Written by Qianhao Chen, Aron Wu and Edmond Qi  As international students, completing homework, watching lectures and writing essays can all consume a lot of energy. Many of us study well into the evening, where we are left hungry by the time we finish for the day and are unable to sleep well. So, midnight snacks can sometimes be the best go-to for replenishing our energy.  Why snack at all?Enjoying midnight snacks with other international students can promote friendship between friends away from home. Eating delicious food can activate and promote the release of dopamine, bringing about pleasure and reducing stress.  Therefore, … Continue reading The Comforting Midnight Snack

Written by Xavier Bin, Lin Shui and Christianto Hernando  Many people collect things as a hobby. These collections are either popular or uncommon, special to the collector whose life they occupy.   To better understand this, we have interviewed some Trinity College Foundation Studies students from different parts of the world. Each of these international students have different collecting preferences, so let’s take a look at their Knick Knacks.   Jack (19) Rubik’s Cubes    From the age of 13, Jack started collecting Rubik’s cubes after he was gifted one by his great-grandfather. Even though his great-grandfather was strapped for cash at the time, the … Continue reading Collecting Knick Knacks

Written by Wantong Li and Yanru He  Disclaimer: Please be advised that the names of all interviewees in this article have been changed at their discretion.  We all have two different voices inside us: one that is nurturing, lifting us up and one that is critical, weighing us down.   Psychologist Susan David once said, “Being positive has become a new form of moral correctness,” telling us to be more tolerant of ourselves before we do anything. Most of the time we are optimistic, but there are times as international students we are annoyed by the seemingly trivial things in life … Continue reading Reversing Negative Self-Talk: The Pressures of Loving Yourself

Written by April Liu Bao, Jalal Uddin Rumi, Hayden Dang and Boris Kitanov.  Trinity College Foundation Studies offers you more than just a great academic experience. Students have the opportunity to take part in a variety of extra-curricular activities to develop valuable qualities and skills that can help in your future university studies and career.   Cinema Club  Films have always been a part of our lives. Everyone enjoys watching films, whether you are an enthusiast or not. Fortunately, Trinity College has a Cinema Club where you can learn more about films and share your interest with other students. All club … Continue reading School Clubs: A Trinity College Perspective

By Pano Xu, Elena Wang and Illya Zhang   There is a clear difference between defending what you love and limiting what others enjoy. Sometimes fans can be quite overprotective, so when new fans question the rules and the very thing which their fan group loves, certain, extreme fans will carry out attacks that develop beyond cyberviolence.   Defining the terms  Also known as fan culture, “fandom” is a term used to describe a community or sub-culture established by fans to share and appreciate a common interest, such as a hobby, popular media, a particular person or group. Gatekeeping on the other hand is … Continue reading Is Fandom Gatekeeping Toxic? 

By Ellie Myae, Kharisya Ganinduto and Dylan Dai  Disclaimer: For professional advice and treatment, please seek a physiotherapist or your general practitioner.    Have you ever suffered from growing pains? Growing pains are something we have all experienced and refers to the musculoskeletal pain children feel in their limbs as they go through their adolescence. While the pain is most common in their legs, they can experience growing pain in their arms too and occurs typically at night.  The problem lies in the amount of strenuous physical activity we have engaged in such as exercise and sports. bone growth, the strengthening of muscles and how they … Continue reading Growing Pains: Stretch!  

By Lydia Sun, Stefanie Theisjen and Reina Yamanishi   Students need to get a high level of restorative sleep while learning various new things every day. Sleep quality is a measurement of whether people can get deep rest and it is essential to have good amounts of it because sleep can affect our ability to absorb new knowledge. Adequate sleep can help us make correct judgements on important matters.   Based on our interviews with international students from Trinity College Foundation Studies, most students usually get six to eight hours of sleep a day. Many of these students tend to sleep well after completing their work for … Continue reading Eternal Slumber of the Sleepless Mind: How Online Learning Has Impacted Our Sleep 

By Yuqi Wang and Cathy Oh  Disclaimer: For professional advice on your skin, please see a dermatologist and other skin health specialists.   These days there has been an increasing emphasis on the importance of daily skincare for all. The right combination of skincare products and professional advice can help build an effective skincare routine that has your skin at its best condition to prevent acne, reduce wrinkles and keep it glowing.   In our quest for good skin, we will investigate the three main steps to building a skincare routine: cleansing, toning and moisturizing. To top it all off, we will … Continue reading How Many Steps? Your Skincare Routine 

By Audri Kusuma and Yuka Uchida  Disclaimer: Please be advised that the names of all interviewees in this article have been changed at their discretion.  What comes to mind when you compare platonic with a romantic relationship? What is the difference between the two? Sometimes that can be hard to describe.  As we get older, responsibility, commitment and decision making are all things we take on more of. When it comes to platonic and romantic relationships, we often forget to set boundaries and let the relationship run like that indefinitely.   Apart from communication, the key to a healthy relationship is having … Continue reading Dear Everyone: Real Advice for Maintaining a Good Relationship 

By Kevin Wang and Fuze Yan   How are your dreams coming along? ‘Dreams’ is the most beautiful word in the world. They are the purest thing in everyone’s heart because they carry people’s childhood fantasy. Photo: Raffi Youredjian via Flickr Everyone has a vision of their future when they are young. ‘When I grow up, I want to be…’ or ’I want to make a difference…” – these kinds of dreams can inspire people for a long time, acting as a beacon to illuminate people’s way forward through life.   To gain perspective on this, we have interviewed a few of … Continue reading When I Grow Up, I Want to Be ____?