As the old saying goes, the road of study is filled with endless hardship. Students in East Asian countries, primary secondary and tertiary, have been taught, emphasized and proving this old proverb exam after exam, years after years, generation after generation.
Moreover, the further you advance on this road, the more loneliness you would feel. Just like the man walking in the dark empty corridor in the photograph below:
P.S.: This photo was taken near Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, my dream school even after being an office worker for so many years. Peking University and Tsinghua University are the “Top 2” academic institutions in mainland China, just like Harvard and Yale in the United States, or Cambridge and Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Your photo has this mysterious, and a little lonely feel to it, indeed. Thank you for sharing it, and for adding details about the camera.
I agree with you that pursuing a degree requires a lot of dedication, and some sacrifices. But if you’re spending time learning something that you enjoy and feel that it’s useful, then it’s all worth it, in the end. At least this is how I felt at the end of my university studies.
If you were to study at Peking University, what would you choose?
Thank you for your timely reply, though my post is more like letting off the blue emotions and has little to do with photography.
“But if you are spending time learning something that you enjoy and feel that it’s useful…”
In China and other East Asian countries with fierce social competition, there is a widely perceived and accepted logic chain: “elite” kindergarten => “elite” primary school => “elite” junior/high school => “elite” university => a high-salary job and noble social standing. In this case, high school students learn their lessons and fight their exams mainly to compete against peers, rarely for “enjoying” or “feeling useful”. In fact, usually they have little knowledge or understanding about majors or careers when making relevant decisions and applying universities to attend, nor do their parents or teachers.
Finally, I would definitely choose finance if admitted to Peking University as a postgraduate. It is similar to those who flock to business schools in “Ivy League” universities in the US or G5 in the UK.
I agree with your words that there is no easy way, no golden and fast way to achieve your dreams and become who you dream to be. All of this takes its needed time, but as @DeniGu shared if one loves what s/he has chosen at the end it is really worth it.
I know to some extent how the situation is in China and Asia as I lived for some years in China. I know that there people put a lot of pressure on education and being in the best universities. This is somehow part of the culture and undoubtedly Peking University and Tsinghua University are top universities to go to study and grow.
On the other hand I believe that the university doesn’t make who you are, but what defines you is your heart and passion and most of all humanity.
@TsekoV Well, thank you for the personal experience shared, and the comforting words anyway. Actually, both Tsinghua University and Peking University have graduate schools in Shenzhen, and they are located in the same neighbourhood. As the only place attracting my visits times and times again in the city, I would contribute more landscape photos in situ later.
Are you located in Shenzhen @szliuyun2011 ? It is a place I have always wanted to visit. I have heard it is quite a famous and interesting city and many young people choose it to be. And there is no pollution there. : )
P.S.: Did you introduce yourself to the community? If not, why not visit our monthly thread Introduce Yourself — December 2018 and share a few sentences about yourself. There you will get to meet many new Local Guides who have recently joined Connect.
Yeah, I am a local in Shenzhen, the most innovative and progressive city in China. You can find numerous video clips on Youtube, which would help you forming a more visually specific image about the city than my words.
As of the introduction, I joined the community in September. Yet currently I just want to post my works here. They will speak for me, I suppose.
P.S. 黑龙江的帖子写得不错，可惜我比较怕冷，没去过那么遥远的地方。中国北方冬天的寒冷属于「干冷」（Coldness in a dry climate），户外只要穿够衣服就没事，而且室内有暖气；南方因为空气中湿度比较高的缘故（a higher relative humidity），加上居民住宅楼很多不装暖气，冬天是「湿冷」（Coldness in a wet climate），即使穿得很厚的衣服仍然能感到冷，而且是深入骨髓的那种冷。
At least this is how I felt at the end of my university studies.