I remember struggling with Shakespeare eversince I started reading his works in high school. In grade 10, the first works that we read as a class was “Much Ado about Nothing” by Shakespeare. Yes, indeed, I did feel quite empty when I was reading this play as if nothing was really important and worth my time to read: I didn’t know why I was reading Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare’s thoughts were just so inaccessible. However, bit by bit, as I struggled with his diction, syntax, and grammar, I realized that he really is teaching me everything I need to know about life and the human condition as a whole. He was talking about the things that I contemplated on everyday: what is this whole thing about love, what are the consequences of greed, why am I trapped by my gender sometimes, why do people put on a facade, why are relationships so complicated? Through his plays and sonnets, he is sharing what it means to be human.

Through the help of my classroom studies, I discovered the nuances, the rich depth, and the uniqueness of Shakespeare writing. His writing can be daunting to read at first, however, he encorporates many amazing elements into his writing that no one is ever able to recreate. He speaks metaphors. He speaks similes. He speaks literary devices. And for that, I respect and admire him. But at the same time, I realize that he is just another one of us: he is just a little more observant and sees the depth underneath the simple actions in life. And he enabled me see them as well.

Of course, you cannot just skim through Shakespeare. Every word matters. And for someone like me who likes to skim through books, it was awkward adapting to the rather slow reading pace of Shakespeare. However, what really shocked me was the fact that comprehending Shakespeare and old English was already a challenge for me as someone who spoke English as a first language.

Coming from a Chinese background, I always struggle of learning English. However, I would say that English is now much more manageable for me. This is because I found my style and joy for reading and comprehending Shakespeare.

I was lucky that English was my first language. For someone without the established fundamentals of English, it seems quite impossible for them to understand Old English at all. This is where I noticed a problem. It hurt for me to witness the struggle that new Chinese immigrants in my local community have with learning English. So, although at the time I believed that English was my weakest subject, I spend hours crafting the best curriculum for students struggling with high school English. After looking at articles on the issue, I realized that the troubles that Chinese immigrant students have with English stem from a multitude of factors, but the two major factors include their overall lack of exposure to English and their reluctance to ask questions when they could not comprehend English. I tried adapting my classes so that they would nurture confidence within each and every student. Roughly 20 students participated in my class. I ended off every session with an enjoyable kahoot-style interactive followed with an anonymous question period (the anonymous nature of the q&a session really helped these students express their concerns without any means to hold back). Through my project, I realized how constricting Chinese cultural norms can be on one's learning: passive learning is often valued more as asking questions is often seen as a disrespectful and challenging act towards the teacher. However, during my winter and spring camp, not only did I help demystifying Shakespeare to the Chinese immigrants, but I also helped nurture vocal confidence (through speech training) by creating a warm learning environment where students are not 'punished' for asking questions. I taught toastmasters-style speeches, hosted language tournaments, and introduced Shakespeare’s dramaturgy through acting. The friendships I made became everlasting. I grew into a selfless and compassionate leader.

The next Shakespeare text that I read was Macbeth.

As a required high school Shakespeare text to study, Macbeth is often seen as an overwhelming text of study for high school students. However, I would disagree that learning and reading Macbeth was a difficult and unpleasurable experience for me. In fact, inspired by my classroom discussions and insights, I was motivated to pass on my Macbeth insights to those who may need help with this text. I wanted to demystify Macbeth and pass on the joy of learning this text to other students who are struggling with Macbeth. Through my two classes for 2.5 hrs each, I wanted to inspire high school students with the beauty of Shakespearian language and intricacy of Macbeth as a play. Inspired by my English class, I decided to apply what I have learned and extend on the sparking ideas generated in class as I generated my own Macbeth curriculum to teach to these students. My goal with this project is to make Macbeth more understandable and approachable for students who struggle with Shakespearian language. I realized that one impediment that students have for learning Shakespeare the fact that Shakespeare seems irrelevant to today's society. Therefore, I had designed the curriculum in such a way that global issues are constantly interwoven throughout the talk. In my talk, I often began with the issue, such as unequal gender norms and the lingering consequences of guilt, explored the issue and relevance to current society, and then used evidence from Macbeth to backup these insights. Through this project, I had passed on the joy that I had experienced when I had learned Macbeth in the classroom. The feedback from the students were very positive as well: one girl commented on how the insights of my presentation now prompted her interest to read the play herself in her own time.

Thoughts that come to me when I think back to the amazing Macbeth Screenplay that I created with Xueqi and Michelle: