Dedicated daughter passes exam in life

In between looking after her seriously ill mother and ensuring she didn't fall behind in her studies, Tian Ge, who will soon graduate from Lanzhou University in the capital of Gansu province, does not know how she has managed for the past few years.

Tian has had a much tougher life than most of her peers.

Born in Anyang, Henan province, the 24-year-old enjoyed a happy life as a little girl.

However, things changed completely when she was 5, because the company that employed her mother went bankrupt and her father walked out on the family.

However, Tian weathered those setbacks, and thanks to her hard work and perseverance, she enrolled at the university in 2014. She refused to tell anyone at the school about conditions in her family, and did not apply for student aid.

"I believed I could overcome all the difficulties." she said.

However, life decided to throw another curveball at her in 2015 when her mother was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor.

Though an operation was successful, the medical bill burdened the impoverished family with more debt.

To take better care of her mother, Tian asked the university if she could take a year off her studies.

The university agreed, and Tian's life quickly fell into a routine: Get up at 4 am; buy groceries; prepare the day's meals for her mother and head to the hospital; change the wound dressing; give her mother a massage; teach private students to boost her income; return to the hospital to spend more time with her mother; and then study after her mother fell asleep.

As her mother's condition gradually improved, Tian decided to move them both into the university.

That way, she would be able to resume her studies and care for her mother at the same time.

Now fully aware of the situation, the school offered Tian and her mother exclusive use of a dormitory and decided to exempt her from tuition fees for the rest of her course.

Her teachers helped her find a number of part-time jobs at the school and, as she is majoring in German, they arranged some translation work. Tian has also received several scholarships and grants because of her good grades.

"Though I have experienced many difficulties, when I look back, what I remember most is the help and kindness I have received from the school, my teachers and classmates."

She is also grateful for the year she took off because it gave her the opportunity to reconnect with her mother, talk with her and simply spend time together.

"I am not special. I am just like other students at the school, except that I get up earlier and go to bed later than most of them," she said.

"All difficulties remind people of their self-worth, and all the difficulties I have experienced have only made me a stronger person."

Zeng Jiru contributed to this story.

(China Daily Global 09/02/2019 page5)