Why should we study abroad?

I was asked this question countless times by my classmates. When they asked this question, their faces were filled with black question marks and the implicit envy of "You are so rich." Emotions of jealousy and hatred. I have asked myself this question repeatedly. Why did I make the decision to abandon all the advantages and halo I had in China, leave my friends of more than 20 years, go through the arduous examinations and applications, and make up my mind to go abroad? . Until now, there are many friends around me who have obviously applied to the world's top schools, but after getting the offer, they started to wonder, why should I go abroad? It’s not that there are no answers, it’s that other people’s answers often don’t feel so appropriate.

Studying abroad is not a simple matter. From the very beginning, what we faced was not a fair competition. In terms of language, we have received compulsory education since primary school, and even earlier, some friends have already attended extracurricular classes. But even so, for TOEFL, SAT, and GRE, the language barrier is a difficult hurdle. Most of the recommendation letters written by Chinese professors are of no help to the application, unless they are experts who happen to be known by the other school. During the application process, many schools are not so welcoming to foreign students, or rather Chinese students. For any school, it is affirmative to give priority to meeting local educational needs. As for recruiting Chinese students, everyone has their own opinions. Not to mention universal requirements such as maintaining a high GPA. Faced with such a long and difficult battle, what makes us make up our mind, work hard, and rush forward regardless of whether we will suffer a bloody blow?

I have been thinking about this problem and thinking about other options. /d50735fae6cd7b89af09a800032442a7d8330ecf?x-bce-process=image/resize, m_lfit, w_450, h_600, limit_1/quality, q_85

1. Postgraduate entrance examination

This is often the first thought that comes to mind . There were many people around who took the postgraduate entrance examination, stayed up late studying hard, burned the midnight oil and worked in the field, and finally got into the teacher's laboratory. Some people say that most people who take the postgraduate entrance examination have not thought clearly about what they want to do. Maybe this is the case for many people. After all, it is not easy to find a laboratory project that interests you. Of course, this is also a good choice. You can work with a mentor and learn something. But it is unknown whether these things will be used in future work, or whether I will be engaged in related work in the future. I have many friends who are studying in graduate schools in China. They often complain that they are doing meaningless research and receiving a meager subsidy. I think this is not because the postgraduate entrance examination itself is not good, but because they did not think about what they really like at the beginning, or they had no choice. There may be dozens or hundreds of laboratory projects that a college can provide, but there is just no one you like. That sparkling thing that makes you leave everything behind and go after it.

2. Work

Work seems to be a more attractive choice. For engineering students like us, it is easier to find a job and the job will be good. It will be tiring at first, but the salary will be correspondingly higher. What you can learn here are the skills you will need in your future work, and there are specially assigned masters to guide you. It seems to be a good choice too. The only thing that makes me a little unhappy is that it is too busy. Many people may ask, busy means you have been trained, what's the problem? I have read a story about a traveler who asked the natives to lead the way. The natives started and ran very fast, and the traveler was very satisfied. But on the fourth day, the natives refused to leave. The traveler tried to persuade me for a long time, but it was of no use. He asked why he had to have a rest today. The native replied: "We are walking too fast. We have to wait a day for our souls to catch up. An American friend told me that he felt that Chinese people regard work as their life. They live too tiredly and have basically no hobbies."

I think everyone is constantly honing themselves, training their brains to be as precise as machines, and becoming a fast-moving tool. As the saying goes, a gentleman has no skills. In ancient times, the requirement for a gentleman was to be proficient in six arts, not just one. Even if it becomes a soaring sword, it is only useful in the hands of its master. Spend more time recharging after work, so that you feel alive, not a tool to help others make money. This is what I want.

I think the reason why I decided to study abroad without hesitation was not because I knew what I wanted, but because I knew what I didn’t want. Maybe foreign countries are not as good as many people think. But at least, I want to have a look and see a bigger world, a bigger territory, instead of sitting in a well and looking at the sky. People who have never seen a mountain will scream for their friends to come and see a small mound. People who have never been abroad often suffer from narrow thinking and limited perspectives. The world is so big and I want to see it. At least, you have to go and see it!