FAST FORWARD
written by GRACE YEUNG
edited by MACUETA LIU
FAST FORWARD
Interviewee: Mr. Joseph Koszary
What subject do you teach?
English.
What are your hobbies, likes and dislikes?
The usual privileged expat things like hiking, wakeboarding, wakesurfing, snowboarding, diving - things that are taking you out of the ordinary and involve connecting a little bit more with the natural world or things like that, an escape from city life.
Controversially dislikes - I don’t get the big deal with food. The fetishization of food, the way people spend so much money on it. If food could be a pill, I’d be happy with that. It’s an overpriced industry and it’s a sham. What else do I dislike? People who walk slowly. I hate that so much.
I like plants, and video games, I guess. Because I always had them as a child. Reading.
Describe your high school self in 3 words.
Alternative, optimistic, energetic.
What was important during high school that may seem insignificant to you now?
House points. Mario kart.
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
I guess things will work out. That there’s a certain… The cool kids will become less cool. The less cool kids will become cool.
What do you wish you had done differently in high school?
Maybe got outside my comfort zone a little bit more. Learned how to play an instrument well. Started travelling earlier, I guess. I suppose appreciated things more as well. Not taking things for granted as much as I did.
Did popularity or social hierarchy exist within your high school? If it did, where were you placed and how do you feel about it now?
It did, but some people cared about it more than others. And it wasn’t the American high school kind of image you get, I think. The lower end wasn’t as hierarchical. There were cooler people, and then there was everyone else. I was in the middle. I wasn’t, like, an uncool kid. But I wasn’t a cool kid either. I played football all the time, and I did normal stuff. I was just kind of in the middle, and I never thought the cool kids were cool. I thought the cool kids were basic. There sort of was a hierarchy, but not everyone bought into it.
artwork by JAMIE SOO
Interviewee: Mr. Dan Hodgetts
What subject do you teach?
Maths, I try.
What are your hobbies, likes and dislikes?
My hobbies would include, like, playing rugby, hiking, walking with my dog. I guess hiking with my dog. And I guess spending time with people I like.
Things that I like? I like my free time. I like being outside, and I like to always be doing something.
My dislikes would be doing nothing, and being in a very busy place. It stresses me out.
Describe your high school self in 3 words.
Immature, intelligent, lazy.
What was important during high school that may seem insignificant to you now?
That’s a good question. I have an answer, but I stopped myself from saying it. I was going to say status. I stopped myself because while I say it’s insignificant now, at the time it seems significant. If I hadn’t wanted such status - I’m not saying I had a big status. But status is important at that age, and I think if I hadn’t valued it it would’ve made my time worse. I guess right now it doesn’t really matter, but at the time it was important. I’m saying status but I’m not saying it wasn’t important.
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
It’s all up to you. No one else is going to put in the hard work. You’ve got to do it yourself.
What do you wish you had done differently in high school?
I’m probably coming across as if I was really lazy the whole time, but I wasn’t. It was only at a certain point where I stopped trying so hard and was more interested in social things. The question was what would I change? I would continue working hard the whole way through. One other thing I really regret was giving up my musical instrument, the saxophone.
What are your opinions on dating in high school?
Well, I went to an all boys school. Doesn’t mean you can’t date. I did. I think it’s just another part of growing up and learning to interact with people, right? You have relationships with friends, which are obviously very important. But one day you’re gonna have a relationship with somebody at some point. You’re gonna learn from making a lot of mistakes, I think. That’s the big thing, right? You’d rather make those mistakes when you’re younger than when you’re older. I understand that it can take time away from your studies, but I don’t think everything should be geared around your studies. I think that’s a misconception.
Interviewee: Mr. John Lee
What subject do you teach?
I teach business, economics and I&S at Sha Tin College.
What are your hobbies, likes and dislikes?
In terms of my hobbies, I think my favourite hobby is playing fantasy football. It combines my love for football, as well as economies and statistics. Hence, I created the Sha Tin College Fantasy Football League, of which I am currently leading. I also am very interested in cryptocurrencies and investments in general. And entrepreneurship.
There’s not much that I dislike.
Describe your high school self in 3 words.
Fun. Honest, because my high school motto was ‘honesty before glory’. Immature.
What was important during high school that may seem insignificant to you now?
Nothing really much comes to mind. The first thing that comes to mind would be assessments. I was perhaps a bit stressed out about certain assessments and the work involved, but I don’t think it's insignificant. Maybe the content itself might not be important, but in terms of learning soft skills like perseverance, grit and also delayed gratification. I think it’s important in a different context.
Another thing that was insignificant would maybe be some unnecessary drama between different people.
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
It’s important to identify the values that define you as an individual. And that your actions and behaviours and beliefs reflect those values. And that you might be lost at certain times, and you might be thinking ‘what’s the point of all this?’. I would say that you can find meaning and purpose in responsibility. In terms of taking responsibility firstly for yourself, and once you are able to be responsible for yourself, you can start to take responsibility for other people around you.
Another piece of advice would be, your individual character is dependent on the five closest people you have in your life. So choose your five people wisely.
What do you wish you had done differently in high school?
I’m pretty happy with my life during high school but if I had to make certain changes it would perhaps maybe be to take some more risks. Take some more risks in terms of meeting new people, trying new activities and stepping out of my comfort zone a bit more.
Why did you decide to become a teacher?
It’s related to this Japanese concept called ‘ikigai’. Have you heard of ikigai? So ikigai is a concept which in Japan means purpose and meaning. I find this a really useful concept in terms of career choices. There are essentially four factors which contribute towards a meaningful and purposeful life according to the principles of ikigai. The first is doing what you love, the second is what the world needs, the third is what you could be paid for, and the fourth is what you are good at. It’s kind of a venn diagram and the closer you get to the middle where all four things overlap is where you’ll find the most meaning and purpose in your world. So I think teaching is pretty close to the center for me.