At 57, she still dares to dream

Zhou Yasong, 57, is humble: She never thought she would get so far down the road of music study. And so she was thrilled to receive a letter on July 1 from a postgraduate school in South Korea admitting her as a doctoral student.

Born in Changde, Hunan province, Zhou became fond of music in her childhood under the influences of her grandfather, a singer and traditional Chinese erhu player, and her father, who was proficient in Peking Opera.

After graduating from high school, Zhou was admitted to an opera school in her hometown. But she had to give up the opportunity because her impoverished family couldn't afford the tuition.

But she never gave up her dream. Studying in her spare time after work, she earned a college diploma in music studies by teaching herself.

In 2015, when her daughter wanted to study for the entrance exams for postgraduate school, Zhou made up her mind and joined her daughter in the preparation.

Beyond all expectation, Zhou was admitted by the Music School of Central China Normal University in Wuhan, Hubei province, in 2016. Her daughter Wu You failed that year, but tried again and succeeded in 2017.

All the people around Zhou thought she might stop after graduating with a master's degree last year. But she set a new goal for life: getting a doctorate in music.

"When preparing for doctoral study, the most difficult part was that I had to sing seven songs in four different languages and styles, which is very demanding for me," Zhou said.

It took her four months to practice and record the songs. To improve her performances, she went back to Wuhan several times to ask her teachers at the university for advice and then practiced each song hundreds of times.

"Some people around me just couldn't understand me. Some said I'm too old, and some wondered what I could do with a doctor's degree in music. But I believe people should not be afraid of pursuing their dreams," she said.

"It's never too late to start building your dreams," she added.