Selina Sun：The biggest achievement is to turn a

Selina Sun

A 2016 graduate from Weihai Ivy

Coventry University

Turn a hobby into a profession is the biggest achievement

Selina is gifted in many ways, painting, playing the guitar and the piano; she is also passionate about designing and making clothes. When I went to interview her, she was working in the art room sketching and painting, the wall was full of photographs of fashion shows and her sketches.

She loves painting and she has her own plans about the future

“ I loved sketching from a very early age, I liked beautiful clothes in particular, I would also design and make nice clothes for my dolls. My mum and dad thought I was really into it and also good at it, so when I was older, they sent me to an art teacher to study art. I slowly laid the foundation and started to have my own style. ”

Selina spent her middle school life in a state school, art and design could only be a hobby after the heavy workload of study.  When the high school entrance exam was approaching, Selina started to think about her future. “To be honest, I am not very good at academic studies, but I do have a lot of hobbies. I don’t want to take the high school entrance exam and university entrance exam like we are expected to do so, I hope there could be another possibility for my future. Then my mum and dad said to me that I could learn differently, that’s why I came to Weihai Ivy. ”

Working towards your goal

Regarding studying and life in Weihai Ivy, Selina said: “I feel that I have the total freedom of controlling my studying and life. It is actually very easy to grasp the knowledge once you get used to the only English teaching style. In fact, some of the subjects are actually easier than the same ones in other countries. I have completed the university application by myself, but with using advice from Sharon, the College Councilor. Without hesitation I chose Art and Design as my major, which is something that I wouldn’t have even dreamt of doing before. I am confident that I can do it well as I really enjoy designing. Of course, I will also put more time into my study to improve myself further. ”

Apart from Selina being in her own little designing world, she also attends other school activities: she designs costumes for the school plays; she participates in the school’s sports days; she plays the guitar and sings for others in the dormitory……

Fashion design needs talent and hard work

It would be most appropriate to describe Selina as someone who has achieved a lot due to a combination of her talent and hard work.  Selina’s desk is full of fashion magazines, such as《Fashion Techniques》《Creative》《VOGUE》《Advanced Style》. In order to know the fashion industry well, Selina not only has studied fashion magazines cover to cover, but has also interned in a fashion company. She worked every day alongside the workers to cut and iron the clothes. “It was such a different experience from learning at school. It was new and fun, even though it was also hard work. ”

Selina has her own thoughts about fashion design.“Fashion design incudes different design elements, such as shape, structure and process, which has different requirements for designers. I think a good design should make one feel happy, should fulfill one’s fashion needs. ”Selina believes that a designer should have her own unique personality, so her designs can stand out. She especially talked about a designer from mainland China – Li Wei. “I really like simple but excellent designs, and Li Wei’s work is exactly like this. At the moment, I cannot say that I will become one of the world’s top designers, but I want to be another Li Wei.”

This September, Selina will pack up her things and study in the UK. She is excited about the new school and the new life. “When I was in Weihai Ivy, I had a chance to travel to America. What impressed me the most were the people, who were very enthusiastic about what they did. I am a very laid back character, so the life style in America is the one that would really suit me. Even though I’ve never been to the UK, but I think the life styles in western countries are similar. On top of this, everybody says the UK is a very nice country, so I’ll have to experience it myself.”Selina gave a signature smile after telling me this.

The famous fashion designer Ralph Lauren once said: ”I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.” I believe that Selina will realize her own dream in Coventry University, as I think a girl always with a smile on her face will always have good luck.