I read Lei Jun’s ten-year summary a few days ago, and I couldn’t help but think of my own ten-year struggle, so I wanted to use this article as a review.
Life is really interesting and there are many possibilities.
And I changed the trajectory of my life by learning a foreign language and choosing to study abroad.
The first stage: College entrance examination
was born in a small city in the south. Before I majored in Japanese in the college entrance examination, I had no exposure to Japanese as a language. Apart from the traditional Anti-Japanese War films that were watched in schools (I don’t know if there are any now, but I had them when I was a child), I had no exposure to information about Japan today, and my relatives and friends all had the same understanding of Japan as me. There are two main reasons why
applied for the Japanese major. First, I like to learn foreign languages, but I am worried that graduating in English will not be competitive, so I chose a minor language (being smart). Second, the school I applied for is in Qingdao, and I want to leave Fujian Province and go out to see it (innate curiosity).
Looking back, when I was young, I really had nothing. There is no lack of naive imagination and curiosity about the outside world.
second stage: college study
When I went to college, I started to learn Japanese for the first time from the syllabary (equivalent to pinyin), but my Japanese learning was extremely poor during college.
There are probably several reasons for reflection:
First, when southerners go to the north to go to university, they have a lot of discomfort in terms of life (climate, food, leaving home for the first time in life).
Second, at that time, I was too keen on various club activities and my energy was scattered.
Third, I have a bad memory. I am a science student in high school, and my classmates are all Shandong liberal arts students. I am not as diligent and hardworking as others. The more I study, the less confident I am.
It’s my junior year in a blink of an eye. I began to feel confused about the future~ After graduation, the general direction of my life was basically determined. I would graduate with a second degree, find an ordinary job closer to home, get married, have children, and live an ordinary life.
But I feel unwilling to accept the almost hectic university life.
Someone in my class went to study in Japan at that time, so even though my grades were not good, I was yearning for it and thought it was a good way out.
As a result, I encountered an opportunity in my junior year. This is an exchange study abroad program to study business administration at Nagano University in Japan. The disadvantage of the program is that it still requires three years of study. The advantage is that you can mutually recognize credits and obtain diplomas from both schools.
Nagano University is not a good university in Japan. For me at the time, thanks to this, the admissions standards were not so strict. But the new subject of business management attracted me, and I decided to try this project.
Almost due to opposition, suspicion and worry from my family, I successfully passed the written test and interview. After coaxing and deceiving me, I used my parents’ capital and the support of relatives to give me a start-up capital of about 80,000 yuan. I paid all the tuition fees for the first half of the year and brought 30,000 yuan (converted into 360,000 yen). And this is a new project. No other students participated, so I arrived in Japan alone. I also made an agreement with my family that my family will pay the tuition fee of 50,000 yuan a year, and I will earn the remaining living expenses myself. When I first came here, I didn’t have any acquaintances. When I landed in Japan, I only knew myself and my luggage. In September 2012, I started a new chapter in my life.
After all, studying abroad is a big deal for an ordinary family. My choice at that time was very risky and I don’t recommend imitating it. When an only child goes abroad alone, his parents have to endure a lot of pressure and pain of missing and worrying. Especially for families whose financial strength is not that strong, when faced with this choice, the front is indeed unknown and confused. This unknown brings huge pressure to a family. Of course, if your parents live in a big city and travel all over the world, or you have particularly strong economic strength. I don't understand the pressure of this kind of adventure. And I came here entirely relying on a kind of mysterious confidence in myself.
The youthful appearance at that time
The third stage: studying in Japan
Nagano Prefecture Ueda City is a relatively rural place in Japan, which was quite suitable for my state at that time. When I first arrived, everything was new and a whole new world opened up in front of me.
A corner of Nagano University
Then I discovered that the Japanese I had learned in China was of no use in reality. I neither understand nor speak, and I have to face the most worrying question all the time: where is my living expenses in ?
The prices in Japan were too high for me at that time. So I, who had never done any housework at home, first started working part-time through the introduction of my senior sister. I first started washing dishes at a hot spring hotel, then went to a factory to cut precision instruments, worked as a convenience store cashier, and sold octopus balls. Fortunately, although things are expensive, the income from my relatively frugal part-time job is enough to cover my living expenses. There are no holidays or Chinese New Year. Sometimes I work two jobs, pushing my bicycle home in the snow at 12 o'clock in the middle of the night. Looking back now, all I can say is that it’s great to be young!
The cash salary I received after working for one day for the first time
While adapting to the new life and new environment, I worked to earn money and went to school at the same time. The days plagued by dual pressures of finance and study were very hard and lonely, and my personal growth was also extremely rapid.
I passed the Japanese Level 1 Certificate in more than a year by studying while working. The days of unspeakable stress have made my character more resilient. He is not so impetuous and naive, and has settled down little by little through the experience of life.
The feeling of loneliness in a foreign country in the village gave me a lot of time to be alone and think. I can look back on the past, reflect on myself, and look forward to the future. Looking back now, I still want to say something to myself at that time: "I worked hard for , and finally got through ."
The fourth stage: studying for a postgraduate degree
Sometimes fate really makes fun of people. I originally wanted to survive it. After this period of time, I will return to my country. As a result, he neglected his job and fell in love with a classmate who studied abroad with him.
When I was in deep trouble, he, who was also born in the 1990s, was silently by my side. He was chased for more than half a year and fell into trouble. At first it felt like a love that didn’t make much sense and would have no results.
Watching Tokyo Tower together
But how could I have thought that my boyfriend suggested that we go to graduate school together. I just agreed and gave it a try. We began a five-year study career that depended on each other in a foreign country.
When we took the postgraduate entrance examination, I really don’t know whether it was luck or real ability, but we all passed the exam in one go.
Entrance Ceremony
Finding a partner and studying abroad are two major events that can change the trajectory of my destiny.
I think one of the important reasons why I chose to go to graduate school together, is that working part-time made me feel terrible that I didn’t have enough knowledge. It was too difficult to make money by doing physical work. The reality made me still want to go to graduate school. The desire to learn . In addition, going to school in Japan gives me a different feeling than in China. Here, more emphasis is placed on one's divergent thinking. There are fewer things to memorize by rote. This kind of learning makes me feel very efficient and interesting.
I cherished one year as a graduate student and studied very hard. The work-study and tuition exemption system provided by the school, coupled with good grades and scholarships, greatly reduced our financial pressure. After that, we received a scholarship for our Ph.D., and we almost all earned our tuition and living expenses ourselves. We take care of each other and understand each other, live and study together. There will be a little running-in period at the beginning, but then they will gradually become more and more tacit. I learned how to buy groceries, cook, wash dishes, and do housework. At the same time, we also shared information and studied together. Although it is hard work, life here is worth it. Except for being a little homesick.
I have been learning Japanese for nearly ten years since 0 and have been on this path. Work hard, accumulate bit by bit, and the trajectory of life will change bit by bit. Keep your dreams in mind and your feet on the ground every step of the way.
I don’t have a particularly good family background or origin, and my abilities are average. I had never thought about taking this unusual path.
Maybe people are like this, starting from scratch, step by step, accumulating over time, having a belief in their hearts, and always working hard in one direction.
As long as the direction is correct, the method is correct. Generally, in 5 or 10 years, a big goal that is difficult to achieve will be achieved.
I hope you can also achieve your goals and dreams. See you in the next ten years!
