To those about to enter university

To those about to enter university\ Author: I am a bad person\ Although coming to university is not as ancient and weathered as many years might suggest, I can't quite remember how many hours I have wasted here. Like the vast majority of Chinese students, under the torment of education and the deceit of teachers, I worked extremely hard through three years of high school—getting up early and staying up late, feeling anxious and fearful, losing sleep—just for that one exam paper. The overall weight is only about 0.7 kg, yet it decides the path of our life for the next half-century. While this may sound somewhat exaggerated, we truly did our utmost to cope with the exams.\ University is like that moon full of endless imagination, but when you struggle to reach it and set foot on it, wow! It's all pits! I think many people feel this way. Then, when expecting paradise to arrive, that hope instantly turns into a speck of dust, constantly complaining about the simplicity of the school dormitories. Complaints like no water heaters, no air conditioning, overcrowding, old bed boards, dirty walls, and other endless grievances. Of course, this is just a small part.\ There are many other things to complain about in the school, but the official explanation is: this university has a long history; every corner of the school, including fallen leaves and weeds, is an accumulation of history. Over the long years, the equipment naturally isn't very advanced. Due to limited funds, the school still strives to improve. Hearing such an official reply, we all come to realize: university seems to be just a slightly larger version of high school. Maybe even not as good as high school~~\ However, a visible change in university is that everyone has a mobile phone. Besides being a tool for showing off among some people, it also allows staying in touch with former classmates or friends. As far as I know, during the first few days on campus, QQ and WeChat chat records are usually like this:\ The food in our school canteen is so bad!\ Yeah, yeah. It's not even as good as our high school~~\ It's barely fit for eating.\ Does your dorm have a water heater?\ Haha, this lousy school doesn't have water heaters~ I must have been blind to come here.\ Yeah, how do we take a shower in winter? So painful. Tuition is so expensive, prices are so high.\ Oh, it's all open~~ boo hoo.\ Is there anything fun to do at your school?\ Fun? Not a damn thing. It's a godforsaken place~\ Sigh! Such a miserable life.\...\ Indeed, school is not as wonderful as we imagined; it can even be quite dilapidated (though not to the extent of being dangerous). The main culprit for this situation is the teachers. They push us to study relentlessly, all for the sake of the college entrance exam. Subtly, they instill in us the notion that university is great, where you can play around as you like, date if you wish, and play games casually. High school teachers only focus on training students to get into university, but they do not teach us how to survive in university.\ University is a small society, a preview of the real world you are about to enter. Once you enter university, you will notice that your classmates are all absorbed in their phones, and you might also end up scrolling through social media yourself to avoid awkwardness. Want to know about friends who drift apart? Why do so many people complain that you can't find true friends in university? Because you yourself didn't put genuine effort into making friends.\ When it comes to studying, do you really naïvely believe that not failing any courses defines university life? When you watch anime at home, haven't you heard the rumors that many recent graduates can't even find jobs? Why? Because a diploma is just a piece of paper, with no real value. Its only purpose is to tell your parents: I spent a lot on tuition to get this seemingly useless diploma.\ What I want to say is that university is actually much more stressful than high school. In high school, you only spent time and energy on studying and exams. In university, besides learning from textbooks, you also have to learn how to handle relationships with classmates, and figure out how to make good use of large amounts of free time. Sometimes, you even face the situation of having “no path to take” after graduation. Perhaps your family is wealthy and your parents personally arrange your job, your study abroad, your marriage, even your funeral. Of course, that's only a small number of parents. For most ordinary working-class students like you, where should you go and what should you do?\ So, when you read this, you should understand that university is not paradise. It's another new starting point you will face. The path is up to you to choose—how to walk it? Hehe, I don't need to say more, right! Use your own hands to weave strong wings and soar high.