Humans of HKUST

 Inspired by the phenomenal success of Brandon Stanton's 'Humans of New York', an art project by which people from various walks of life have their pictures taken and share their life stories, we realize that HKUST, as an education platform widely known for its diverse atmosphere, can have the similar opportunities to have each of the individuals involved to share to the public their perspectives about life, ideas, experiences, thoughts, and opinions. Therefore, we decide to create a project we would title as 'Humans of HKUST'. After one month of endorsement by the school's Student Enrichment Activities Fund (SEAFund), this project is now officially affiliated under one of the university's societies, HKUST Art Club. With new changes in logo and cover picture, we expect Humans of HKUST can bring something new and more inspiring for audience to read, and think further.  

[humansofhkust]

“If you look closer at this T-shirt, you can see cricket, cars, bottles, volleyball, Play Station, planes, other objects. All the most popular things in Pakistan. The country deserves a more positive attention.”

[humansofhkust]

“Have you ever wondered what life is all about? Is life just a game? Aren’t you curious to find out what’s going to happen once it’s all over? How do you know what are the rules?”

Photographer: Oskar Triebe

[humansofhkust]

“Whenever I’m in Hong Kong and talk to local people, there are often things that I find quite hard to understand. Perhaps it’s different values, but perhaps it’s more because of different ways of life people here live in. When I’m in India as well, it’s another obstacle. People talk things about the country that I’ve never really quite known. Being an in-between is not easy. That’s why people often think that I’m weird because of my own incomprehension. I just need someone who can truly understand the differences in me. At least, I’m fortunate there are people in HKUST that are just like me!”

[humansofhkust]

“Even though I’m an Indian, I’ve been living in Hong Kong for a pretty long time. Some of my family lives here, and the others live in India.”

“Do you feel more like a Hong Kong person?”

“It’s a tough question. I’m somewhat an in-between.”

[humansofhkust]

“Since you’re graduating soon, are there any more achievements or goals that you wish to accomplish before you graduate? Or any advice that you would like to give to the continuing UG students of HKUST?”

“I’m a civil engineering student, my expected monthly salary after graduation would be around HKD$20,000. I’m not worried about not finding a graduation job. Students of other majors may envy me, but honestly, for me and most other people that I know of my major, we don’t like civil engineering by itself, because we want the job and most importantly, the salary. However, under some circumstances, after three years of reflection in my education, I decide to not working as a civil engineer in the future. I want to be a social worker. I enjoy the sense of achievement from helping people, and I hope I can do something to contribute helping the underprivileged in the systematically unfair society of Hong Kong. You see, I found my career path only towards the end of Year Two or the start of Year Three. If I could go back into the past and have a better career planning, and make up my mind to transfer my studies or work on knowing more about social work at an earlier stage, I will be able to walk an easy path on working as a social worker in the future.”

[humansofhkust]

“What do you think is the significance of university education?”

“If you ask me what the meaning of university education is, I will honestly say that university is providing a journey for one to reflect on one’s own life and thinking mode, such that he or she is capable of planning wisely for the upcoming forty years upon the graduation.”

[humansofhkust]

“Any advice that you want to give to people?”

“I want to encourage people who are having similar problems like mine to seek help from professionals, or at least talk. And for those people who know someone that is currently dealing with depression to give more care to them as it will give huge encouragement.”

Photographer: Oskar Triebe 

[humansofhkust]

“When I was in high school, I had emotional breakdown. The experience was really painful and I was constantly feeling really down and upset. At one point I have even thought of committing suicide. But it was at my own nadir that I saw there are still hopes.”

“How do you deal with it?”

“I decided to seek help through a psychologist and it is one of the best decisions I have ever made. After I sought for help, I started to believe in the power of positive thinking. Now when I encountered something that is not so encouraging I will face it with positive attitude and I believe that there is always a way.”

Photographer: Oskar Triebe 

[humansofhkust]

“It’s alright, and it will be fine. My advice is just plain simple. Everyone of course will have problems, but how they respond to it will determine their happiness. I share my problems with my close friends, and I always seek their feedback in how I face these things. Why do we have to close our doors when there are people out there who share the same concerns with you?”

Photography: Oskar Triebe

[humansofhkust]

“What’s the best advice you can offer to fellow HKUST students?”

“Just two phrases: ‘It’s alright, it will be fine.’”

[humansofhkust]

“I observe that even within international students themselves, they tend to mostly blend only with people from the same country. Say, Koreans with their Korean friends, Indians with their Indian friends, Indonesians with other Indonesians, Malaysians in their own group, and so forth. Does it give any uneasy feelings for you?”

“I blend in with both Koreans and Indonesians. Now I’m also starting to befriend with some friends from China as well. My roommate is currently from China, but she’s unique in that she teaches me a lot of Chinese vocabulary, and some sentences. Knowing that you are the only countryman in this place means you either open up yourself or you end up in isolation. I learn a lot about their cultures, values, and everything unique about their countries.”

[humansofhkust]

“Being the first student from Mongolia to study in HKUST, how does that make you feel?”

“Normal, yet excited! Never before have I felt so international before. Even though there’s a very small Mongolian community in Hong Kong, I’m glad I can maintain great relationships with people across various nationalities.”

[humansofhkust]

“You are the only Lebanese student in HKUST. How does it make you feel?”

“First of all, I’m not completely Lebanese. I’m half-Italian, and I can speak French and Italian other than Arabic. Secondly, there are far more Lebanese living outside the Lebanon than are the native Lebanese. But not all overseas Lebanese would start calling themselves as Lebanese firsthand. The main advantage of being the only Lebanese is that nobody can know things about my country other than me. It doesn’t matter where someone comes from, because in the end, it’s all what you do that will define your identity.”

[humansofhkust]

“People once referred to me as ‘Harry Potter’ because my eyeglasses and my hair looked so freaking similar. Except that my eyeglasses already change.”

“What’s your reaction then?”

“It’s okay. I feel normal with it.”

[humansofhkust]

“What makes you different?”

“Everyone is born different. Period.”

[humansofhkust]

“I draw people, creatures, objects, or anything I can imagine after thorough visualization of what they will look like. I don’t want to get entrapped amid this wave of over-commercialization, when cartoons and comic books are solely marketed by exploiting human aesthetics in a very negative portraiture. For what? This is why I go on with my passion, the same way of how God created all of us.”

[humansofhkust]

“Cartoons and comic books have been an inseparable part from me since I was small. Growing up, I used to watch and read a lot of them, and it got me to my drawing hobby until now.”

“How significant is it to your own personality?”

“It goes beyond expecting beautiful and good-looking characters to appear. I have two reasons for this. First, I’m getting into civil engineering pretty soon, and that will involve designing a lot of materials, structures for various projects. That’s where my passion flows into as well. Second one, it involves a more religious perspective. Being a Catholic, I have always remembered one of the most memorable passages in Holy Bible about why God created Adam and Eve in the first place. It’s all aesthetics. I believe every living thing created out of His design always has his or her own strengths, and this is a form of additional motivation for me to never stop putting my passion here.”