An Interview with Tsinglanian of the Month: Renee 

本月清澜之星采访：方子尧

Interviewer 采访人/ G10 Ruixin Zhang 章睿芯

Interviewee 受访者/G11 Renee Fang 方子尧

Q: Hi Renee, congrats on being the Tsinglaner of the Month for our February Issue. I heard that you enjoy participating in the school’s percussion ensemble. Just in case for those who don’t know, can you give a brief overview of what “percussion” is and the role you are undertaking in the ensemble?

你好方子尧同学！祝贺你成为我们2月刊的 “月度清澜人”。我听说你喜欢参加学校的打击乐合奏，请问你能不能简单介绍一下什么是 “打击乐 “以及你在打击乐团中承担的角色？

A: Thank you! Percussion refers to instruments that are played by being struck.

The percussion ensemble of our school is formed by both students and teachers, and everyone plays a different instrument. Most of the times, I play the marimba or xylophone.

谢谢! 打击乐顾名思义就是指通过敲击来演奏的乐器。我们学校的打击乐团是由学生和老师组成的，每个人演奏不同的乐器。大多数时候，我演奏马林巴琴或木琴。

Q: Wow, you must have also faced a lot of challenges playing the marimba, canyou give us some examples and how you were able to overcome the obstacles?

哇！你在演奏马林巴琴时一定也遇到了很多挑战，你能给我们举一些例子吗？你是如何克服这些障碍的？

A: I guess some challenges I faced was that at first, the marimba was a completely new instrument to me. Learning how to play the marimba was a new start for me. But through constantly attending classes and practices, I got more familiar with the instrument and got better at playing it. There is

another challenge that I still face, which is getting really nervous when performing on stage. So, I would mess up even if I felt that I have practiced enough. I hope I can overcome this problem by practicing more on my own and gaining more experience as we perform more.

我面临的一些挑战就是马林巴起初对我来说是一种全新的乐器，学习如何演奏马林巴琴对我来说是一个新的开始。不过，通过课上的学习和练习，我对与这个马林巴的演奏更加熟悉了。另一个我还面临的挑战就是在台上表演的时候容易紧张。所以即使我觉得自己已经练得很好了，也还是容易出错。我希望我能够通过自己多加练习和在我们的表演中获得更多的经验来克服这个问题。

Q: I know for a fact that the marimba is quite a niche instrument compared to others like the piano and violin. How did you stumble upon it and why do you enjoy it? 

我觉得与钢琴和小提琴等其他乐 器相比，马林巴是一种相当小众的乐器。你是如何偶然发现它的？你为什么喜欢它？

A: I started with the marimba when, last year, I was picking an elective class, and decided to try the “percussion elective.” It was in that elective that we started by very simple percussion instruments to learning to play slightly more complex ensembles. Then, as we were preparing for performances, we started rehearsing after school as well. I enjoy playing in the percussion ensemble because it is relaxing and helps me relieve stress. It takes my mind off everyday worries about school and academics. 

我开始接触打击乐的时候，是在上一个学年选择选修课的时候，我决定尝试一下 “打击乐选修课”。在那门选修课上，我们从非常简单的打击乐器开始，到学习演奏稍微复杂的合奏。然后，在准备演出时，我们也开始在课后排练。我很享受参加打击乐团因为演奏的过程能让人放松，帮助我缓解压力，也能让我暂时放下每天学业上的的忧虑。

Q: Apart from the percussion ensemble, what other extracurriculars are you involved in?

除了打击乐团，你还参加了哪些课外活动？

A: Before I joined the percussion ensemble, I co-created the TEDxTsinglan club that organized speech events in our school. This was inspired by the TEDxTsinglan events that Ms. Li used to host. As a student club, we hope to integrate more student ideas into these events. Besides that, I am also part of the Tsinglan Radio Channel. We are a club that creates original radio programs to be broadcasted in the school.

在加入打击乐团之前，我和朋友合作创建了TEDxTsinglan社团，在学校组织演讲活动。这是受黎校长以前举办的TEDxTsinglan活动的启发。作为一个学生社团，我们希望在这些活动中融入更多学生的想法。除此之外，我也参加了清澜广播站。我们会创作一些广播节目，在学校里播放。

Q: Renee, you’ve also received the end-of-the-year Academic Excellence Award! How are you able to maintain your grades and be engaged in so many extracurriculars at the same time?

方同学，你在上学年还获得了年终学术优秀奖！你是如何在保持优异成绩的同时参与这么多课外活动的？

A: Balancing academics and extracurriculars is definitely difficult, and I think everyone has a different way of approaching it. I personally find planning things ahead very useful. I like to break long tasks into small pieces and complete a small part of it every day. I would make a to-do list every day that includes all the tasks I need to complete, and then complete everything according to my plan. That’s how I do it, but it may not apply to everyone since everybody has different study habits. Finding a balance between schoolwork and extracurricular activities can definitely be difficult. 

平衡学业和课外活动肯定是很难的，每个人也都有不同的方式来达到学业和活动上的平衡。我个人觉得提前规划事情是非常有用的。我喜欢把长任务分成小块，每天完成其中的一小部分。我每天都会列一个待办事项清单，其中包括我需要完成的所有任务。然后按照我的清单完成所有任务。我是这样做的，但这肯定不适用于每个人，因为每个人都有不同的学习习惯。

Q: Was there a process or did you naturally have good time management skills?

在课业和课外活动之间找到一个平衡点绝对是不容易的。你是慢慢调整过来的还是你天生就有良好的时间管理技能？

A: I think there is a process to it. I used to procrastinate a lot (and now sometimes I still do). But after trying different methods of managing time, I found that I became much more efficient when I have a simple to-do list to follow. I started doing that more and more, and now it has become a habit.

我觉得这肯定是有一个过程的。我以前也经常拖延（现在有的是有也会）。但在尝试了一些不同的时间管理方法之后，我发现每当我有一个待办事项清单可以遵循时，我做事的效率会变高。所以我从那以后就经常这样做，现在就习惯了。

Q: Thanks for your time, Renee. Before we end, do you have any last words of advice for students struggling with procrastination and being self-disciplined?

方同学，谢谢你的参与。在结束之前，请问你对在拖延症和自律方面挣扎的学生有何建议吗？

A: Thank you! I would say that finding your own way of managing time is really important, and a way that works best for you can be found by exploring and trying out different methods. Just stick to the method you find the most comfortable and useful and practice it to get used to it.

谢谢大家! 我觉得，找到自己管理时间方法还是比较重要的，可以通过探索和尝试不同的方法，找到最适合自己的方式。只要坚持你认为最舒服、最有用的方法，就会慢慢变成一种习惯的。