Experiences have made me the person I am now

Liang Xinyu, 22, graduate of the School of Languages and Communication Studies at Beijing Jiaotong University

As I approached graduation I looked back over my four years at university. What brought out the strongest feelings was knowing that I had found my own direction in the face of a range of information and choices during a time of rapid development.

Like many other students, when I started university I had little idea of what direction to take in the future. So I took the opportunity to try as many things as possible.

My degree is in communication studies, so from my major and my interests I took advantage of the resources and opportunities provided by the school to work as an editor for its official website.

During that time, I found that I was interested in writing in-depth stories based on interviews. I also like photography, so I took a documentary course the following year to learn how to use my camera to record the traditional cultural stories behind porcelain. Then I shot a micro-documentary about the development of Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province. From this, I understood that "Good ways to tell China's story" is an issue that really deserves our attention. I realized that having studied communications I definitely needed to combine professionalism with an international perspective.

In my junior year, I volunteered for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, hoping to learn about the views of international friends on China and Chinese culture. In order to become more internationally minded and improve my professional skills, I chose an internship with a multinational advertising company.

The internship was not as glamorous as I thought it would be, but I still gained a lot from it. I have seen Beijing's Wangjing district at midnight, when the office buildings are usually still brightly lit. Through that internship, I realized that the fast-paced working pattern was not for me. Instead, digging deeper and reporting on events is much more engaging and challenging. So, through trial and error during four years at university, I tentatively found my way forward for the next few years. I think it was invaluable to finding a direction I enjoy and is also a good fit.

The third and fourth years of university are the time when we prepare to apply for postgraduate studies or opt to go to work.

I felt that I still had something I wanted to study in my field, and I wanted to go out and expand my horizons. So, after considering all these things, I decided to study overseas. I chose to go to Japan for graduate school to be closer to home at a reasonably low cost.

At the same time, I prepared to apply to schools beyond Japan so that if my application did not go well or if I changed my mind, I could still make other choices. Because I had to learn Japanese in Japan from scratch, I went through a phase of mild-to-moderate depression when I was preparing for my exams last year.

At that time, I was sitting at my desk studying all day, and when I got up at night I saw my hair falling out all over the floor. I also lost 4.5 kilograms in weight. I felt very confused and anxious.

That situation lasted about two weeks. One day, I suddenly realized that I couldn't go on like that as it was only going to get worse. So, I switched off my WeChat moments and took the initiative to filter the things that were influencing me, only choosing information that had a positive impact.

I also joined an online study group and checked in with my buddies every day to keep myself in a state of healthy competition, telling myself that I just needed to compare myself with my previous self and constantly affirm my position, making positive mental notes and giving myself feedback, and believing that every choice would be rewarding and good for my growth.

Now, many friends say, "I can't find a job at all." In fact, for graduates of my generation, it's more about not being able to find the right job and not being able to find a direction for their development.

Faced with information overload and a dizzying array of choices — asking which is the right one? the right one? the right one? — I think there may not be a concrete answer to tell us what we should choose in the end, but only after we have experienced and done things ourselves will we know whether it is what we want.

That's why my four years at university were really precious. I have never regretted the choices I made, and I'm very grateful for the resources and opportunities provided by the university. Only by experiencing those things could I become the person I am now.

Liang Xinyu spoke with Yan Dongjie.