Today I made up my mind to finally finish filling out my nephew’s application form for that cricket academy.
Truth is, I’ve been putting this off for a full seven days. Every time I opened my computer and saw that PDF file, I’d think, “I’ll do it later.”
But today was different—the deadline was fast approaching, and if I didn’t fill it out now, it would be too late.
I told myself: Treat it like completing a task—take it step by step, no rush.
Find the form first—don’t get stuck on technical issues
I went to the academy’s official website, found the application link, and clicked to download.
It was a PDF file—should be fine, right?
But when I tried to open it, my browser froze, leaving a blank page.
I tried twice, still couldn’t open it.
I really wanted to curse at that moment.
But I remembered last month when I filled out the swimming class form—the file mysteriously disappeared, and I had to rush to replace it at the last minute, which was a huge hassle.
This time I learned my lesson—save it first, then proceed.
I restarted my computer, and this time the file opened smoothly.
I even made a copy of the form and placed it directly on my desktop, just in case I couldn’t find it later.
This step took a few minutes, but it was worth it.
Sometimes, starting a little slower actually saves you from detours.
Filling in Basic Info: Looks Simple, But Easy to Get Wrong
Time to start filling in the details. The first section was child information: name, birthday, school.
I typed his name character by character from his birth certificate, terrified of misspelling it.
For instance, his name contains “Xuan” (轩), not ‘Xuan’ (宣)—I almost typed it wrong.
I double-checked his birth year twice—2012, not 2013. Small errors like this could lead to tedious corrections later.
Next came “Parent or Guardian Information.”
Here I got stuck.
The question was: Did they want my nephew’s parents’ information, or the information of the person filling out the form (me)?
I stared at the form for a long time and didn’t write anything.
Later, I scrolled back and finally spotted a line of very small print at the very top of the page: “Please fill in the submitter’s information.”
So it was mine to fill in!
I almost made a mistake.
I quickly wrote down my own name, phone number, and email address.
Then came height and weight.
His mom had sent me these measurements earlier, so I filled them in as provided.
I was especially careful with the address section.
For instance, the street name is “Sunshine Boulevard,” not “Sunshine Road.” Auto-fill sometimes gets it wrong, so I manually verified each character.
Two emergency contacts were required.
I recalled the academy’s orientation where the teacher emphasized: “One contact isn’t enough—you must list two.”
So I listed both myself and his father, adding the country code to the phone numbers in case international calls couldn’t get through.
How to write about competition experience? Keep it simple.
When I reached the “Cricket Experience” section, I felt a bit nervous.
Did I need to write in great detail? Like which matches I played in, how many runs I scored?
But the space provided on the form was tiny—barely enough for a few lines.
So I just wrote: “Joined the school cricket team in 2023, training three times a week.”
Clear enough, no fluff.
If they want more details, they’ll ask during the interview or call.
This part reminded me: Don’t write too much—just get the key points across.
The form isn’t an essay; being understandable is what matters most.
The most troublesome part: uploading photos
I thought filling out the info would be the hardest part, but what really stumped me was uploading the photo.
The form required a passport-sized photo.
I found one from his birthday party on my computer—it looked pretty formal—and dragged it into the upload box.
Result—no response.
Tried again. Still nothing.
I clicked “Select File,” chose the photo, but the page just froze.
I started questioning my existence.
Later I realized: the photo file was too large, and the system wouldn’t accept it.
What to do?
I searched online for a free image compression site and shrunk the photo.
After the first compression, the file was still too big.
The second time I made it smaller, but the photo became blurry—you couldn’t even see his face.
On the third try, I finally found the sweet spot: small enough, yet still clear.
Upload successful!
I almost clapped in that moment.
A tiny photo took me twenty whole minutes.
Double-check everything before submitting
The form was complete, but I didn’t hit “Submit” right away.
I knew the final step is where mistakes happen most easily.
I reviewed everything from start to finish:
- Is the name spelled correctly? ✔️
- Date of birth is August 3, 2012—correct ✔️
- I had previously omitted a digit in the phone number but caught it this time and corrected it ✔️
- Both emergency contacts are filled in, with phone numbers including +86 ✔️
- Photo displayed correctly, no errors ✔️
This final check revealed three minor errors.
Had I submitted directly, it might have been rejected for corrections.
Finally clicking “Submit”
I took a deep breath and clicked “Submit.”
The page loaded for a moment, my heart skipping a beat.
Would it fail? Would it not go through?
Seconds later, a green notification popped up: “Application successfully submitted!”
I immediately printed a copy and took screenshots on my phone, saving them in two places.
Evidence brings peace of mind.
My Key Takeaways
This experience taught me a lot:
- Don’t wait until the last day: Start early so you have time to fix any problems.
- Read the fine print carefully: Crucial details are often hidden in inconspicuous places.
- Prepare photos ahead of time: Ensure dimensions, size, and format meet requirements—don’t wait until the last minute to process them.
- Don’t rush to submit after filling out: Review at least twice, and ideally have someone else check it too.
- Keep proof of everything: Screenshot, print, and archive—do all three to avoid loss.
Summary
This form took me an hour to complete.
Not a long time, but every step demanded careful attention.
Not because it was difficult, but because small mistakes can cause big headaches.
Now I can finally tell my nephew: “Your application is submitted.”
Tomorrow I’ll personally deliver the printed copies to the department office to ensure absolute certainty.
Filling out forms is like playing cricket—
You can take your time, but each step must be steady.
With diligence, no hurdle is insurmountable.
