BY WANFEI WU
wwu@go.olemiss.edu
Two weeks countdown to graduation. I did a self-critique of my messy life this semester, and it made me realize just how lazy and idle I am.
In China, our education system is different from the one in the United States. We have a tough elimination system before we enter into college. Pressure came from parents, teachers, society and even peers.
Thinking back from elementary school through college, school was tough.
The most difficult thing for me was getting up early every morning. When I was in high school, school started at 7:30 a.m. and finished at 6:30 p.m. After school, we had tons of homework that needed to be completed before the next day’s class. We usually finished homework after 12 a.m., then went to bed. We repeated the same routine six days a week. Then we took the most important exam –– the national entrance exam. Students are admitted to different universities based on the scores they earn on that exam.
When we entered into the university, the workload and pressure was much lighter than before. It was just the opposite in the United States, where college is much harder than primary and secondary school.
My undergraduate university campus was very small, and the classroom and library space was very limited. Moreover, everyone had to live in the dormitory on campus. The dormitories were very crowded. Six people lived in a small room; the only space we had in the room was the bed. We could not study in our dormitory because there was no space. Everyone had to go to the classrooms and libraries to study, which made it hard to get a seat to study.
Most of the students in our university were very hardworking and diligent. The library closed at 11 p.m. and opened at 6 a.m. Therefore, a lot of students got up before 6 a.m. and waited in line until it was open to get a good seat. They studied the whole day there. Even after they came back to the dormitory, they kept studying in the restroom and the corridor.
This is because our dormitory would shut off the electricity after 11 p.m., and the only two places that had electricity were the restroom and corridor.
It was not that tough during my freshman and sophomore years. I visited interesting places in Beijing and traveled to other cities in China on weekends and holidays. Under peer pressure, I realized how much I was being left behind, so I began to study hard during my junior and senior year.
I got up early every morning to get a seat and studied the whole day there. I finally got a scholarship in my junior year and prepared my study abroad plan.
When I got to the United States, the campus was much bigger than my old university. I didn’t need to get up early to get a seat to study. I could go to the library at any time and find a seat; I could even study at home. My room, which is almost the same size as my dormitory room, was all mine. I didn’t have to share it with five other people.
However, these better conditions made me lazy. I don’t get up early anymore. I don’t spend that much time studying. I have fewer classes. I tried to get the tough me back, but I failed.
The strongest enemy is myself; I fight with myself.
People easily become slackers when they are in a good situation.
I thought about an old Chinese saying which I put on my notebook: “One prospers in worries and hardships, and perishes in ease and comfort.”
Wanfei Wu is a second-year graduate integrated marketing communications student from Yunnan Province, China. Follow her on Twitter @WanfeiWu.
