It's Not the Only Way Out. Also a Discussion With Uncle Ben
Dear Ben,
Glad to have your attention and thank you for the warm wishes. I do hope people
would read and take into consideration your insightful remarks.
News on the latest issue of 21st Century says that depression among college students has reached a dangerous level, with reports about students committing suicide more often than ever. The major pressure that pushed them to go extreme is of course the severely competitive job market. Despite the rapidly growing economy, new graduates still overwhelmingly outnumber job position demands, and the hope that this situation will get better soon looks just slim. Stories about graduates taking menial jobs keep making headlines everywhere, and it's also open secret that many more are even not able to have any, not even the most humble ones. This fact bitterly contrasts the fond dreams they had when they entered college after nearly 2 decades of intensive schooling struggle. Obviously it's not
only the pressure to excel that makes these hapless students to take the extreme
action, but the pressure to repay their parents, most of whom have sacraficed nearly everything to support their college education, and the pressure to survive
this foul reality that pushed them when they were on the verge of mental collapse.
In China there was once a wide-spread theory that "book reading (school education) was useless" basing on the joke that an egg retailer might end up making more
money than an atom acientist might. The joke today seems groundless and absurd
, but with this cynical theory picking up steam so fast, the future of the young
does seem gloomy. I am no believer in this story of pessimism, but after taking everything into perspective, I tend to think that it's a desperate huge gambling game that one spends nearly 2 decades fighting for a hope that glimmers only
so far away. There are people who are brighter and luckier than others, but to
those fail to cross the single-plank bridge, the knowledge they learn from lecture halls in most cases, if not at all, may well help them get nowhere in this pragmatic society, and when this mishap occurs, the only way out is to start over
in the new school of hard knocks. That certainly takes more than courage.
My own niece, the girl who used to live with me when she's in junior high school
as some of you may still remember, is now making ultimate efforts to cram up for college entrance exams. To prevent her from falling physical and psychological disorder in case of exam failures, I simply told her the truth about college education not being the only way to Rome and she should take it easy. Hopefully
I wasn't being only blunt, and my comments would ease the pressure a bit.
Sincerely,
Pan.
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