Working for Change by Qimei Huang

In the 19th century, there were no cars in China. Many people worked on farms to earn a living. Do not be surprised. It is the truth. In the past, the emperor was afraid of being invaded by other countries; thus, he made a decision that China stop communicating with other countries. At the same time, the world was developing fast. When other countries were becoming stronger, my country stayed immersed in tradition. Other countries started finding new places to develop, but we were behind the times. There is a truth that people who lag behind become vulnerable. As a result, China began to be invaded by other countries. Because of war, and not communicating to the world, China was poor and fell behind in the world. Driving to advance the country, the important leader, Deng Xiaoping, realized that China had to connect with the world. That was the economic opening of China which was a turning point in history. It happened in 1978. It affected a lot of families, and our family was one of them. The opening of China, as a light in the evening, gave hope to my whole family, and enabled us to change our lives.

At first, my grandfather had hardships in his life. My grandfather was born in the 1930s. At that time, China suffered a lot of wars. Other countries came and wanted to control our country. Because of corruption and incompetence, there were so many poor people in China, who suffered from hunger all the time. My grandfather had already started to work when he was seven years old and he eventually started to go to school. But after one year, because of no money for tuition, he had to drop his classes and started to work as a cowherd. He worked for landlords who had a lot of farms. He helped them take care of buffaloes. However, the landlords in China treated their workers very badly. They always paid people very little for hard labor. They did not even care about his workers’ lives. For example, one day, my grandfather took a nap when he was looking after the buffaloes. He fell asleep and came back late. When the landlord found out, he got angry, threw my grandfather into the river and left. My grandfather was not able to swim, but he struggled in the water for long time and managed to get out. Years later, my grandfather grew up and had a family. At that time, China had some success in World War II, so every farmer in China could get their own farm. Also, my grandfather got his own farm for the first time. Meanwhile, he knew the importance of the education so he worked hard to let his son, my father, finish school.

Secondly, because of my grandfather, my father realized studying could change his fate. He wanted to have a better life instead of working on the farm. In addition, when he was a child, he needed to help family do household chores and farm work. He got up at 6 o’clock every morning and watered the vegetables before going to school. After school, he also went to the farm to work instead of playing with friends. If you never worked on a farm, you might not know how hard it is working in the sun all day. Even though they got tired and sweaty, they could not stop because they lived that way. Because of his hard childhood, my father decided he should get rid of the farm and get a better life. During school, he had studied hard and was never late for class. He nevertheless failed to get admitted to the university. It was hard to get into university at that time. It was like thousands of people passing a single-plank bridge at the same time. However, my father never lost hope. He worked hard in the company and waited for another chance. Life was fair. In 1978, the economic opening of China occurred, and the market required a lot of highly skilled people. Companies needed people who had a high education, so they selected people who already worked for them from the company and paid for them to go to university. Because of his hard work, my father was selected. After he finished the university, he got the better job and moved to the city.

From my father’s experience, he taught me that knowledge is the key to opening doors to success. These words are like a plant growing up in my heart. My father did not want me to have a hard childhood as he did. He always gave me what I needed. I have never worked on the farm. I do not worry about food, and I have a happy life. In addition, my father has done everything possible for me to get a better education. He had said that if I could get accepted to a good school, he would try his best to support me to finish it. I was encouraged. They don’t want me to give up my dream due to a lack of money. Now, I came to Chicago to advance my education. When we chat online through the Internet, they always remind me to study hard. They ask me about the exams and school, so I tell myself I will try my best to do it and do not make them disappointed.

Opportunity is waiting for people who have prepared. The opening of China offered a chance to my family to achieve their goals. My family has worked hard for a better life since my grandfather struggled to support his family. They kept going even though there were many difficulties. They believe that dream will become true by their persistence. I appreciate the life my father has given me. There are no difficult things in the world; only things you do not want to do.