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Just a short note: I’ve been grading essays lately. I asked all my classes to do them, write a page expressing themselves.
One girl wrote a very sweet essay talking about her love for her boyfriend, including a pledge to always be by his side. It was very, very touching.
Otherwise, what I’ve been noticing quite a bit are lost talents. Many students tell me they love to draw/paint/write/etc., but since they came to college, they have not had a chance to do it.
You could say they have had a chance, they just haven’t taken it. They’ve opted out of their duty in favor of QQ, studying, and more QQ.
You could also say that the structure of Chinese universities tends to choke the creative drive out of young students, whose purpose of life is apparently to a) make money and b) take care of the parents in old age. Sure can’t do that as a painter, can you?
One more thing: what of not going to college? What of dropping out to pursue their calling? This happens in the West, but is it possible in China? In a third-world country where students are herded into school and expected to succeed under intense pressure from an early age?
It’s clear to me that many of them are in college because they are obligated, socially and culturally, to do so. And while they’re here, they put aside their interests in favor of their majors, due to aforementioned reasons.
