Teachers, students, parents, guests.
Hello, I am a wild intelligent humanoid creature inhabiting Curionesty College, Wu Han. I’ve been in this habitat for over two years now, and I’m very happy with it.
I’m 17, an adult, writing a speech for a bar mitzvah. It’s an amazing feeling, having to face so many people and deliver a long speech before I even get myself figured out. Personally, I don’t think the most important thing to me about the Bar Mitzvah ceremony is that it’s a new stage in my life, that I’ll be graduating in six months, and that I’ll get a lot of gifts.
Curious about the two rites of passage (Bar Mitzvah and Graduation) In my understanding, the Graduation Rite is a summary of my studies and growth at Curious, while the Bar Mitzvah is a summary of my entire state before I became an adult, so I’m going to divide my speech into two parts: the Wu Han who has set his goals, and the Wu Han who is taking action nowadays.
Wu Han who set the goal
I think my life really started in the moment when I had a clear big goal and was willing to act on it – when I wanted to draw comics.
I wanted to draw comics, and it happened when I was in third grade.
One day in third grade, the class had just been rearranged, and I was assigned the window seat. There were no classmates around me who could be called “best friends”, and I was quite bored when I suddenly saw two people in front of me, who put a few colorful chalks on the window sill, and smashed them into powder with a blackboard eraser or something else, which was called “alchemy”. Then I immediately came to the interest, excited to join the ranks of the “alchemy”, and they made friends. At that time, I even thought of the description “I have reacquainted myself with my classmates whom I have been meeting for more than two years” in my head.
A few of us started playing, and then a few other students joined in. Although we never sharpened chalk again, we formed a small group that played together every day, and with a small group, it was only natural to do something fun that brought everyone together. So one day, one of the first students to sharpen chalk drew some matchmakers, the one with the white head was himself, the one with the black head was this one, the one with the square head was that one, and I was the one with the black head and the hat. He then put these little people into a paper game, and the rest of us needed to solve the puzzles he gave us to trace a suspenseful event step by step. The paper game, of course, had to be drawn, and the more he drew, the more he got into it, and after one of the puzzles was done he started drawing comic strips to tie the plot together, and even more so when the mastermind, a dragon with a round head, appeared, filling the paper with split-screen squares. It occurs to me that in video games, we generally called them CG transitions, so we were a bit ahead of the curve when it came to big video games. Why do I say “we”? Because under this student’s influence, several others started drawing stories for the same series of comics.
The pleasant memory of creating our own stories and showing them to each other in our notebooks at the end of class is deeply embedded in my DNA, and after reading some serious comics, an immature, but exceptionally firm idea appeared in my mind – I wanted to be a “cartoonist! “I wanted to be a cartoonist. To be more specific, I wanted to be a storyteller using the medium of comics, no matter what kind of story I was creating.
There’s nothing that influenced me more as a kid than the time we spent making up stories and having fun together. I’ve been missing and chasing that ever since, and that’s the old me. However, the claws of traditional education had opened up and pushed a huge wave over me, which I couldn’t bear, so I came here after a few difficulties.
From there, I studied at Curious for more than two years, and became the Wu Han you see now. At this point, there is no more storytelling. This man already has a goal to work towards for many years, but what kind of a person he is in himself, let’s have a good scolding – no, a good look.
Wu Han on the move
I’m going to summarize today’s self in a special, completely different form than the last panel.
Look, folks, there’s my reflection on that wall over there, and although it’s dull and fuzzy, it’s definitely there. I am standing here at this moment as another person to talk to that present self.
A: I heard your speech, you want to express something but you don’t have the ability to do so, so you talk about your childhood, but is there any real meaning in that? You said you wanted to summarize your life, but what did you summarize? Just your goals? Is there only one goal left in your life? Are you too self-centered?
B: I didn’t just talk about goals, but I was influenced a lot by my experiences in elementary school, and I’ve been in that state ever since. I used to want to play and create freely, so talking about this is already a kind of summary. Am I self-centered, maybe, but I didn’t mention the people I wanted to thank because I wanted to create a coherent experience focused on a single point, is that okay?
A: Self-justification. You’re afraid to admit it, so you turn yourself into a hypocrite by concocting a seemingly sensible reason and convincing yourself to believe it after it’s already been done. I’ve noticed in my months of observation that you always have an inexplicable sense of superiority over what you’ve accomplished, and every time you accomplish a trivial innovation, you think, “I’m just so good at this,” and then revel in it, gloating, leaving the rest of the world behind, and watching your greatness over and over again. You’ve been able to fool yourself, so it’s not hard for you to hide and avoid your shortcomings, which I think is despicable.
B: I constantly express my lack of ability in front of people, is this hiding? Is it running away when I take the initiative to do something I was once afraid to do? Also, shouldn’t one feel some sense of accomplishment when creating something new? Suppressing it only makes it harder and harder to move forward thereafter, right? You say I’m making up reasons, but I think it just boils down. Can’t a person make themselves comfortable, and wouldn’t filling the potholes in a piece of wing make it better at what it does?
A: You’re making things sound too small to be true, as if letting it happen won’t make a difference. I can feel an invisible barrier rising up in your body to wrap your heart around it as you say these words. You have to consider the impact of accomplishment, and instead of a little heart rising to keep trying, you waste most of your time in constant repetition of self-appreciation. It is perfectly fine for you to speak all the way down to the end of elementary school about why you went to a day school, why you later went to the international section of other schools, why you didn’t want to go to school again, why you finally came to wonder, and then to discover the direction of your mind. In the midst of this it is also possible to find other people in your mind, mention them, and then experience and try to understand them so that you have a decent understanding of your past. But only talking about life goals, that makes your mind look empty. As for hiding flaws, I’ll be blunt, you probably don’t even realize that you’re only showing weakness like that to get sympathy and make yourself feel better, not to actually show flaws.
B: Ugh, basically right, it can still be absorbed after extracting the key information. But you’re slightly venting your emotions like that. So I’m searching to see if you shouldn’t also consider whether there’s anything logically wrong with your own organized language before pointing out someone else’s flaws in a very blunt manner; you’ve always called me out on it, and you don’t have much of a level of sophistication yourself. My decadence in middle school was nothing more than the result of that passion for free creativity clashing with institutional education, I’ve thought about it, and now I get emotional if there’s too much going on and I don’t have time to draw. That’s basically what happened. I understand how helpless my mother was during the period when I didn’t want to go to school, and I know exactly how much effort my parents made to help me. Almost all of the various opportunities I’ve been given since elementary school have been due to their efforts to find them, and they really did help me very much with my limited perception at the time. Harm, you are right. But we have to find more things that will be useful for the future, and my parents’ labors were forced upon me because I didn’t have the motivation to move up on my own. Now that I have, it’s time to discuss some new experiences.
A: I really don’t have any level, we all have less stuff in our heads, and now we’re not just discussing how to become better. But I just realized today that you’re quite easily shy, so I won’t force you to thank others more. Then look elsewhere for something more positive. In the past you’ve been in a slump, so since coming to Curious, do you have a tangible sense that you’re getting better, and if so, in what ways?
B: Most obviously in terms of painting technique, which is obvious and doesn’t need to be explained. Two years is actually a lot longer than one would expect, and anyone who goes through the same length of time will improve in what they are good at. But interestingly enough, it was only this year, or to be extreme, this semester, that my drawing skills began to grow at a faster rate. The reason for this is discipline and responsibility. After two years, I finally realized the importance of regular practice. You guys might think that’s outrageous, I felt the same way when I first realized that I had a lot more free time last semester than I do this semester, but it’s because I didn’t have a regular schedule that I procrastinated most of the time. So now it’s just a group I’ve created for myself, specifically for people to make a regular plan and execute it. As the leader of the group, I had to lead by example, so I drew every two days, and the results came up. It’s quite an accomplishment, and it’s quite a bit higher than last semester’s teahouse cartoon work.
A: The atmosphere got better.
B: The other thing is the cognitive aspect. It’s been like waking up from a dream for me for the last two years or so, what with the history of civilization, critical thinking, General Knowledge Week, it’s not like the variety of institutional schools before that, it’s really teaching you knowledge that you can use in all areas. The end result is a change in mindset where I can use them unintentionally to make better choices in all sorts of things. A third wonderful feeling comes out of it, I’m able to see the world more comfortably, which is good.
A: So next-
B: Hold your tongue, it’s not finished. Anyway, I’m feeling pretty good about myself at the moment, I just shook out all the problems I thought I had in a slightly extreme way, and that’s not much of a burden to bear, being an adult, that’s what it is. After that, I will cherish the time I am curious, learn more, and then go to practice when I graduate. Who knows what the future will be like, but it’s not that I don’t think about it directly, I am thinking that I will look at it with the mindset of “ah, it’s really coming, and I have to prepare for it”.
At this point, I became a human being. And then I continue to speak.
I’ve always felt that I’m quite a baffling person, I definitely don’t have enough stuff in my head, my thinking has improved quite a bit but it’s still quite confusing, and also, I haven’t picked a mentor in over two years, which I can’t really understand what’s going on with me anymore. So later on there will be no mentor who will come up and give his blessing, and this fear has been pervading my mind, so I’ve been holding back a 5,000 word draft.
But lately I can feel that I’ve really been moving forward, upward, ascending diagonally, absorbing new things all the time, though not learning enough to absorb them. But I’ve been experiencing a bright yellow feeling that says, it’s okay, it’s all good around me, there’s nothing really uncomfortable. I’m making progress, I’m getting new inspirations, and I’m not outright depressed about anything. But the conflict in my mind hasn’t actually been really resolved yet, and I’m trying to take my time, and usually just refine it a few more times like I just did, and ask myself a few questions and stuff like that.
That’s it for me, thanks for listening.
Wu Han’s mother’s message at the coming-of-age ceremony
Dear Wu Han:
It’s hard to believe that you’re already 17 years old. In every previous coming-of-age ceremony, you and I were just witnesses, but today, you became the main character and I became the main character’s mother.
It’s hard to believe that you’ve grown up, but the truth is, you really have. Your father and I have a very deep understanding of this point, take the picture for example, in your still a bare buttocks little kid, your father bought a special camera, to you often just wantonly take a big picture of a pass, regardless of whether you wear pants. No matter from which angle to take pictures of you, you have no problem. But now you have grown into a once I looked down, then to look down, and now to look up at the young man of one meter seven or so, and now you have to take a picture of you, but also through your permission to do so.
You have really grown up, before I have to ask me how to do things, but now, many things are their own decision;
You have really grown up, in the past I had to carry on doing heavy work by myself, but now you have become my savior, as long as I call your name, you can always appear in front of me, and I can always get your help;
You really grew up, began to often take the initiative to care about your mother, often hear you say to your mother: “Mom, you do not too tired”; “Mom, you go to bed early ha”; “Mom, you in the end what time to sleep? ” “Mom, pay attention to your health!” In the middle of the night your mother got sick and went to the hospital emergency room, you became her protector straight away, accompanying her to the hospital alone and doing everything you could for her;
You’ve really grown up, and you’re starting to be anxious about your future, and you’re also starting to make efforts for your future;
That you’ve really grown up, and that you didn’t know how to deal with your emotions before, and now, you can take your time and deal with them on your own.
Do you know why we like to call you “Hanbo”? Of course, we don’t call you “Hanbo” because you like to eat hamburgers, but because you are a shining treasure in our family. When you were little, you were the most precious thing in mom and dad’s heart, and now you are the treasure that allows us to grow, and mind you, growing is not just your right, it’s ours too.
You have taught us what it takes to be a parent, you have taught us that there are many possibilities in one’s life, and you have taught us to respect, understand, and support each other. You have often shared with us what you know, what you have seen, what you have insights into, and you have opened our eyes.
Hanbo, here, your father and I would like to thank you for making us happier and happier! We are still relying on you for our future, and I hope we won’t fall behind and solidify because of you.
Hanbo, you have a lot for us to learn from:
You have been physically weak since you were a child, but you always wanted to be a sports committee member, three years in a row, you went up to the stage to give a speech to run for the election, of course, must have lost, but this momentum is what we all need to learn from you today.
You were raised to be kind and unwilling to hurt anything.
You have had a sense of justice since you were a child, and when you see your older classmates bullying your younger classmates, you are very unsettled inside, and you always want to be stronger to help them out.
You have had your own ambition from a very young age and have been working hard for it.
You have had your own mind from a very early age, which often amazes me when I talk to you.
You were a sensible child, often looking at things from a neutral point of view. There are things that you say and do. There are rules that even I sometimes compromise on, but you make them work.
Today you are one of the protagonists of the coming-of-age ceremony, which means that you have become an adult, which means that you can be independent, you can be autonomous, you can take charge, you can be respected, and you can go to respect others, you can take responsibility for your words and actions, you can also fight for your dreams, and you can also go to experience the joy of success and the sadness of failure.
Maybe you will be anxious about your future, this is normal, because the future is still unknown to us, if I were you, I would also be anxious. However, since it is unknown, there is no need for us to be too anxious, because the future is achieved by our present accumulation little by little, we just need to grasp the present, down-to-earth and hard work to do what we want to do, what we like to do, so that every day of our life into the positive and meaningful day we want, the future is naturally the positive and meaningful future we want.
Wu Han, the reason why I want to give you this name is because your father expects you to be a real man, to be a great man, to be a man who will not be intimidated by setbacks at any time, that’s why the name Wu Han was given to you. And your mother expects you to be a person who is happy and blissful throughout your life.
Joy and happiness come from being tolerant and accepting of yourself and others, so whether you are perfect or not, whether you are good or not, please make sure that you accept yourself and love yourself, and when you can accept and love yourself, please accept and love others in the same way. But if you want to be tolerant and accepting, you need to be broad-minded, and if you want to be broad-minded, you need to be wise, and if you want to be wise, you need to keep learning, so I expect you to be a person who can be a lifelong learner.
Wu Han, please believe in yourself, believe in your own ability, believe in your own future, believe that the successes and setbacks in life are experiences that allow you to grow, believe that any time in life is the starting point, believe that as long as you keep insisting on doing it.
Please also don’t forget to appreciate and realize the happiness in life, because there is no one but ourselves who can stop us from being happy, because happiness is given to us by our inner selves, because there are positive and negative sides to everything, and as long as we look at the positive side with our heart, we will be happy.
Please also always remember to be grateful to all those who have helped you, because if you are always grateful, your heart will be soft, and if your heart is soft, your heart will be happy.
Please also help others often, in fact, helping others is helping yourself, because if we make others happy, we will be happy.
Finally, I use your father’s words to do the end, son, no matter where you go, no matter you meet success or failure, smooth or frustration, mom and dad will always love you, our heart will always accompany you, support you, trust you!
Finally, as a parent, I would like to thank all the teachers of Curious, Chi Xiao, Bottle, Bo, Qi Liang, Jiang Wenyu, Zhang Xu, Wu Ying, and all the teachers who have accompanied and are now accompanying Wu Han, it is you who have been sowing seeds in your child’s heart with your most sincere heart, sowing seeds that make your child curious, self-confident, self-conscious, courageous, independent, strong, and autonomous. It is you, all the teachers, who have been sowing seeds in the hearts of children with your most sincere hearts, sowing seeds of curiosity, self-confidence, self-awareness, courage, independence, strength and autonomy, which will play an extraordinary role when they face the future. So here, I bow to you.
I would also like to give a special thanks to Ms. Yin, who cooks delicious meals 365 days a year so that the children can grow up healthy, thank you!
I would also like to thank my classmates who have grown up with Wu Han. You have accompanied him with your passionate youth like flowers and sunshine, making him more and more positive and happy!
Thank you all!
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