My name is Zhu Yan, female, and Han Chinese. I was born into a farming family in 2004, located in the 10th group of Cuo’Chu Village. Since little, I have lived with my parents in the farming village. I’m naturally outgoing, but sometimes I cry, mainly because my dad is blind in his left eye. Even though it is just an eye (he can still help with farm work), his left eye starts to bleed whenever he does heavy farm work. I would get scared when I was younger, while now I just feel hurt. Although I am in the 9th grade now, I am still not strong enough to carry heavy items. My mom is also quite weak physically and frequently sick, so my older brother would take up some of the heavy work. My parents don’t let him though, afraid it’ll tire him out. In the end, they would still take over despite the pain and only leave the lighter tasks to me and my brother.
Our main problem is still financial. My sister is a junior in college, my brother is entering high school, and I am preparing for the high school entrance exam. My parents would borrow money from everywhere behind our backs to put us through school because they are afraid to burden us and our studies. However, even if they don’t say, we know. Before long, we were 50,000 yuan in debt (my sister borrowed 16,000 for college, my parents borrowed 30,000 from the government for my older siblings and 4000 more from relatives). To pay back the debt, Mom and dad would not even go see the doctor when they are sick. For a long time, they also haven’t bought clothes, always saving money for our education.
From 2017, when I graduated from primary school and started 3 years of middle school, I have put in extra effort to repay my parents’ sacrifice. Time flies, and now I’m about to graduate, facing the high school entrance. I’ll have to work harder to get into good high schools and have a chance at college, just like my older system. I’ll have to gain skills and knowledge to broaden my horizon and find a place for myself in the future. Although my family is not rich, I am very satisfied to be with my family. Compared to the many “left-behind” children, who are better off financially but lack the company and care from parents, I count myself, who grew up with my parents and their love, as lucky. Regardless, no matter how long our parents can protect us, we need to build our own futures one day.
As I have never lived away from my parents, I was not used to living in dorms for middle school at first. I had to choose the boarding option because my home is very far from the school. That transition to living away from family was a dark period in my life - I was always sad. One day, after I finished eating, I heard someone calling my name. It was my parents’ waving at me. I was very happy that they could take out the time to see me, despite it being the busiest period. As they were leaving I grabbed my father’s hand and saw the many calluses that have developed. I wept. My dad stopped me and whispered into my ears, “good girl, don’t cry. Parents cannot be your support forever. One day, you will leave us and start your own life journey, your independent future. To prepare, you should face these partings calmly, develop stronger self-reliance. This way you can take better care of yourself in the future.” It was then that the gloominess went away, because I know that my parents are doing everything for our future - they want us to study hard to have better opportunities and careers than the ones they had.
All the parents in the world love their children and want the best for them. No parents would want their child to live their mistakes - they all wish their children better jobs and better lives. Therefore, children from poorer backgrounds like myself should work harder. I will work harder for the high school entrance test. I believe that the gate to a brighter future is forever open for me. I believe I can be successful, and I will.
