陈维 广西大学行健文理学院
Pressure vs passion, how would you balance the two? I've been asked the same question by my parents each time I moved up a grade. My answer has always been vague and noncommittal, “Well, that depends.” Later, I realized I’ve never truly tried to answer my parents—or myself. But today, I want to explore this topic more completely.
Before I was 20, I had a dream: entering college. I was lucky my dream came true in 2008 when I got into this college. Here I often get to talk to foreign teachers; here I’ve met many interesting people. Here, too I stopped being a cynical student, because I found my passion----English.
Since I turned 20, my dream has been to be an interpreter, an English interpreter. To strive for my dream, I learn English every day: I listen to English music, watch English television programs, read English books. I do those things all out of passion. My dream never fatigues me; quite the opposite, it provides me the wisdom to tackle problems, the courage to conquer every difficulty, the hope to look to every morning. I feel happy.
Life encourages passion, but also offers a lot of pressures. People say we were supposed to feel great when we finally achieved something, like passing the National College Entrance Examination, getting a good job, buying a cool car. But it doesn't feel that way now. It has become an endless, monotonous burden to us. Because after we get a house, we need to buy a car; after we get the car, we want a promotion. It is like there's no an end to our "pursuits", especially for those who are the only child in the family. First of all, these "pressures" never really have to pressure me! I see material persuits as something we must experience as part of life. Second, allow me to ask, are those targets really something we want to chase? Who said that happiness lies in these external possiessions? Passion for a dream prevents us from searching for happiness in the wrong places.
In pursuing my dreamI have experienced a clarifying period. Being too busy with taking English Grade Exams, I never paid attention to any other competitions. The day I heard about this speaking contest, I pondered: I've been too focusing on getting other certificates to focus on improving my speaking ability. But my dream is to be an interpreter, a good English speaker. This means I need to be able to talk publicly; I should grasp every opportunity to train myself! So, here I am.
As a college junior, I can't help thinking about my job after I graduate. What if my job is not what I learnt at college? What if life does not conform to my dream? Here passion plays a role as well. Life often doesn’t go as we plan. After graduation, one of my friends who studied marketing at college ended up being a car repairman. But from a conversation with him, I learned that we can compromise in life, but we don't give up our dreams. He said, the idea of running his own company had been in his mind all the time, and he is saving money for it. Maybe, maybe he will have to work for another 5 years, 10 years to make his dream come true, but he will never lose hope. Passion helps him hold on to delay the dream.
So, what do I believe about passion versus pressure? I now believe we can change our perspective about both passion and pressures. We see life pressures, and we find passion to tackle them. We figure out where we want to direct our passions, and we make pressure the reminders that keep us moving on to accomplish those passions.
