The whisper in the wind, realizing growth in daily life
Dialogue in the Wind: Anxiety and Companionship in Qualification Examination
In the evening, a classmate from the doctoral class came to see me. I gave him the archaeological questions, handouts and notes I compiled for the qualification examination, silently hoping that he would pass the test smoothly. The two of them stood and talked in the wind. Although the winter wind was a bit chilly, it made people feel particularly sober.
When we talked about the qualifying exam for the doctoral program, it also reminded me of the time I spent nervously preparing for the exam.
Compared with rote memorization, it is more important to establish your own thinking framework, because the exam is only temporary, and real learning is a lifelong matter.
This conversation in the wind reminded me of many past events. Thinking back to this moment last year, I also anxiously asked some seniors and seniors for advice, eager to know how to prepare for the exam? Now, the roles have been reversed, and I have become the person who provides notes and suggestions.
Perhaps this is the most beautiful part of the academic circle - we support each other and pass on experience and wisdom in the same river of knowledge.
Life lessons on the court: Learning to face failure calmly
In the living room at night, the TV screen flashed the WBC Baseball Classic Qualifying Tournament. I was grading my homework while watching the game unfold.
When the Nicaraguan team broke through the Chinese team’s defense with a strong hit, I couldn’t help but clench my fists and secretly felt sorry for the players. But the next second, I started to think, isn’t winning and losing on the court and growing in life just like this?
Game results are not completely under their control. What the players can do is to give their best performance every time they swing the bat and every time they run the bases. This reminds me of my own life. Sometimes, even if you are fully prepared, the results may not be as expected; sometimes, even if you work to the limit, you may still encounter uncontrollable variables.
But what really matters is how we face these results.
Failure should not be the end, but a better starting point for next time. Just like the players, if they lose today’s game, they still have to return to the court tomorrow and continue to work hard. The same is true in life. Today’s setbacks do not represent the future. The real winners are those who choose to stand up even if they fall.
Homework review under the night: understanding students’ thinking world
The night fell, and the lamp in front of the desk illuminated a thick stack of homework. I gently read through the students’ answers and tried to understand their thoughts and learning context through their discussions. This “Generative AI Media Application” course, for me, is not only a field to transfer knowledge, but also an opportunity to meet young minds again and again.
Every college student has his or her own unique way of thinking. Some people focus on data analysis, some love narrative, some are rigorous, and some have a naive but valuable intuition. I looked at every point they wrote and thought about how I could give them more nourishment and make their thinking more mature.
In some assignments, students try to discuss the changes in the media environment and put forward their own observations; some focus on the changes in news production in the AI era and think about the role of journalists in the future. When I saw them trying to analyze the challenges of the news industry, I felt a little relieved: the reason is simple, because these problems are exactly the issues that contemporary journalists must face.
I couldn’t help but smile. The life of a university teacher is indeed simple and unpretentious. There is not too much drama, but in the accumulation of these days, I feel the weight and value of education.
Daily glimpses, recording the trajectory of growth
On this day, from preparing lessons in the morning to watching a baseball game at night, every moment seemed ordinary, but invisibly recorded my growth trajectory.
In my homework, I saw the students’ learning trajectories and reminded myself that the essence of education is to accompany them to find their own path.
During the conversation in the wind, I recalled my school days and realized that the inheritance of knowledge is not only the learning in the classroom, but also the silent support and encouragement.
In winning and losing on the baseball field, I realized that life is no different from the arena. Victory and defeat are commonplace in military affairs. What is really important is not to lose heart and to have a courageous spirit.
Life may not require earth-shattering plots. Every day’s accumulation is quietly shaping us to become a better version of ourselves.
Tomorrow, I will continue to work hard; tomorrow, there will still be many unknowns waiting for me to explore.
So, I took a deep breath and prepared myself for a new day.
