Speaking of university, it is really the most sacred ivory tower in my heart, a place full of wisdom and romance, a beautiful and free paradise. The reason is very simple. When I was young, my family's financial situation was not good and we were unable to pay for the study expen

My college dream

Leng Yue

Speaking of college, it is really the most sacred ivory tower in my heart, a place full of wisdom and romance, a beautiful and free paradise. One of my biggest regrets in life is not going to college. The reason is very simple. When I was young, my family's financial situation was not good and we were unable to pay for the study expenses of my brother and me. Before the high school entrance examination, my teacher encouraged me to take the entrance examination for either technical secondary school or high school. If you go to high school and go to college, you will have more opportunities. I am full of yearning for university. I remember that when I was four or five years old, I was still illiterate, so I was holding a newspaper and reading it seriously. My mother smiled and said, "My daughter is so good at reading, like a college student." I clearly remember the sweetness in my heart at that time. Perhaps, the term "college student" has been implanted in my heart since then, and it has been growing secretly.

However, my mother, who praised me for looking like a college student, did not support me going to high school at all. She said it was too difficult to get into college. You see, so-and-so failed to pass the exam after three years and had to go home to do farm work. My mother said, "What's wrong with a girl being a teacher? It's great to teach without being exposed to the sun and rain, and to be respected by others! Besides, as soon as you pass the entrance examination to the middle school, the burden on the family will be lightened, and so will we. Send your brother to high school. Don’t look down on the teacher. Whether you pass the exam or not is still a problem.” My mother’s last words had an effect on me. After arguing and crying, I applied for the normal school in the county. and was successfully admitted.

After graduating from the middle school, I was assigned to a very remote village, on the top of a hillside at the foot of a mountain, like an isolated island. During the day, there are two to three hundred students and more than ten teachers. At night, there is only one family of three on the huge campus. Go out early and come back late, covered with stars and moon. Living on campus has no companions, no TV, and no news from the outside world... I seem to be living outside the world.

Two years later, I left that mountain village and transferred to another rural primary school. In a flash, ten years passed. There is no special achievement. The only thing I am happy about is that some of my students have gone to college.

Of course, the middle school teachers and students of our generation have similar experiences to mine. The best years pass by in the ordinary. I didn’t have the opportunity to go through the single-plank bridge of the college entrance examination, so I worked hard to study on my own. Although I also obtained an undergraduate diploma, my college campus life was still a dream that I could not touch in this life. That beautiful and sacred dream of college will stay with me throughout my life.

(The author is a member of Bishan District Writers Association)

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