At twenty-two, I met a wonderful brother and was surprised to learn that a person's salary could be so high. At twenty-five, I met Sister Wei and realized that the world can be as wonderful as your imagination allows. At twenty-seven, I met Uncle Zhang and understood that being a leader doesn't require being number one in everything, but rather earning the trust of your colleagues. At thirty-one, after facing more challenges, I learned that admitting defeat can sometimes be a victory. The deepest loneliness in growth is not darkness, but seeing only yourself.
In recent years, many changes have occurred around me. Some friends quit stable jobs, some divorced husbands who were abusive, some sold their houses to travel the world, some applied for full scholarships while working part-time, some broke up with long-term partners, some left their parents to wander alone, some published their own art books, and some formed bands and held music gatherings. They are all doing well because these were decisions they made for themselves.
At twenty, we wanted the world to know us. At thirty, we began to know the world. We started to realize that happiness is simply getting along with life and managing to coexist with the world. Who isn't confused in their youth? At twenty, we can hold our heads high; at thirty, we learn to lower them. Because every time we lower our heads, it is an affirmation of ourselves.
After graduation, many things were overturned. It turned out that campus beauties age too, that upper and lower bunk roommates can fall in love, that job hunting can be unrelated to one's major, that not everyone is subject to "unspoken rules," that everyone is equally anxious about the future, that skipping class and exams really means you can't get a degree, that the first job pays very little, that job fairs are so crowded you can't even get in, and that getting married after graduation is also difficult. It turns out that studying is truly good.
Whether finding a job or a partner, if you are the same as everyone else, why must the one chosen be you? You must be "different." "Different" does not mean ruining yourself, being eccentric, or behaving outrageously. It means being "differently better": making your resume more impressive, your expression more composed, your speech more precise, your research deeper, and your views more objective. Bit by bit, you will become different from others.
