Russell Yu
RLA
August 31, 1999



The Chinese Horoscope


Did you know that every person in the world is represented by an
animal in the Chinese Horoscope? The type of animal that represents you in the
Chinese horoscope depends on the year you were born in. If
you were born in 1974, it would be the year of the tiger, and 1973
would be the year of the ox. There are 12 different animals in the Chinese
horoscope. Each animal will only appear once every 12 years. Through this essay, I
will show that a person’s personality traits may or may not directly
correspond to one’s Chinese lunar horoscope.

I was born in 1986, the year of the tiger. My main personality
traits are being generous, playful, fortunate,optimistic, daring, unreasonable
and loud. Being generous and charitable, I like to help others, to make
their lives more enjoyable. For example, when I helped my dad's company to
sell rapefruits and pears for the Assisi Homes of the ged, I was helping to
raise money to allow them to improve the acilities there. As for my other
personality trait, playfulness, it is often shown in the way I play
pranks on family members and friends. Even so, they do not get mad at me
because they know I am just doing it to ‘annoy’ them. I am very fortunate to
have such understanding and loving people around, especially my parents who
provide me with everything I need in life and more. Although I am a
calm, well mannered individual, I, like every man on Earth, have bad
personality traits. I’m more a pessimist. Every time something happens, I always
think of the worst scenario. Unlike the personality trait of a true blue
‘tiger’, I am not loud and that’s very easy to see! I don’t usually talk in
class and am shy in front of strangers. Being a non-risk taker, I stick to
routines more than venture into new and unknown challenges. Changes I would like
to see in myself are: being more optimistic, daring and louder. These will
help to enhance my personality and through the challenges and risks I have
never dared take on, I may then be able to have an idea of what it means when
people say ‘the sky is the limit’.

From the above, I have shown that one’s personality traits do not necessarily correspond to
one’s Chinese lunar horoscope. On the other hand, I do believe that it is still too early for us to draw
a conclusion as a person’s personality and character change with years and experiences.