We believe that you have got many practical tips for study in the previous post shared by senior peers. This time, we will have a look at what challenges that the seniors encountered in living in GT and how they overcame the difficulties. We will also see what interesting things have the seniors experienced in addition to study.

1. What kind of challenges have you met when you firstly entered the college? How did you overcome them? What was the least uncomfortable thing? And how did you deal with it?

Linlong Li: At the very beginning, the difficult part was that my roommates and I have different living habits which has caused lots of troubles. But I chose to make some adjustments and cooperate with my roommates and many conflicts were solved.

Yanglin Zhang: The only uncomfortable thing was that there was nothing to be uncomfortable. Compared with the dormitory in my current internship, GT is such a lovely place to live in.

Jiajie Gao: My social network was very small initially, and the city was unfamiliar. In the beginning, I only stayed with my friends from the same middle and high school. But later I made new friends and expanded my network. I travelled around this city in my leisure time to see the differences between Shantou and my city.

Huihong Li: When I first came to GT, I thought it was more important to study instead of socializing. My peer mentor told me that I would miss the opportunity to meet more people and make more friends. But in the end I managed to get to know friends through hobbies. For example, I made two very good friends through table tennis. We even established a study team and we help each other out.

Xuequan Sun： Dealing the relationships within dormitory was the most challenging thing. I would suggest using the dryer and washing machine when roommates are not having a rest and respect each other.

Rongjing Tang: The workload was way over my expectation, which also limited the time for playing sports and exercising. However, everything turns to be okay when you get used to it. Rest would be your first priority if you feel tired after class. I also met some new friends from Shantou University. More importantly, the vacation time in GT is scattered, so you could set new goals for yourself every day and look forward to the next vacation.

2. Do you have a sense of belonging in GT, and how did you find it?

Linlong Li: I feel that I do have a sense of belonging in GTIIT. There are many good ways to make friends such as joining activities and student clubs, inviting roommates for short trips, engaging in various cross-disciplinary classes such as PE, and so on. With friends, the sense of belonging will naturally grow.

Jiajie Gao: It's not hard to find a sense of belonging. Participate more in school activities actively, such as youth association volunteer activities, English club, other school activities, etc. You could also represent GT attending events outside the campus and thus find a sense of belonging.

Qia Lin: When I first came to the university, there were familiar friends here. I made new friends by inviting them to cook together. In addition, I joined student clubs to find a sense of belonging.

Rongjing Tang: In GTIIT, it is easy to meet students from the same cohort frequently, so it will not take long to get familiar with them. Besides, I usually feel warm when I recognize a GTer outside the campus. Thus, it is not hard to build up the sense of belonging.

3.Do you have anything else that you are interested in besides study? Did you manage to allocate time for these activities? How do these activities benefit you?

Linlong Li: I am interested in volleyball, singing and so on. I don't have a specific way on how to make time. But the more things I tried to do, the more efficient I became. It is hard but worth it. I think one of the major benefits of this could be time management skill development as you need to find the balance between study and activities. When I was a freshman in GT, I established a volleyball club. Although it was not very large-scale, I made many friends and learned how to manage the club.

Xueying Cheng: I became a member of the Presidium of the Student Union this semester. During the process of serving students, I improved my organizational skills and communication skills, and I gained the feeling of satisfaction. In addition, I made friends with like-minded people. The process was difficult but I feel happy to get a good result. Let me take the event of Top Ten Singer as an example: I was so pleased to see the moments that the singers’ posted on WeChat moments. I felt a great sense of achievement for planning such a big event and providing a platform for others to show their talents.

Jiajie Gao：I like to participate in college activities. If you have a general plan for the future, you will find the balance towards your achieving direction. For example, I participated the teaching activity in Dongxia Middle School in my first year, and I taught the students by using half English and half Chinese on weekends. I made many new friends and had a unique experience that I have never had before, which motivated me to participate more actively in more various activities since then.

Qia Lin: I established the Astronomy Club with friends who share the same interests and held observation activities. I have also developed my oral English and courage through English Club activities.

Xuequan Sun: The good thing is that I have experienced a role change from a participant to decision maker. I gained more from it even though it took more time. I used to be very unconfident, but now I am a person who can express myself.

Rongjing Tang: Fitness and running have always been my hobbies. When I'm tired from study, I can go for a run in gym and do aerobic exercises. When coursework is heavy, this activity will be put on hold and I will focus more on studying.

4. Do you encounter the anxious mood caused by study pressure? How do you relieve these feelings? Any good suggestions?

Linglong Li: I will make phone calls to close friends, and give up some plans occasionally to give myself a little time to relax.

Yanglin Zhang: I usually go hiking with my friends, watching videos, and listening to music.

Xueying Cheng: I would go for a walk, listen to music and talk to people I know.

Jiajie Gao: I will participate in extracurricular activities to gain a sense of achievement and pleasure to get relaxed. Also, I will hang out downtown with friends.

Huihong Li: I believe study is for my better future. Whatever you do, don't delay your review. Delay can easily lead to anxiety. In addition, there is also a need to ensure quality sleep and adjust the mood through appropriate exercise. Recognizing that anxiety is useless and affects learning.

Qia Lin: When you are anxious, you can talk to friends. Relieve stress through exercise.

Xuequan Sun: During the epidemic, the workload was quite heavy every day. Taking classes at twice the speed, I had only a rudimentary understanding of many of the courses. With the pressure of the general environment, I felt very stressed. I release the pressure by running and listening to music.

Rongjing Tang: Calm your mind. You are not the only person who feels anxious. If you believe that you are not alone, the time will soon pass. You could learn from classmates who have arranged their schedules well and learn from their study habits.

5.Is there anything else you would like to say to the freshmen in particular?

Linlong Li: I suggest participating activities according to your own preferences. More like-minded friends would be made through hobbies. Separate your study and playing time. My methods of not touching my phone: put the phone out of reach or use an app to remind myself.

Jiajie Gao: Make use of the preparatory semester to adapt to the new learning environment and life.

We hope you have benefited a lot from the sharing of the seniors. And we wish you all the best in the upcoming university life, make good friends, and spend your time in college without wasting it. Finally, please accept this video with best wishes and start a new journey together!