I can be outstanding using my abilities?”

As a child who was born in Hong Kong. China, and lived in inland China. I have
always wondered how economics could be so different in just two cities. Hong Kong
was considered as the financial center of Asia. It is the dream workplace for many
people due to the high minimum wage and good welfare benefits. The GDP per
capita in Hong Kong was 49000 USD in 2022; however, in inland China, it was only
1700 USD. Even for developed cities like Shanghai, it has only reached 2500 per
capita. How come two cities in one country has such a different economy? This
question has driven my interest in economics. Economics is the study that would
affect our lives in the world nowadays. It can be used to understand and solve
various problems in our world. And I believe my strength in this subject can be really
shown by combining the two other courses that I learned.

During my A-level career , I have also chosen psychology and mathematics. Studying
these two courses helped me develop several skills that can be applied to
economics. Studying math gives me the ability of data analysis. And by studying
calculus, It would help me solve various problems in economics. Optimization
problems are a common research area. Calculus provides tools and methods for
solving optimization problems. By analyzing the derivative of the function, the
extreme point of the function can be found, and the optimal solution can be
determined. For example, in consumer theory, the optimal consumption mix of
consumers can be determined by solving the derivative of the utility function. As
economics is the study of the behavior of suppliers and consumers, learning
psychology helped me better understand and predict the behavior of economic
agents . For example, the laws of diminishing marginal utility suggest that the more
the same good a consumer buys, the less additional happiness they will get for
buying one more. It is related to or similar to a psychological term called affective
habituation. This phenomenon suggests that we quickly adapt to affective
experiences, so affect will be weakened due to repeated exposure to the same
stimulus. Psychology lessons also helped me to develop my investigation skills, as I
have conducted a few practical investigations on psychology.

After I had some understanding of A-level economics, I started to get interested in

what the world economy was like. And the status of each nation’s economy. And
Japan's economy was one of the interesting cases I read about. It was once one of
the strongest economy in the world; however, in recent years, it has suffered from
slow growth. Therefore, it led me to read a book called “The Low Desire Society."
Which described how Japan has faced a prolonged period of deflation, where prices
tend to decline. attributed to the overall weak consumer demand. For many years,
governments have always wanted to correct that situation through various monetary
policies. Monetary Policy for Deflation: The Bank of Japan has pursued a policy of
low interest rates, to around 0%. To encourage more people to spend money rather
than spend it quantitative easing measures have also been implemented to stimulate
economic activity. However, due to the market bubble in the 1990s The burst caused
stocks in Japan to drop significantly, firms to shut down, and consumers to be in high
debt. Which leads to a low desire to consume in the whole economy. As individuals,
consumers were still trying to spend as little as they could to paying their debts. As
for firms, the overall increase in the aging population caused a fall in demand. As
demands fell, firms became unwilling to make investments. And as I was reading it, I
found there were few similarities between the current economy in China and the
economy in Japan during the 1990s. The shrinking of the labor force, the increase in
the aged population, and the status of real state market. It raised some of my
concerns about whether China will experience the same as Japan.

Throughout my studies in economics, I have conducted various research on the

world economy, including India, Japan, Hong Kong, etc. I have demonstrated a strong
sense of independence by conducting thorough research, analyzing data
autonomously, and formulating well-founded conclusions that reflect my individual
understanding of complex economic concepts. But I also once struggled while
studying economics for the first time. I had difficulties understanding some concepts
and felt confused while writing essays in exams. Thank to the proper help on revision
by my economics teacher and months of practice on past papers and reading notes
on my own, I began to develop my own pace and rhythm of studying, and I was able
to improve significantly. During the final test in January, my grades were only C, and
at the external exam in June, I achieved an A. I believe this is also one of my
strengths that I could improve fast in my future studies in college.
I joined the NEC when I was in A level; this gives me external knowledge about the
world economy. And I also get to know the how the economic terms and textbooks
in the UK and America. and helped me develop my practical skills in economics.

"For my working career in the future, I want to become an analyst or manager in

banks and securities companies, and I am eager to use my strengths in independence
and data analysis. My goal is to contribute to an informed decision-making process,
ensuring robust financial strategies and add tangible value to an evolving financial
institution."