郑宇 天津科技大学

Pressure vs Passion: To Strive, or to Dream?

It is my great honor to stand here today. To begin with, I would like to quote what Mother Teresa said, "Life is a dream, realize it.” Throughout life, Dream is the terminal for us to chase and strive for.

Do you have any dreams? The answer must be positive. Each individual has a dream. However, only a few people can stick to them. We have to acknowledge that life is never a smooth sailing; there are moments when we encounter various intractable pressures. Without a wise and tough way to deal with them, we shall lose all our dreams, even ourselves. 

As far as I am concerned, I believe that no pressure, no diamonds. Facing this topic, there should never be a choice, but it is an inevitable path to accomplish your dream by overcoming all the adversities under pressure. Of course, we have to realize the pressure really exists in our life; we have to face unprecedented, fierce social competition and rising pressure in housing, healthcare and education. etc.

Then what about dream? Just give it up? My answer is no. To keep in mind is that we should never give up on dreams. Dream is like a star, you can never touch it, but by following it, it will lead you to your destiny. Dream is like a compass, wherever you are, it can always show you the right way out of trouble.

Martin Luther King had a dream which was deeply rooted in the American dream. He dreamt that one day the nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: —to hold these truths to be self-evident—that all men are created equal. Although he was under immense pressure, and eventually brutally murdered, his dreams are still shining and have changed the lives of millions of African American.

Academician Yuan Longping had a dream to feed millions of population in hunger and poverty. It is his dream which has been encouraging him to devote himself to the study of hybrid rice for almost 50 years. His achievement resolves China’s crucial problem, and even contributes to the world.

Finally, I would like to quote a saying of Ma Yun, the CEO of Alibaba. He said, “Today is difficult, tomorrow is even more difficult, but I can assure you that the day after tomorrow is going to be a very beautiful day. Unfortunately, 90% of the people die tomorrow evening without seeing the beautiful sunrise next morning.”

For you and myself, when we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong contrary to winds and diamonds are made under pressure”