"After listening to your talk, some classmates in our grade rushed to the library after class to flip through university brochures," I felt great receiving this feedback from my high school juniors and seniors, thinking how wonderful it must be to have someone tell them what might happen in their future, especially when they're in their second year of high school.

On 4/17, I returned to my alma mater "New Taipei High School" to give a talk. The day before, I reflected on my own second year of high school and realized it was 2007... which means there's a generation gap of 11-12 years between me and these students. I believed talking about "personal values" would be completely useless for them at this stage, so I used news videos to show them what people their age are thinking, and spoke in a serious tone: "Choosing your university is your first major life decision, and it will impact your entire future!"

I shared my painful example. In high school, I loved doing club activities way too much. I spent three entire years doing cheerleading—practicing at noon, practicing in the evening, practicing on weekends, practicing during winter and summer breaks. I even did performances in my third year, playing so much that my grades fell apart. By the time I truly woke up and didn't know what to do next, I had already finished the mock tests.

After the mock tests, my scores were just slightly above the national median. Honestly, they were good enough to get into university, but I was terrible at exams. Back then, the follow-up exam even had negative marking—meaning if you got one question right and another wrong, you could end up with zero points. Don't think it's impossible; I actually scored zero on a practice exam, which left me traumatized and fearful.

After my mock test scores came out, I never considered taking the follow-up exam, and I definitely didn't want to attend any school below Fu Jen University. So with grades of two subjects at median, two at high standard, and one at low standard, I applied through the recommendation system to Fu Jen University's Department of Mass Communication, when actually they only required the lowest standard.

But why Mass Communication? You might think that me becoming a journalist, doing PR, and building my personal brand today reflects interests and goals I've had since childhood. But what I want to say is, that's completely wrong. I had no idea what I wanted to do in the future!

This is how I chose my university major. I remember it clearly—after opening the brochure, I muttered to myself, "Chinese doesn't work, accounting doesn't work, history doesn't work, business management doesn't work... Mass Communication! Mass Communication works." It's a department with no rigid subjects, just practical film courses, and my family runs a photography studio, so I thought, why not! And that's how I stepped into the Department of Mass Communication and accidentally started my career in media.

I have to admit, I was lucky in some ways. I discovered that I actually had some talent for media and a bit of interest in it. Even luckier, the media industry has no boundaries—marketing, PR, advertising, journalism are all parts of it, and it grows with technology and the times, not rigid or stereotypical. In this era of integrated marketing, knowing a bit of everything became my advantage.

But the truth is, your university major can really affect most people's entire lives. Don't gamble with your future!

My advice to my juniors and seniors is: "Go to the university fair." On that rainy morning at 9 AM, packed with crowds at Taiwan University's athletic center, don't go just to find a major. Go see people your age who are so goal-oriented, so certain about what they want to do and can do in the future. Really simulate what kind of future awaits you on this path, instead of like me, waiting until you're 25 and entering the workforce before realizing the first half of your life was spent in a daze...

My teacher told me that before my visit, these students refused to attend the university fair. After hearing my talk, they started seriously thinking about their futures. That's the purpose of my speech. I want to plant a seed in their hearts that will gradually sprout and grow over time!

If your students don't want to go to the university fair, feel free to invite me to give a talk XDDD (just kidding)