Blog 7: I Want to Travel lone

I want to travel alone.

Firstly, I prefer traveling by train. Traveling by train is my favorite way of traveling. Why do I love traveling by train but other vehicles? There are three reasons. The first reason is that it takes less money to take a train relatively. The second reason is I enjoy the scenery out of the window. When I travel by train, what I like best is viewing the scenery out of the window. When I left Changsha for Zhengzhou last year, it was late autumn. The trees which were in subtropics zone were still covered by green leaves, meanwhile, the plants which were in warm temperate zone had put on their yellow coat or even only left their bald trunk. Interestingly, when the train ran, the scenery out of the window switch constantly, which was just like I enjoyed the process of the transition of seasons within hours. The third reason is that I can talk with all kind of people. They have different careers, backgrounds and experiences; come from different regions and class; contact different people in their daily life. I always learn a lot from them.

Personally, I do not have interest in those famous scenic spots in which there are always a mass of crowds there, such as, Hangzhou West Lake, Mountain Huang, the Forbidden City and so on. I prefer to walk in immense forests and snowfield of Greater Khingan Mountains, see the aurora in Arctic Village, walk in the Gobi Desert of Hexi Corridor or experience the cruelty of nature in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. If I go to the south of China, I will wonder in a small ancient town of Jiangnan holding an oil-paper umbrella, hoping to encounter a girl like a bouquet of lilacs with anxiety and resentment or go to Yunnan to experience cultures of minorities. 

In accordance with my plan, I will be wondering along a road in the side of the Wusuli River.

Blog7 Nobody can reach the acme of perfection

Yesterday when I
browse the RenRen, the motto transmitted by others also resonate me in some
extent though the motto has been told since I was a child. The motto is
something like this “The life is too short, why do we always make the
featherweight influences our important mood.” “We care about others’ views so
much that we don’t have the courage to do what we like, to chase the one we
love. We are totally immerged into others’ embroidered stories and comments and
then lose ourselves. But actually nobody has the energy to think what you’re
thinking about; we ought not to overestimate the status that we are in others’
mind. It doesn’t matter to be talked or to be misunderstood by others. The more
you live in others’ eyes, the more you lose in your way.” I have a great
reflection on this feeling.

Take myself as a
example, sometimes I think my life is always in a hurry. I am busying at getting
along with others, finishing the assignments in advance, comparing myself with
others, studying hard to live up to parents’ expectation, to avoid myself being
behind others. It seems that everything deviate my goals is useless and no profit
to get so I shouldn’t spend my time on it. I tried myself to do as much as possible
to study and to get along with others. But actually, I am really tired to be
like that. For I want to show the most perfect part of myself to others, I
tried to be talkative, tried to show myself as another person and hide what I
like in my heart so I live a very exhausting and unhappy life for a long time.
Even now I don’t know what I have learnt and what kind of person I want to be as
if all my work is for nothing and I am getting nowhere. The situation is very
real to me and I wants to escape, but has no idea how to do so or how to even
approach the situation rationally.

It is until last
week I do the color quiz, I realize this kind of emotion is severe. "Tension
and stress is brought on by trying to cope with conditions which are out of her
control, using up all her strength and leaving her feeling inadequate. she
wishes to escape into a more peaceful and problem-free environment, in which
she will no longer have to assert herself or deal with so much pressure."
Maybe now I have the awareness to make a difference. Though it is not a good
character to be quiet but I do like this feeling of not being disturbing and
live peacefully. I want to be what I really want to be though others may not
like it.

In addition, our
energy is limited, if we always want to reach the acme of perfection, we cannot
even finish a simple thing well. And as time passes, when you find whatever you
want to achieve cannot be achieved in a short period of time and cannot be
changed for your inability and indecisiveness, you will put a large amount of
stress on your shoulder and live unhappily and tired. That is my true feeling
and it makes me uncomfortable and constrained. Though I haven’t find a good
solution, at least I find the problem and try to change.

Yesterday I
watched a movie in cinema called “Street Dance 2”. The hero in the story cared
too much about his opponent’s view and escape out of the shadow of failure. He
dared not to show his real passion in dancing, which limited his development
and made him desperate. But at least he realized what is the priority in his
life and showed himself freely and unconstraintly in the final competition. He
both gained success and love.

I hope everyone
who saw this blog can express himself freely and show the real character to
others without caring others’ view too much in the daily life. Just laugh
whenever you want and just keep silence whenever you like. We live for
ourselves. We cannot reach the acme of perfection and make everyone satisfied.
Even others don’t appreciate you; at least you are enjoying yourself. Though
you may not have a large amount of friends, at least you have a few friends who
can understand you and deserve you to treasure. Though you are not the best,
you must have some glimmers which can be found by others. It’s good to strive
for excellence, it is more important to do things according your ability and
don’t lose yourself all the time. I hope everyone can live happy.

Blog 7: Sociable or Sincere

Although I do not use my English name now, I do have one which have accompanied me for over five years. I have chosen Vera as my English name for it symbolizes sincerity. This is the character which I attach most importance to. Moreover, I used to think that sociability was always to the contrary. As a result, I found it hard to choose majors that are closely related to sociability.

I still remember that Xiaoxu once did an oral report about high EQ. At that time, I asked her a question whether it is good for people with high EQ to hide their true feelings and opinions. I always thought that these people, to some extent, were hypocritical. In my view, I thought they led a tiring life wearing their masks. However, the answer from Ms Waheeda and Xiaoxu changed my opinion. They said that sociable people do not hide their feelings but express them skillfully and gently. This is totally true.

Now I am on the crossroad of my life. I do not know to choose Faculty of Science which is more relevant to doing researches or other faculties which focus more on practical skills. I am still confusing. However, the fear of being sociable is not a block in my way anymore. I know that sociability and sincerity are not opposite. People who are sociable are just showing their sincerity to keep friendship.

Be the man you want to be

Nobody can be perfect. In other words, everyone has disadvantages and shortcomings. Recently, after comparing myself with others, I found that there is a long distance for me to improve. As a consequence, I want to change some habits or even certain personalities to become the man I want to be.

Here I would like to list some of my disadvantages. In the following days, I will try my best to turn them into my strengths.

1.I am too lazy. I do not like studying, cleaning room, and laundry.

2.I am a little careless. I may spend hours finding something because sometimes I can easily forget where they are.

3.I have no resistance to games and that kind of temptation.

4.I am not very sociable.

5.My ambition cannot exist long enough.

6.I do not have the ability to laugh while facing cameras.

......

There are other problems that I dare not write down, and this is another disadvantage.

Fortunately, I have at least one advantage: I have the courage to face the fact and change the situation. With this, I believe the list above can become my motivation rather than the obstacle. As I mentioned in my oral presentation, it is actually the earliest time when you think it’s too late to change something.

The reason why I choose this as my topic is as followed: Recently one of my friends in Singapore always told me that he was very boring. He could hardly tell the reason when I asked why, and everything even play could no longer attract him. Without his words, I am not sure what is bothering him. However, if he is upset about his behaviors and his personalities, I hope this blog can help him to find the courage to face his own disadvantages.

What is gone is gone. Feeling regret for the past is meaningless, and it is the future that makes sense. If you are not satisfied with yourself, list your advantages and try to change yourself. Follow your heart and be the person who you want to be.

blogger 7: One Person Can Really Change the World------iGenius, How Steve Jobs Change the World

     Today,I watched a documentary called "iGenius,How Steve Jobs Change the World". It is a comprehensive review on the short lifetime of one of the greatest man in the world--Steve Jobs, and the title of the passage is a comment on him which has really impressed me a lot. After watching it, I really feel inspired and motivated by his splendid experiences.
     At first, I just thought that Steve Jobs was only a successful businessman whose company has designed many popular products. Perhaps, it is also a coincidence that the research topic of our group is "the popularity of Apple products". However,the program has told me that Steve Jobs is definitely not only a businessman but also a genius who has changed the world in his own unique way. His success is based on his character besides the fashion of computers. He is described as "focused, intense, driven", and some even say "mean", but his aesthetic view point has spread throughout the world--simple.
    The most impressive description of him is "he cannot tolerate mediocrity"; I love this phrase"cannot tolerate mediocrity" because it explains why Steve Jobs pushed his team to the edge and beyond, and that also really motivated me. I learnt that I should never compromise with laziness and excuse; all I need to do is to spur myself up to keep looking for what I really love and insist on my dreams.  Just as he said on the graduating ceremony of Stanford University: "As with all matters of the heart, you will know when you find it". If one wants to be outstanding, he must say no to mediocrity.
     Another inspiring spot is his words: Stay hungry, stay foolish. Here, "hungry" does not mean the feel of one's stomach; it refers to the desire to learn knowledge as one is hungry. "stay foolish" also asks us to "stay humble", to learn from others. It is a fact that Jobs did not invent computer or MP3 player, but it is he who has managed to make the device more user-friendly, and this is the revolution of computer all about--touching people. By learning from others, he got the idea of promoting mouse and the pattern of listening to music. When he knew the serious disease in his body, he knew the limitation of his life, so he put more effort in designing and developing new products.
         Now he has left us but every time when we use iPhone, iPod, iPad and Mac, we should pay our respect to the iGenius--Steve Jobs, a genius who has changed the world by his own. Everyone can learn from his inspiring story; not tolerate mediocrity, stay hungry, stay foolish.
         

Blog 7: Little Self-portrait

Since the topic of this week is Personality and Values, I would like to analyze my personality a little bit. Although someone may doubt if it is necessary to do so, in my opinion, it is the top priority for every person to get along with each other. Knowing your friends personality traits, especially his or her preference and temperament is of great importance, for it can prevent you from offending your friend even if you have no intention to do so. You just don’t know why he or she loses his or her temper. In my opinion, friends should be open to each other, and by doing so, we can avoid unnecessary friction in our life.

Well, classmates that may not know me well may think that I am quite easygoing and have totally no temper. I have to say that the statement is partly correct. Yes, I am easygoing most of the time. I am indeed the follower of peace and harmony- in other words, I feel extremely sorry for all kinds of conflicts, deceptions, disasters and, especially wars. Usually I will be deep in thought and sorrow after I watch an unfortunate event happening to people. For example, after watching the movie Schindler’s list, I spent hours to draw myself from meditation. To some extent, I think I am sentimental: my mood is easily conditioned by the environment- the things around me. That is why I love peace and most of the time, I prefer listen to others’ opinion than to insist my own one. I do not mean that I deny my opinion; I just feel that it is good to accept others’ views if they are reasonable and rational. Whoever is courteous to me, I will double respect him or her.

However, I don’t know why but there is one kind of character of others that I do not so appreciate: a manner that is too dominant and aggressive. The one with this kind of manner may suppress other people and ignore others’ feelings more or less, even though the fellow himself does not sense that his words and tone have actually given others that kind of sense. Confronted with this fellow, I may be like a rubber ball: the more pressure I receive, the high I bounce. Even though I know he has a good intention, I may become a bit firm and tough but I will try to control my temper. But as you know, when air is continuously pumped into a balloon, the balloon is sure to explode one day. I do not mean to hurt someone but I just cannot control.

There do exist some shortcomings in my personalities and I promise that I will change them little by little. I will learn to control my temper better than now. However, I also believe the idiom “It takes two to tango”. What I want to say is that, to be friends, two people must be open and understand each other’s situation; only by doing this can friendship exist for good.

Blog 6: As long as you are good enough

As long as you are good enough

Yang Liping, the great and famous Chinese dancer . Especially after the 2012 CCTV Spring Festival Gala Evening, We can easily find many praises to her in the Internet.When reporters asked her if dance is the reason why she does not want a baby. She replied that" Different people have different aims to life. Some are continuing their clan; some are enjoying; some are asking for. While I am a watcher. The reason why I come to this world is watching how trees are growing; how rivers are flowing; how clouds are fluttering and how dews are freezing.

I still remember a sentence Yang said in the TV program" A Date With Lu Yu" , which moved me very much. Yang birthed in a remote mountain in Yunnan Province.So she can always get inspirations from flowers; birds; fishes; insects; fluttering clouds and flowing watter in the nature. When she joined the Chinese central national dancing and singing troupe, she thought the traditional training methods were totally different from her intuitions for dancing. Therefore she refused the collective training and insisted her own methods. She got many criticisms even leaders canceled her subsidies. Lu Yu asked her is it may cause that her leader would reduce her opportunities to perform. Yang replied that "As along as you are good enough, they must employ you."

This earthy sentence moved me very much. Because it told out a truth which is always ignored by people who are always saying that they are ambitious but nobody can know and dig them up. The truth is that sometimes we do not achieve our ideals or lose our dreams is not other people's responsibilities. It is just because we are not good enough. The reason why this sentence moved me is neither encouraging nor comforting. On the contrary, it is a kind of warning. Because "As along as you are good enough" is a pretty hard condition which need you dig out all your potential abilities and sagacities; take all your responsibilities; bear all the foolish, mistakes and fails, face your hesitations and weaknesses directly.

Faced with the frustrations, somebody are easily to turn to two kinds of people. One kind is kicker. The other kind is rageful people. All of them will push their disappointments to the world. Through the angry and rage, they absolve their responsibilities. At the same time they give up their possibilities to improve.

Yang Liping followed troupe to cross the forests in Yunnan Province when she was 11 years old. Strode the elephant's excrements and suffered the vipers, many of her teammates complained this kind miserable life and left. However, in Yang's eyes all of these are beautiful, wonderful and enjoyable. The experiences in the troupe are too tough for others, but Yang overcame all the trouble. When Lu Yu ask her how did these problems influence her. She just replied that" You just know what is your behaviors' value. Then you will bear all your grievances." With this kind of attitude, Yang keeps training after others' train every night. Finally she created the famous dance "Que Zhi Ling" and got many prizes just because of that sentence" as long as you are good enough, they must employ you."

When you complain you are not successful, please considerate that do you think you are facing more problems than Yang? Some people think she had more chances at her age. But I cannot agree. Every people will have some chances, only once or twice is enough. Just they have not prepared enough. Please remember" As long as you are good enough".