About Change

An old friend of mine from my junior high school who’s studying abroad now recently told me that she’s willing to get a master degree after undergraduate school. The advanced courses in her college include subjects of management, finance, marketing and something like that which are quite attractive to her and also practical for her possible future profession in finance. I was surprised because I remembered that she was not a diligent student before. She was smart, but cared more about living in the present and having fun.

Another old friend from junior high who’s also attending college in a foreign country, on the contrary, is living in an opposite way. She was generally considered a good student in the past, but now she’s having parties, dates, and nightlife as a big part of her life. She is still intelligent enough to do well in exams and does assignments till midnight, but it seems that she’s not sure about her goal, merely studying to get a degree.

I’m not saying my friend A enjoys a brighter future than my friend B does, or some places offer better academic atmosphere, or hard work equals an ideal life. What i’m thinking is that people are so changeable. Their habits, personalities, ways of life and thoughts while seeing the world can turn better or worse with every step of their growth and further understanding of real life. But the belief deep inside should stay unchanged I suppose. The belief that I’ll reach my goal one day stimulates all kinds of driving forces to push me ahead, even though I keep doubting myself, feeling desperate, and getting stuck by failure. Up or out, that’s the most important lesson I've learnt in the past 20 and more years of my life. The jungle world is for the strong ones, and those who are experts in dealing with changes from both inside and outside regardless of the hunters who are ready to screw them up any minute.

I enjoyed reading your essay. I made a few small changes. Keep it up :)