Category: student life

  • Xinran: I want to fight for positive freedom

    Xinran: I want to fight for positive freedom

    editor’s note

    In April 2023, the Curious Learning Community participated in the Luhu “Flower Island Festival” market as one of the stall owners. At the market, members of Curiosity were pleased to present her gap year project spring season finale “My Book” to the audience, and invited the audience to participate in her ongoing game project questionnaire survey. This article is Xinran’s self-review in “My Book”

    Picture: Xinran “My Book”

    This is the mentor application I sent to Chi Xiao on March 12, 2023. While writing it, I realized that I have never fully reviewed and reflected on my past life, so I wrote this review. When planning to be the final project of the first season, I made supplements and improvements to the content. Thanks to Caiying (Curious Learning Community Tutor) for giving me revision suggestions!

    For me, there has always been one thing that is very important to me, and that is freedom. I still can’t clearly analyze the relationship between it and me. The following are some clues I wrote based on my general impression. My thoughts on the past My memory is not very clear, so some of it is my guess

    The freedom here, I just take it as a thread to connect the bits and pieces of my life, and I will not give a specific definition of freedom, maybe you can look it up, for me, what is freedom

    The beginning of it all, the seed of the problem

    I have fought for freedom since I was very young, but for a long, long time, the means I have used is not articulating my needs, but passive resistance

    I started to learn piano at the age of 5. The kindergarten I went to was piano kindergarten. According to my mother, I learned it for 5 years. Both my mother and I vividly remember how much I hated the piano. As I grew up, my resistance became more and more intense, and finally one day, the teacher couldn’t stand it anymore and asked me to take a break to study again. Since then, I have never touched the piano. As for me, until now I don’t know the staff, and because of this, I have buried some hatred for music

    Let me clarify first, I don’t do everything against my parents, I just hate people forcing me to do things I don’t want to do, there are two things I would like to learn, one is painting (I don’t like it later), the other is badminton ( I didn’t go because of the exam). The story of martial arts and horsemanship is similar to that of piano. Luckily horsemanship was the last thing they forced me to learn

    If it’s just because the outside world is not free, then it’s okay to say. What’s more deadly is that my inner oppresses me

    “I spent so much money on the piano, and I spent so much money on lessons for you. Why don’t you learn?”

    “I’m doing it for your own good.”

    “You can’t stand a single thing.”

    After being disciplined by my parents, school and society, a “police” gradually emerged in my heart. It has a set of “should” and “must”. When my behavior violates its requirements, it will come out to suppress Me; when I have a problem with other people, it will search my memory, find my “crime” and make me feel guilty. There is another part of this “police”, called authority. I’m still not completely out of its shadow, I think this is a very important cause of me

    There are two forces pulling in my heart, one is the “policeman” and the other is my own will. No matter which one I listen to, the other won’t make me feel better

    This problem has been buried since I was very young, but it has been hidden, waiting for the day when it will explode

    Curious about your previous school experience

    In Beijing, I went to a private international school, where I attended primary school and the first two semesters of junior high school. Perhaps because there, the college entrance examination was not the only way out, so it was a more relaxed environment. My impression of it is that I love that school very much, and so do my classmates. After leaving there, my classmates and I both expressed our miss for it. I’ve collected some memory fragments, and I speculate that might be the cause

    Fragment library

    . The winter jasmine that grows before the grass in spring has sweet nectar

    . Small, blue fruit that I don’t know if it’s an apricot or a peach

    . Some elementary school classmates created a public account to write football comments

    . The whole class plays sketches, and students write scripts

    . halloween at school

    . Watch the New Year’s Day party performed and hosted by classmates at school, and perform on stage at Christmas

    . Primary school went to Taiwan’s ×× Elementary School for study tours, junior high school went to Japan for study tours, and stayed with Japanese families

    . Chinese teacher assigns interesting writing homework

    In the second semester of the second year of junior high school, my family had an accident. We were forced to move from Beijing to Xianyang, which is our hometown. I transferred to another school without any precautions. I won’t say anything, what I remember very clearly is that I hated this school. The pressure of family changes and the pressure of not being able to adapt and not wanting to adapt made me suffer from depression. When I found out, it was already very serious

    My parents, like normal Chinese parents, don’t understand depression and think it’s important to go back to school, but they allow me to rest at home

    Then, my mom saw the news about the curious gap year

    I doubt it was the right decision to wonder when I was in such a bad state

    Curiosity for the first time

    In September 2018, I came to Curiosity for the first time. This period of time has brought me very valuable values ​​and perspectives to see the world, and it has also brought me a lot of pain. I basically let go of these problems, so I won’t go into details here

    Curiosity is a free and inclusive environment, but freedom is a subjective feeling. Whether I am free or not depends on my heart

    It’s a pity that I was not curious for self-growth at that time. Apart from some yearning, the main reason for my curiosity was to escape the isolated state and make myself “normal”

    Picture: Xinran shot

    In curiosity, freedom is so easy to get, but I don’t have the courage to take this freedom. The mentors have always encouraged us to pursue what we like and do what we want to do, but I have never liked or wanted to do it. Why don’t you want to do it? I just found the answer to this question a few months ago

    One reason is because, at that time, the “police” was the dominant force inside me, the “police” was always ordering me, saying what I “should” do, but it was like I was resisting my parents to force me to learn things, my inner The will is working hard against this “should”. In this struggle, my energy is consumed so much that I have no energy to think about what to do. Being dominated by the “police” also means that “unnecessary” things have no value

    Picture: Xinran shot

    Another reason is that at that time, my self-will, that is, the ability to “want”, was very weak, and I didn’t even want to live, so I naturally had almost no desire for self-growth. It is worth mentioning that at that time, I thought that I “should be good”, “should be motivated”, “should do more things”, “should communicate with people”, so I would ask for help from the bottle (curious learning community tutor) to let her Tell me the method, but in contrast, “I don’t want to be good”, “I don’t want to make progress”, “I don’t want to do more” and “I don’t want to communicate with others”. I remember that the final result is often that I don’t do it at all, or it doesn’t work (like I can’t learn staves)

    Later, I checked with my mentor, Chi Xiao, and he said that when I first came here, I was actually quite seriously ill. Coupled with my self-centered expression habits, my speech was ugly and aggressive, and he pushed away all those who wanted to help me. By refusing to do what is right for me, I think I know the above “should” be good for me. But I was in total combat mode (although I didn’t realize it at the time), I did everything I could to fight the “cops”, even if it was self-destructive, I’m sorry I didn’t take advantage of the help my mentors gave me.

    tumultuous years

    Under the pressure of “being a normal person”, after the end of the Kawagoe Project in 2019, my dad and I felt that my condition was better, and I went back to the school in my hometown, and then resisted going to that school, returning to curiosity, and taking the high school entrance examination again . It was a very painful, very confusing few years. I was like at a crossroads, surrounded by fog, forced to choose, forced to turn around, each choice is not clear enough.

    Years of self-oppression made the self-willing part of me weaker and weaker. Slowly, I didn’t want to do anything, but because I “should go to school” I was always in school like a walking dead

    An opportunity to leave curiosity is that the bottle asked me: “Do you want to be okay?” I replied no

    I finally got tired of using “should” as a rule of thumb and decided to give up everything that “normal” people should do. When I connected to my inner voice, it replied, “I don’t want to go to school, I don’t want to socialize, I don’t want to Going out” may be the backlash of long-term self-oppression. I stayed at home for two years

    two years at home

    Admittedly, I wasted a lot of time at home, but it also allowed me to grow a lot. the

    I have always followed a principle at home, that is: do what you want to do, and don’t do it if you don’t want to do it

    At the time, I didn’t understand what I was doing, and I didn’t understand the meaning of what I was doing. This sense of meaninglessness and anxiety about the future caused me great pain. Here are my thoughts on what I did at home. Summarize

    First of all, I would like to thank my parents.

    Thank them for patiently waiting for my condition to improve;

    Thank them for respecting my choice and not forcing me to go to the hospital;

    Thank them for giving me the greatest freedom and not imposing their expectations on me;

    Thank them for supporting me with listening, understanding, tolerance and acceptance;

    Thank them for respecting my true wishes and encouraging me to do what I really want to do;

    Thank them for their love, which allows me to restore the ability to love a little bit;

    I would also like to thank them for their unreasonable trust, believing that even if I do something different from ordinary people, I can go out of my own way

    From a self-level, I have done two things at home, one is called “breaking” and the other is called “rebuilding”. These two things happened in parallel, and are still going on, and doing both is also the reason why I came to be curious

    01 break

    What is broken is the law of the “police”, that is, the inherent concept, which I call “should”. The difficulty here is that the “cops” are part of me. The “police” was extremely dissatisfied with my stay at home. When I first stayed at home, according to my mother, I just cried from time to time, and I broke down when I saw what others said on the Internet, but now I am much calmer. , I think it’s because of this that my “cops” are more relaxed. Here are a few “shoulds”

    “Should go to school”: I sometimes get very anxious at home, so I ask my parents if I should go to school, and my parents ask me, “Do you want to go to school?” I say I don’t want to, so they say Told me not to go, of course I didn’t because I didn’t have any motivation to go to school

    “Should get up early”: Sleep was extremely irregular at the beginning, maybe I didn’t go to bed until 5 in the morning, and woke up at 5 in the afternoon. Later, with the help of my mother, I didn’t care so much about it, and when I didn’t care so much, I fell asleep instead Get regular, go to bed at 2 or 3 in the morning, get up from 1 to 2 in the afternoon, sleep about 10 hours a night

    “Should eat on time”: With my schedule, of course I can’t eat with them. I’m ashamed that my mother helped me cook for a long time, but then I became more motivated, so I did it myself Meal + takeaway

    “Should communicate with people”: At that time, the desire not to communicate with people was relatively strong

    “should go out”: ditto

    I’ve been measuring at home how much I care about the judgment of the anti-boundary, and when I don’t care so much, freedom follows

    02 reconstruction

    Breaking is not the final result. Breaking through restrictive concepts is like escaping from prison. After escaping, the heart is an endless desert.

    Therefore, it is necessary to rebuild and re-establish value orientation and code of conduct

    Funny, I’m doing the above “should” right now, so does that prove I’m back in “prison”? No, the reason why I can do these things now is because I want to do these things. This is the result of rebuilding. Cook because I want to take care of myself

    The reconstruction methods are divided into the following types, in no order

    (1) Recuperation: It is okay to allow yourself to not do things. This is very important, because for people with depression, small things that ordinary people can easily do (such as getting up) become extremely difficult. Accepting your own state is the beginning of everything getting better

    (2) Games: According to Huizinga’s definition, games are free and truly autonomous. The story about me and games can be another article, but I don’t want to write it yet. I think “want” is a kind of motivation, a kind of motivation that becomes more and more powerful. I can play this kind of motivation in the game, so I would say that the game has helped me in terms of motivation

    For specific stories, please see the selected works of my project this quarter. ps: This is the questionnaire I made, and the results of the survey will be displayed at the end of the term. Please help me broadcast and fill it out, thank you!

    (3) Communication: including listening and expressing. Especially the communication with my mother is very valuable

    In the beginning, quarreling is also a kind of communication, because everyone has emotions, and there is no way to chat calmly. In the past, the poor communication has accumulated a lot of problems. Instead of letting emotions continue to accumulate and cause more problems, it is better not to avoid conflicts. Have a good fight, talk slowly after the fight is over

    After a lot of conflicts, debates and calm exchanges with my mother, our relationship is one step closer, we can talk about the world together, and discuss big “useless” issues together

    (4) Psychological counseling: When I recovered to a certain extent, I had the need to ask for help, so I took the initiative to ask for psychological counseling, and I am still doing psychological counseling. I very much agree with what is said in “The Road Less Traveled” (a must-read in the spring of 2023 for the Curious Learning Community), that psychological counseling is a shortcut to mental maturity. Let go of my preconceptions and prejudices, and ask me questions. This process is actually a process of facing myself. This will allow me to understand myself better, be more sincere, and at the same time make me better able to get along with others

    (5) Thinking: Talk to yourself, chat, ask and answer questions, and listen carefully to your own thoughts

    Now I spend time walking almost every day, and no matter how busy I am, I will find time to communicate with myself. I find that the urge to write something always arises at this time, including this article, which was also written while I was walking and thinking.

    (6) Feeling: feel your emotions, feel your will, and respect your feelings. I will see my emotions, capture them, and put them on paper, which will make me understand myself better. Doing this again and again will improve my awareness, and I will be able to react faster when I have emotions next time Come, create a space between stimulus and response, in this space, I can choose: let my emotions continue to ferment, act and talk through emotions, or calm myself down, or take other measures

    (7) Learning: take in information and receive it selectively. At the beginning, the main source was station b, some of which were games, and later there were books, podcasts (mainly game metaphysics), online courses

    “The Courage to Be Disliked” (a must-read for the curious learning community in spring 2023) has influenced me the most. It was shocking and painful to see teleology in the first place, because I am so used to putting the blame on other things, like depression, how other people treat me, my experiences and the environment, which of course all matter. It is a part of the influencing factors, but this book made me realize how much my inner purpose plays a role. None of the factors I mentioned above can be changed. Only when I take responsibility for my own state and situation Responsibility, and then taking other people’s responsibility off of me, I can change. After reading this book, I clearly feel what kind of choices I have at various moments in my life

    Picture: Creation week visits Yuanjia Studio

    Another thing I do at home is to improve the relationship with my parents. I don’t do much about it. I rely on my mother’s learning and growth. That is her growth process. Old maps” how much effort it took. My dad also ditched the “old map”, but I didn’t talk to him in detail about how he did it

    In short, with the help of my parents, my heart finally took a breath from the struggle between the “police” and my inner will, and I finally got the part of freedom I needed

    I believe that putting your heart’s will first is the way to find what you love; I believe my heart’s desire can lead me in the right direction. For example, I ran to do logic problems for no reason, and I took logic classes because of this

    One very important event at the end of November 2022 was my conversation with my cousins, our first serious chat, but it was an open chat that convinced me that my communication skills were fine. I happily shared my favorite games with them. After that, I talked to him that I didn’t know what I liked, and he said to me: “Don’t you know?” I thought right! Why not make a game? Then I started to check how to make games when I got home, and then I learned programming

    The description of the past two years has come to an end, but it only revealed the tip of the iceberg. Now I can’t imagine how I changed, how I grew up, and how I got to where I am today step by step

    Curious for the third time

    I saw Chi Xiao’s one-on-one paid consulting service on the curious official account, and I wanted to chat with him alone. He said that the fee is not low, and suggested that I sort out the problem and send it to him, and he will reply directly on WeChat without charging

    So I sent him these words:

    During the time I was at home, the game helped me a lot from the motivation level. The one that influenced me the most was ff14. It discussed the meaning of life later, and I felt that I received its answer. I seemed to understand the ff14 music director Zu Jian Zhengqing said that “games can save people’s hearts”. I want to make games that can save people’s hearts. The details may change, but I want to participate in the creation of works that may not make money but have expression. Feasible goal? Can you give me some advice? I’m learning C# programming now. I bought a video course and learned it for 20 days. It feels very interesting (but I don’t know how efficient it is). How can I learn more about game development while learning? I don’t play many games now, and I don’t know much about games and game development. I want to know more about games. Can you recommend me some websites, games, books or videos?

    He said: I’m happy for you. Then answered my questions in detail. It wasn’t long before I saw the announcement of Curiosity’s new gap year program

    In 2023, why am I back to being curious? Because I want to get back curious. I have so much fear of going back to being curious, but even when I’m at my lowest, I want to go, and that’s what I’m connecting with.

    Another reason is that I feel that I am ready. Now I am willing to communicate with people, read books, accept new things, go to school, and grow

    With some despair and some hope, it’s just the beginning. The point of despair is that I have spent a lot of time suffering and struggling, and a lot of knowledge and skills have to be accumulated slowly from now on. The hope is that I have regained the desire to explore the world, connect with others, and grow myself. The hope is that I have the courage to face up to my inadequacy and the courage to start over. The hope is that I have a beautiful belief and goal that can continue to give me strength, and my future studies are all for myself. It can be said that this is my new life.

    Figure: Xinran fashion show displayFigure: Xinran fashion show display

    Sharing one of my favorite quotes. A passage from Fromm’s “Escape from Freedom” reads:

    “Although freedom brings man independence and rationality, it also leaves him isolated, anxious and powerless. He cannot bear this isolation, and he faces two choices: either escape the burden of freedom and re-establish dependence and surrender. relationship, or to move forward and strive for the full realization of a positive freedom based on the uniqueness and individuality of human beings.”

    This passage sums up well the several times I have come to Curiosity and then left Curiosity

    I want to fight for this positive freedom, I’m already on my way.

  • The real active learning is still stepping on the sewing machine at 3 o’clock in the morning

    The real active learning is still stepping on the sewing machine at 3 o’clock in the morning

    Editor’s note:

    At the end of March in the spring of 2023, the curious learning community launched a creative week with the theme of “clothing design”. The curious playmate Gao Shan recorded the huge changes before and after the participation of the curious members in this goal-oriented project from the perspective of an educator

    The Curiosity Learning Community has always advocated “learning in the real”, and specially set up “doing projects” and “drama projects”, as well as engineering weeks and creation weeks, allowing members to design and create a “work” in person for a whole week , it can be transforming an abandoned bus into a library, or building amusement facilities for children…The Curiosity Learning Community has always advocated “learning in the real”, and specially set up “doing projects” and “drama projects”, as well as engineering weeks and creation weeks, allowing members to design and create a “work” in person for a whole week , it can be transforming an abandoned bus into a library, or building amusement facilities for children…

    In the creative week of the spring of the gap year project in 2023, we will take “clothing design” as the main line task, start from scratch, learn the basic knowledge of fashion design, design, cut and sew by ourselves, create clothes that belong to “me”, and respond to the “me and me” self” is the big question. (The 2023 Gap Year Project is divided into four quarters, spring, summer, autumn and winter, each quarter is a theme, each responding to a big question: “I and myself”, “I and others”, “I and society”, “I and the universe”)

    During these 5 days, members of the Curious Learning Community need to complete two pieces of work – a group theme work in the form of draping, and an individual work in the form of plane cutting, and on the last afternoon of the creation week, a A “me” fashion show

    When we first planned to create content for the week, we were worried that it would be a “mission impossible”. After all, the time is too short, and the vast majority of people have zero foundation. Can curious members have enough ability and patience to complete it? In the end, whether it is the performance of the members during this process or the final fashion show, the members of the curious learning community undoubtedly created their own “very likely to succeed”, turning the impossible into possible

    “I hesitated for a long time and decided not to participate”

    One night before Create Week started, I got a message from Creation Week leave from Curious member Xinran. The reasons for her leave are:

    Don’t want to do it, not interested in fashion design;1. Don’t want to do it, not interested in fashion design;

    The priority of this matter is not high, and I want to use this week to learn programming, read books and do other more important things;2. The priority of this matter is not high, and I want to use this week to learn programming, read books and do other more important things;

    I have time anxiety recently and may not be able to do everything3. I have time anxiety recently and may not be able to do everything

    Since the tasks of the creation week need to be completed in a team, in order not to affect other members, I gladly added:

    Since I decided too late and was unfair to my teammates, I will help my teammates

    It is hard for me to disagree with this well-founded, affectionate and righteous request for leave. But when I was about to reply, the picture of several playmates discussing the content of the Creation Week on Jiguan Mountain in February this year kept appearing in my mind. At that time, several partners mentioned the difficulty of realizing the Creation Week. After a heated discussion, we finally agreed that it is better to do it than not to do it. If you don’t try it, how do you know it won’t work?

    Furthermore, in order to allow members to experience fashion design more immersively, we invited a professional fashion designer Xiaoxiao to lead the whole process. Invite guests from different fields such as fashion art, music, and classic men’s clothing to share, including: graffiti artists, painters, hand-dish performers, visual artists, Tibetan trendy brand designers, and participated in “Trendy Playing Human Beings” as a fashion designer Where is Turia from the show; Musician, Rapper, Sponge, the protagonist of “Waste Story”; Wang Yuanhang, a classic men’s wear lover who works at FABRIC SHOP, a traditional tailor that insists on classic aesthetics

    Picture: Turia performing hand disc

    With such a lineup and arrangement, I really don’t want any members to miss it easily. So I replied Xin Ran like this:

    Don’t rush to refuse if you haven’t tried it yet;1. Don’t rush to refuse if you haven’t tried it yet;

    You don’t have to do everything, just treat it as an experience, and do as much as you can2. You don’t have to do everything, just treat it as an experience, and do as much as you can

    In short, I hope you can try it first and don’t give up all of it. If you still insist that you don’t want to participate, write an email to apply for long-term leave

    That night, Xinran didn’t reply to me again. I expected to get an email from her asking for leave. As a result, at nine o’clock in the morning the next day, I met her in the far home studio

    Visiting the Yuanjia Studio is the first official activity of the Creation Week. On that day, under the leadership of the co-founder of “Far Home”, Wen Ya, we learned what a clothing brand is and saw how a piece of clothing changes from a design manuscript to a real object The whole process has a clearer and professional understanding of the process of clothing design and production

    Photo: Visit Yuanjia Studio

    At 11:30 p.m. on the second day after I returned to the community from my distant home, I received another message from Xinran. She asked me “how good is the team’s clothes” and “when to buy fabrics”. When everyone was purchasing fabrics at the Hehuachi Market on weekends, Xinran appeared again. She brought her design drafts and searched for the corresponding materials in the store.

    Picture: Xinran is purchasing materials

    Later, it officially entered Creation Week, and I happily participated in the whole process without any suspense. At the fashion show, she made her own makeup and hair, took off the mask she wanted to wear, and confidently showed off her own handmade clothing

    Figure: Xinran fashion show displays personal works

    From the initial refusal to the final “Xin Ran” participation, I asked Xin Ran the reason for the change. She said that it was what she saw and heard when she visited a distant home that made her decide to participate in the Creation Week. It comes down to curiosity. Yuanjia satisfied her curiosity and brought her more curiosity

    “I don’t want to see this pile of stuff again”

    At first, the clothing concept design seemed to be the biggest problem. After entering the practical session, I discovered that threading needles, threading, cutting, sewing…every step can stump a large number of peopleAt first, the clothing concept design seemed to be the biggest problem. After entering the practical session, I discovered that threading needles, threading, cutting, sewing…every step can stump a large number of people

    On the first day of Creation Week, a boy was very frustrated with tailoring. When cutting the fabric, he cut it wrong every time, and even cut a lot of fabric wasted. In the end, he almost broke down and said to me, “I don’t want to see this pile of things again.” And another girl, Huiwen, after 300 rounds of fighting with needlework, posted n circles of friends in succession to express her anger

    Challenges in new areas are more frustrating than normal difficulties. When new challenges come, in addition to excitement and excitement, we also have anxiety, anxiety and timidity, and even want to stay in a familiar and safe environment. However, the process of growth is the process of achieving countless leaps in unknown fields. From small leaps to big leaps, from quantitative changes to qualitative changes, every leap is a test of our will and spirit

    Hui Wen, who has been tortured thousands of times by needlework, chooses to continue to hand-sewn patterns on the shirts she designed. In the end, she not only learned to use the sewing machine, but also learned to repair the sewing machine, and became a “sewing machine repairer” unanimously recognized by everyone

    Picture: Haiyue fashion show display group works

    The original intention of planning Creation Week is not to cultivate professional fashion designers, but to hope that curious members can experience the entanglement, frustration, excitement and sense of accomplishment in goal-oriented actions. The process is far more important than the result. We have reason to believe that this real experience of collapse and reconstruction will eventually turn into the courage to face challenges in the future

    “At three o’clock in the morning, I’m making clothes”

    There is a popular documentary in the education circle, “Highly Likely to Succeed”, which tells the story of High Tech High, an innovative school in the United States. The school’s most attention-grabbing PBL learning method is popular all over the country. In order to complete the project, the students in the documentary took the initiative to work overtime, showing great enthusiasm and autonomy. Creation Week, the same scene happened countless times in the curious learning community

    The most exaggerated one is that on the day before the Creation Week, from 6:30 in the evening, 9:00 in the evening, 3:15 in the morning… until 6:00 in the morning, different figures appeared one after another on the first floor of the community. Work – step on the sewing machine and rush to make your own clothing worksThe most exaggerated one is that on the day before the Creation Week, from 6:30 in the evening, 9:00 in the evening, 3:15 in the morning… until 6:00 in the morning, different figures appeared one after another on the first floor of the community. Work – step on the sewing machine and rush to make your own clothing works

    At the end of the film “Extremely Likely to Succeed”, there is a boy who voluntarily returns to school during the holidays to complete his work. In the last two weeks of the creation week, Zu Yue still sewed her leather skirt in her spare time. According to her statistics, she sewed for a total of 153 hours, and the craziest thing was from 9 am the previous day to 4 am the next day

    The task that was considered impossible at first is being completed by the curious members in a “crazy” way

    You know, there are no high rewards and no penalties during the creation week. Behind full autonomy is the desire of students to complete one thing and achieve an achievement

    Clinical neuropsychologist William Stixrud, author of the American bestseller The Self-driven Child, believes that “a strong sense of autonomy is key to developing the healthy self-motivation that enables children and adolescents to pursue their goals with enthusiasm.” And enjoy your accomplishment.”

    In a project, whether students have self-awareness depends on whether the learning content is actively selected or passively accepted. In the final analysis, whether students have the initiative. The difference between active and passive is actually the difference between controlling and being controlled. The question is, who would want to lose control of their ego?

    Picture: The circle of friends posted when the team work is completedPicture: The circle of friends posted when the team work is completed

    During the Creation Week, curious members can use elements such as “life and death” and “games” that they are interested in as creative themes, create unique artwork according to their own aesthetics, and purchase favorite fabrics… When they see the most The original fabric gradually becomes a complete work in their own hands, and the sense of accomplishment brought by this process will make them more motivatedDuring the Creation Week, curious members can use elements such as “life and death” and “games” that they are interested in as creative themes, create unique artwork according to their own aesthetics, and purchase favorite fabrics… When they see the most The original fabric gradually becomes a complete work in their own hands, and the sense of accomplishment brought by this process will make them more motivated

    Figure: Members independently build a group notion space

    The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates said, “Education is not to indoctrinate, but to kindle a fire.” Now the curious members have entered the summer phase in full swing. Thinking back to the Creation Week in spring, although it was only 5 days, the experience, feeling and growth brought by this experience will be turned into an important force to challenge the next impossible

  • You Haiyue: Photography and Me

    You Haiyue: Photography and Me

    Editor’s note:

    At the 2022 Autumn Project Achievement Exhibition, You Haiyue, who loves photography, generously showed her photography works to the audience at the market booth, and gave a wonderful speech titled “Me and Photography”, introducing her favorite photography Teacher – Takuma Nakahira, and what photography means to me. This article is a revised version of the speech.

    Hello everyone, I am You Haiyue. When I was 21 years old, I talked about my favorite photography at this place. It was not long after I got my first camera and I was passionate about taking pictures. Although part of the power source may be that the camera is too expensive, don’t feel like you’re wasting money

    那时候我手里常常拿着相机,每天都对身边的环境感到新鲜和好奇,这种感到新鲜的原因,我也在许多书里和一个我喜欢的摄影师——中平卓⻢的经历里看到了。之后也在其他很多地方了解了更多关于摄影的事情,看了一些关于摄影的电影、纪录片、节目、一些书、一些作品。按理说,我现在应该有了更多不错的摄影作品, 可当我越来越了解、认识摄影和相机的时候,我感受到了个很大的问题——相机的侵略性。认识到摄影的这一面之后,我慢慢开始对相机感到恐惧和害怕,也是因为认识到这一点,我对一个场景或者事物的捕捉欲望下降了。
    At that time, I often held a camera in my hand, and I felt fresh and curious about the surrounding environment every day. The reason for this feeling of freshness was also mentioned in many books and the experience of a photographer I like, Takuma Nakahira. see. After that, I learned more about photography in many other places, and watched some movies, documentaries, programs, some books, and some works about photography. It stands to reason that I should have more good photography works now, but when I got to know more and more about photography and cameras, I felt a big problem – the aggressiveness of the camera. After realizing this aspect of photography, I slowly began to feel fear and fear of the camera, and because of this recognition, my desire to capture a scene or thing decreased.

    The photographer just mentioned, Nakahira Takuma, is a photographer I like very much. I know him because of his book “Duel Photo Album” that my friend gave me last summer. That was the first time I saw the thoughts and thoughts written from the photographer’s own perspective, which shocked me very much. When I read it, I can’t stop being surprised and sighing. After reading a chapter, I have to rest for a long time to buffer my shocked brain.

    Then there is a documentary about him, “The Man Who Became a Camera – Takuma Nakahira”. It’s hard to describe the feeling when I just finished watching this documentary. It’s different from the refreshing feeling of voyeurism in photography and the thrill of watching and shooting when I watched “Zoom In”. Zhongping’s documentary only makes me feel comfortable and cute

    One of Zhongping Zhuoma’s works that Haiyue likes

    Documentary “The Man Who Became a Camera – Nakahira Takuma”

    On the contrary, he was different from what I noticed, and this is what surprised me the most. What I like most about him is not his works, but his state when taking pictures. Watching him walk on the street will give you a very comfortable feeling. The way he cheers when he gets the shot he wants is cute.

    Having said all that, it wasn’t his and I’s shared attention that attracted me. He wasn’t in the group of “similar viewers” in my mind. On the contrary, he sees it differently from me. In my opinion, he is only photographing what he sees, rather than expecting a thing to be located where the usual photographer wants it to be. This is very good in my opinion, but it is difficult for me to do it, because what I shoot is just some central points, highlighting some, ignoring some, and there is no meaning. Doing something with such an original intention is not as good as doing advertising design, as long as you know where it will be noticed, and then reproduce it.
    Haiyue’s photography works

    I don’t know if I will still love taking pictures in the future, but at least for me now, it is a terrible thing. Everyone with a camera hides behind the lens and captures what they want, but what do I really want to capture? I know what I’ve said has been said many times by many people since the invention of photography, Many people have thought about these questions—about how offensive photography is to people and how deceptive it is to the viewer.

    海跃的摄影作品 Haiyue’s photography works

    I mentioned at the beginning that now my desire to capture things has decreased. I don’t know if it’s because of the general environment in the past few years, or because I have been in one place for too long, and I no longer have the “freshness”. The “near and far method” is no longer working, and I have lost interest in objects and people on the street. I seem to be an “unqualified photographer” in my evaluation system, because I can only take pictures when I am traveling.
    In a sharing session last month, I introduced Nakahira Takuma to everyone. That night I went to search his information again to see if there was any more content. I saw an article introducing his life and said: “Actually, what Zhuo Ma felt was a kind of general anxiety of the times. …it seems that at a certain point, Zhuo Ma suddenly realized that he was still stuck in the extreme situation and was out of touch with reality, which led to his total self-denial”. I just wish I felt the same way after watching it, and if so, I wouldn’t stop taking pictures.

    海跃的摄影作品 Haiyue’s photography works



    From mid-December to now, I have been experiencing a very strong sense of loss and anxiety, not knowing where to go, and being homesick. Of course, this kind of sadness may also be due to the new crown, coupled with menstruation, and great mood swings.

    I decided to go back to my hometown during the winter vacation and take pictures of every place that has strong emotions in my mind. It’s just out of nostalgia, and those strong desires to “own”, to do such a thing. There is a large hydropower station next to my hometown. People in my hometown often say that if this place is flooded, what will happen to the house. It seemed like everyone was worried about living there. Maybe? Maybe one day that place will be flooded, so while it’s still there, you should take good care of it.

  • Yifan and Xiyan: A talk show for unborn children

    Yifan and Xiyan: A talk show for unborn children

    editor’s notes:

    The final report of the “October Pregnancy” elective project, a talk show prepared without telling me, discussing topics related to women in the workplace and childbirth, not only brought tears to my eyes that day, won applause from the audience, but also subtly helped our society Chong Bajin earned a huge amount of funds for sterilization. On behalf of Mudun, I would like to thank the eternal sisters Yifan and Xiyan. You have brought me far more than I have taught you.

    ——From project director Lin Wenping

     written in front 

    The “October Pregnancy” speech was jointly conceived and discussed by two members of the project team, Yifan and Xiyan, in the form of a talk show, while paying tribute to Farage’s “Letter to an Unborn Child”. This article is an updated version of the speech.

    Watch the video directly

    👇

    Curious Learning Community

    , Like 53

    (The following is the full text of the speech)

    Dear Unborn Child,

    Hello, I am Aunt Yifan.

    I am Aunt Xiyan.

    What we bring to you is

    Electives for your mother Bottle (Lin Wenping):

    Pregnant October project report.

    Regarding why this project was started,

    The reasons for the bottle are:

    One is to echo her life and death class last semester,

    both death and birth

    To be known, to be examined, to be blessed.

    Second, based on the principle of local materials,

    As a pregnant woman, if there is no class at this time, when will I wait?

    Third, childbirth involves common sense in all aspects,

    Meets project standards for the Curious Learning Community.

    Although none of us cared about the science in it,

    Except the bottle.

    So what exactly is our focus?

    We drop other projects,

    What was the reason for choosing this project?

    One is because of its public nature,

    Fertility involves a lot with our

    relevant social issues.

    Second, because of its uniqueness and scarcity,

    Chi Xiao has writing projects every year,

    But you don’t necessarily have younger siblings.

    The third is to be moved by the sincerity, bravery and dedication of the bottle,

    We were still online at the time,

    The bottle pointed the camera at the belly,

    Sunshine said confidently: “This is my teaching aid.”

    Yes, that’s you.picture

    Picture: “October Pregnancy” project team member – Xiyan

    in conclusion,

    none of us is holding

    It comes from the good expectation of nurturing life.

    (except the bottle)

    But we’re really looking forward to your birth,

    Hope to meet you soon.

    We do a few things for this:

    In order to improve the health of pregnant women bottles

    quality of life and happiness index,

    We interrogated relatives and friends from far and wide,

    And videotape.

    I don’t know you in my stomach,

    Is it the same as us that we don’t recognize our relatives.

    Our soul torture includes but is not limited to:

    What do you think of men during childbearing

    What responsibilities should be assumed?

    What did you share with this?

    What else are you going to do?

    Do you call it help?

    Have you taken action yet?

    Or just think about it?

    During the interrogation process, some relevant persons,

    Eyes dodge, afraid to face the camera,

    The 1.8 meter tall man shrunk into a big ball,

    He seemed guilty of his usual inaction.

    But with a growth mindset,

    They changed their ways,

    Your father, Lao Jiang, picked up the

    “Lilac Mom: A Scientific Guide to Pregnancy”

    Open it from the middle.

    Uncle Big Eyes and Uncle Wang Qi proactively

    shared the work of the bottle,

    Although it is not known how well they are currently performing,

    But better not live up to our expectations.picture

    Picture: Members of the “October Pregnancy” project team interviewed Chi Xiao

    At the same time, we also collected

    their views on relevant issues,

    Chi Xiao, the wild daddy whose daughter was just born, is hearing

    When asking whether maternity leave should be given to male employees,

    What a great question to realize.

    Uncle Big Eyes is all for holidays of any kind,

    Whether it’s summer vacation or maternity leave for men.

    Uncle Wang Qi thinks he has an obligation

    Play games online with future children,

    And I look forward to chasing and intercepting him in the game.

    Sister Gao Shan, because of the environment,

    I don’t want to choose to have children.

    So she will be forever sister.

    Brother Xiao Gao, because of his own reasons,

    I don’t want to choose to have children.

    blurted out, too troublesome,

    Quite troublesome.

    Uncle Little Heiqiu, Uncle Qijin and Mother Siyuan,

    For various ill-fated reasons

    Couldn’t talk to you.

    But what we dropped from Uncle Qijin

    In just a few words, he understood his childbearing wishes:

    He also wants to be an eternal brother.

    Because expensive,

    Because expensive.

    But Uncle Qijin changed his mind later,

    He seems to think he’s going to be abused in a nursing home,

    I wish him a happy old age.

    The two of us talked a lot to the camera

    Seven seven eight eight, talk eloquently, give pointers,

    Excited, chattering,

    Point out the direction for the future development of the fertility industry.

    I hope you will cherish it when you grow up

    This piece of early video data,

    Don’t be ignorant of good and bad.

    if you like,

    Remember to get us out of the nursing home later,

    Grateful.picture

    Picture: “October Pregnancy” project team member – Yifan

    You will have many opportunities to see us in the future,

    If one day, Uncle Wang Qi tells you,

    His children disdain to play games,

    Desperate, he invites you to connect with him,

    you can tell him

    Learn to care more.

    If one day,

    Wild Daddy Chi Xiao gave it to you

    Life Advice Eight Character Proverbs

    “Puppy love, early marriage, early birth and multiple births”

    You can choose to say to him:

    “It’s not your birth!”

    “How about your next life?”

    If one day,

    You met Uncle Qijin, Uncle Little Black Ball

    and Siyuan’s mother,

    I hope you will carry on our legacy,

    use our list of questions

    Forced confessions one by one.picture

    Figure: Bajin

    By the way, there is Brother Bajin (a cat adopted by the community),

    Became a father at a young age.

    Although he has no such conscience,

    But we decided to give him the locked out

    Wife and children have one confession and one fairness.

    It will be forcibly sterilized before spring,

    lest he go out and commit crimes again.

    Our charity stand is over there,

    There are eight catties of postcards on the booth,

    Eight catties are recorded on the postcard

    From broken gong voice to show talker

    The bits and pieces of the singer,

    Welcome everyone to sterilize Ba Jin

    Do your part.picture

    Photo: Works booths and charity sales booths in the Curiosity Market

    Although we are not sure how much it will cost,

    But you can’t buy it at a loss, you can’t buy it at a loss,

    If you buy it, you are the shareholder of our great sterilization business.

    You let Bajin no longer move towards

    Some void direction screams hollowly,

    You let Bajin’s own mother, Sister Yin

    No longer pointing at Ba Jin and cursing and yelling,

    You made Sansheng Township one less

    or a few

    The poor single parent cat mother who has no way to redress her grievances,

    You let Sansheng Township lose a few more

    or a dozen

    Poor, homeless single-parent kitten.

    Thanks!

    There is no need to rush to buy first,

    We still have things to confess.

    A bottle mother will take you to the hospital regularly,

    There are a lot of your future buddies out there.

    We were also lucky enough to go there once,

    Experience the atmosphere of a maternity hospital firsthand.picture

    Figure: Understand the process of prenatal inspection

    You were born into a relatively lucky family,

    Your father, Lao Jiang, single-handedly

    Slightly increased the proportion of men in maternity hospitals.

    Lao Jiang’s father resolutely sacrificed his entertainment time,

    opened again on the spot

    “Lilac Mom: A Scientific Guide to Pregnancy”

    Open it from the middle.

    We also resolutely sacrifice entertainment time,

    Conducted fieldwork in the hospital.

    We took the glucose water left in the bottle,

    I think it’s quite delicious.

    So I hid in the mother’s and baby’s room and got bored.

    We found that in the vending machine,

    Only Wangzai milk has risen to 6 yuan,

    aware of the brand name

    The meaning of blessing in this space.

    When we inspected the end of a building corridor,

    I saw the andrology clinic, artificial insemination,

    words such as semen collection,

    understand the three men in line

    The reason for chasing us with strange eyes.picture

    Picture: The bottle is introducing the production inspection report

    We received a leaflet from the confinement center,

    Impressively printed on it is made

    An ad for postpartum skinny without the need for anxiety.

    we walked in only women

    The obstetrics outpatient area that can only be entered,

    The staff blocking the door did not ask for a medical examination form.

    It is a health code and a nucleic acid report.

    We pretended to be pregnant women, and the soldiers split into two groups,

    talk to real pregnant women,

    Almost exposed, almost exposed.

    But we decided to use a growth mindset,

    supplement related knowledge,

    When you are free, treat people as rude

    The stumbled female college student,

    Change another hospital to score twice and create another glories.

    The bottle is after working in the medical examination department for the whole morning,

    The first mother who passed the blood sugar level.

    To celebrate,

    We went to a nearby big shopping mall for a good meal,

    really delicious,

    It is worthy of the efforts of the bottle on a daily scientific diet.picture

    Picture: Delicious meal after the investigation of the obstetrics and gynecology hospital

    Although the bottle is the protagonist,

    It’s the one with the most taboos,

    So you in the belly,

    I also failed to taste the signature roast duck of this store,

    But we abide by the good family rules of caring for food for you,

    All eaten up.

    This meal improved our

    Quality of life and happiness index meals,

    Thanks to you too,

    In your light,

    thanks for treatment.

    before starting,

    We all just want to be sisters forever.

    After it’s over, we,

    I still want to be my sister forever.

    But we do feel the wonder of childbirth.

    Picture: After the report, Yifan and Xiyan communicated with the audience

    If one decides to be a mother,

    Although never met,

    But use your own life to contain another life,

    This really cannot but belong to the mother alone,

    An umbilical cord that cannot really be taken away.

    We also realize that

    the arrival of a child

    The responsibilities that come with both parents are great.

    They run up and down the hospital,

    Just to ensure that you can come to us safely.

    They learn all kinds of knowledge, do all kinds of homework,

    Just to make your stay more comfortable when you first arrive.

    We have also seen the deep dedication of mother bottle for you,

    Witness you grow into a conspicuous big watermelon.

    This work is undoubtedly worthy of respect,

    Unfortunately, this is often not the case.

    Even if being a mother isn’t a trade,

    It’s not an obligation,

    It is only one of many rights that should be possessed,

    However, whether or not this right is exercised,

    Women have to face various,

    from family and society,

    Structural problems stemming from gender inequality.

    And such a system,

    Pushes most women toward childbearing.

    So, reproductive rights are actually

    It also failed to be fully in the hands of women.

    After giving birth, women are often seen as

    The party that should take the initiative to return to the family,

    economically weaker.

    In the family, their physical pain and psychological burden

    are often overlooked,

    Difficult to get the respect and sharing it deserves.

    Instead, the number of children

    And unreasonable factors such as gender,

    Materialized as a womb outright.

    But it shouldn’t be.

    We need a more equal and freer world.picture

    Figure: Messages from the audience

    Our strength may be insignificant,

    But we still stand here,

    made this speech,

    I hope you can pay attention to relevant issues,

    Pay more attention to your side, whether you choose it or not

    Fertile, living females.

    We sincerely hope that

    You can come to a better world,

    In the end, we have a long way to go.

    This is Sister Forever Yifan,

    And forever sister Xiyan.

  • She Zuyue: The Miracle That Did Not Come True Pt.2

    She Zuyue: The Miracle That Did Not Come True Pt.2


    Editor’s Note: At the 2022 Autumn Project Achievement Exhibition, Zu Yue once again gave a lightning speech with the theme of “the miracle will not come true without this”. As “She Zuyue one year later”, she shared her experience and reflections in the “Hamilton” musical project. The following is the full text of the speech.

    Speech scene of “The Miracle That Could Not Come True Pt.2”


    Hello everyone, my name is She Zuyue. At this time last year, I also stood on the stage and gave a speech. The name of that speech was also called “The Miracle That Cannot Be Realized Without This”. To supplement the background story for listeners who don’t know the “Hamilton” project: At the beginning, I saw the musical “Hamilton” for the first time during the summer vacation, which opened the door to a new world, so I began to constantly ask my friends around me during the summer vacation I recommended this drama, and later the scope of influence further expanded, so I persuaded most of my classmates, wrote a petition, and told Chi Xiao: We want to act. Then some activities in the fall of 2021 began to “link” with the goal of promoting the “Hamilton” project. The students also practiced songs whenever they had time: during the lunch break, during the intermission of the sports field, and in the dormitory at night…

    Poster of the musical “Hamilton” – designed and produced by students


    Poster for the musical “Hamilton” – designed and produced by students Everyone’s enthusiasm has also influenced many people, and they have received a lot of help in the process, and successfully performed in Dunku. 1″, reviewing the whole project from the first perspective at that time. Further reading: After the performance of Miracle Pt.1, it would not have come true, and was invited to perform in cooperation with the Chengdu local theater troupe Chemical Factory. The original plan was two performances, but another one was added later. With the professional help of the chemical plant, the effect of the performance more than doubled and received numerous praises. Chi Xiao also wrote a long article of more than 10,000 words reviewing the project. In this article, he said: “More than ten A teenager aged 14 to 17 uses his spare time to act as a director, screenwriter, vocal director, and design and purchase of costumes, makeup, and props. In addition to the actors in front of the stage, the sound tuning, lighting, and subtitles are also performed by the students themselves. Finished.” Extended reading: Education can explode the field | Behind the scenes of the musical “Hamilton” “The premiere on March 27th, the audience was full, and the performance exploded.” Mr. Liu Zhengdong, the manager of the chemical plant, said: “This is the chemical plant The biggest applause since its establishment three years ago!”

    Stills from the musical “Hamilton”

    我也没想到,去年那场演讲并不是《汉密尔顿》的句号,在去年敦库的演出后,好奇学习社区又收到了化工场的邀请,并于2022年4月在化工场进行了三场演出。 相信在座的各位老师同学多少也会听说一些,关于那几个晚上观众们的反应:那段时间我的朋友圈里全都“燃起来了”,各位老师都在不停地转发相关信息。 其实是很受到好评的几场演出,几乎是在好奇的时间中我最高光的时刻了。 西西弗书店创始人薛野老师发的朋友圈中写道:“这些青涩的孩子像是被魔法改变了,自信大方,唱腔周正,演的很炸。我认识的游海跃饰演汉密尔顿,演出了英气,几年前完全想不到。学生导演祖悦引用歌德诗句做了分享,很棒。一百多人很享受这个孩子带来的下午。” 知名媒体人唐建光老师看完化工场的演出后也在朋友圈中说:“今晚是我看得最专注的一场戏,也是化工场实验剧场掌声最多的一场戏。 不过今年我要讲的,和去年的我想表达的,大概不太一样。因为《汉密尔顿》这整个项目给我造成的影响无疑是非常大的,凡事都有两面性,这影响也是。我非常害怕回忆这一年的事情,当时发生的很多事情我都记不清了。 今天,我希望能作为“一年后的佘祖悦”来分享一些我的经历和反思,当然,有很多回忆还是带有情绪的,我还没办法做到完全客观地看待这整件事情,但我正在努力。所以,如果有说错的地方,也欢迎大家指正。
    I didn’t expect that last year’s speech was not the end of “Hamilton”. After Dunku’s performance last year, the Curious Learning Community received an invitation from the chemical plant and performed three performances in the chemical plant in April 2022 . I believe that all the teachers and students here will have heard a little bit about the audience’s reaction in those nights: During that time, my circle of friends was all “ignited”, and all the teachers kept forwarding relevant information. In fact, it was a few performances that were well received, and it was almost my brightest moment during the curious time. Teacher Xue Ye, the founder of Sisyph Bookstore, wrote in the circle of friends: “These young children seem to have been changed by magic. They are confident and generous. , A few years ago, it was completely unexpected. The student director Zu Yue quoted Goethe’s poems and shared it. The circle said: “Tonight is the scene I watched most attentively, and it was also the scene with the most applause at the Experimental Theater of the Chemical Plant. But what I want to talk about this year may be different from what I wanted to express last year. Because the whole project of “Hamilton” has undoubtedly had a great influence on me. Everything has two sides, and this influence is also true. I am very afraid to recall the events of this year, and I can’t remember many things that happened at that time. Today , I hope to share some of my experiences and reflections as “She Zuyue in one year’s time”. Of course, there are many memories with emotions. Work hard. So, if there is something wrong, you are welcome to correct me.

    Stills from the musical “Hamilton”


    First of all, I would like to say something: After my thinking, I think the “this” in “from this” in the title represents ignorance, and all kinds of things derived from ignorance, such as bravery and mistakes.
     

    Anyway, by the time the new season kicks off, Hamilton’s tornado has swept through the community. Before Dunku’s performance, my “tyranny” was already very serious, and it affected everyone’s emotions, making the students not as good as before. Although when I watched it back, I thought that the entire crew was in a very low state at that time. It was the time and energy that had been invested in supporting everyone to complete the final performance. They all looked forward to the end of the performance as soon as possible so that they could rest during the holiday. . But in the end, through the joint efforts of everyone, the performance was successfully completed, and the assistance of teachers from all walks of life was also received in the middle, and the help was rooted in the efforts of the students. These efforts and enthusiasm really touched many people. The guidance of each teacher added points to the performance. The emotions of the classmates undoubtedly returned to me. Since December 2021, my state has been largely affected by these emotions and has been very depressed. Then, on the day of the final performance, Chi Xiao invited Dong Ge, the manager of the chemical plant, to invite us to perform two more performances there on behalf of the chemical plant. What a chance, if I hadn’t treated the crew this badly before this. Although we tried our best to agree, the crew was faltering. During the winter vacation, many students asked to quit out of curiosity and no longer participated in the follow-up rehearsal of Hamilton. I was very stressed to find new members, and I was also confused. Is it my fault for their withdrawal?


    A winter vacation has passed, and one week before the start of the new season, I ask everyone to return to the community in advance to prepare for the next performance. But during that week, there was no rehearsal plan, which made the non-local students waste a week in Chengdu. During that time, I don’t know how many times the teachers received complaints from my classmates in private. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I could feel the change in the atmosphere: the passion at the beginning of the last quarter was gone. , the rest are only people who are supported by the cost, hoping to be worthy of their own achievements. The “final performance” that used to inspire the students the most did not play any role. At that time, the entire crew was wary of my emotional bomb, which was a very bad thing, and it also affected the state of the crew members even more.

    Even Ziying, Tuha, and Yunhao who joined in that season were more or less affected by this drama, and their own conditions began to deteriorate.

    Students are rehearsing “Hamilton”


    Not only that, at that time I also used the so-called “student director” position to hope to add drama to myself, but was strongly opposed by other students. The worst day I remember was that before the end of the performance, I was working with and adjusting the lights in the chemical plant until two or three in the morning. At the end, everyone’s silent complaints almost overwhelmed me. No one stayed to collect things, except Yunhao and Ziying. I put away all the props and took a taxi back to the community with them. Finally, the finale began. But I believe that every student is probably the same as me. After the end, I only feel empty. The cheers gave me some comfort for a short time, and then the emptiness remained. I remember watching the audience go up and ask for a photo with other leading actors. I looked at it and felt very hopeless. I don’t have a deep memory of those performances, only a feeling of relief. The end of the final show is probably the real sign of “the beginning of a new season”. So I am really grateful to all the students who participated in the performance and the teachers who helped us. Whether it was in Dunku or in the chemical plant, everyone showed their abilities and let the audience see and hear our voices. Half a year of hard work really paid off. And this finished product is an effect that cannot be achieved without one person.

    Coming-of-age ceremony at Xiamen seaside in November 2022


    I believe that every student who participated in “Hamilton” has grown up – no matter how bad it is, they must have the ability to “sing the entire “Hamilton” song”. Even if it is just this, I think it is a very powerful thing. When Chi Xiao suggested that I write this article before, he said: “In many previous projects, the teachers still played a strong leading role. But you are really good at the project “Hamilton.” This sentence made me feel good. Quite a few, and I also hope that all the students who participated in the performance can know how difficult they have accomplished. From the end of 21 to April 22, for me, the really painful things came: first, I went to the chemical factory to interview the assistant director of the new drama and was rejected; I became the target of public criticism. I can still remember standing on the podium, and the audience complained a lot. I couldn’t say anything, and I recorded the questions raised by everyone on the blackboard while weeping. Then there was the serious conversation between Chi Xiao and me. I have become estranged from many classmates around me, and I dare not talk to them; I also did some crazy things during the winter vacation that I regret very much… Of course, it may also be because the performance of “Hamilton” consumed a lot of energy from my classmates , The performance of the drama “Sichuan Good Man” in the first half of 2022 has reached a new level of stretching. This is also a big blow to me from “Hamilton”

    Lightbox made by Zuyue


    During that time, the question I thought about the most was: Is my bad performance in “Hamilton” the reason why I was treated like this? Do I really deserve to be treated like this? is this fair These three questions remain unanswered. Looking back at that time now, my biggest gains so far are: First, it has brought a shock to my way of dealing with people, enabling me to treat other people more sincerely, reflect on shortcomings in time, and make me feel better in these reflections. Second, it gave me more opportunities to reflect and grow as a director: I am no longer an “imitator”, but hope to express myself in the play and find someone who can cooperate with the crew members. Balance; third, let me start thinking about “how to face the mistakes I made”, and the balance between “being responsible for the results” and “not punishing myself for others’ mistakes”. If it weren’t for “Hamilton”, I would never have touched these issues at all. I sincerely thank all the classmates and teachers who helped me, and everyone who listened to my speech. This is the end of “The Miracle That Could Not Be True Pt.2”, I hope that in “The Miracle That Could Not Be True Pt.3”, I can look at the whole thing more objectively. thank you all.

  • Yezi: Love life to the fullest

    Editor’s Note: This is a coming-of-age ceremony on November 11, 2022, when Yerzi gave her son, Xiong Zhongyu, a coming-of-age blessing at the fifth coming-of-age ceremony of Curionesty College. Yerzi is a senior media personality, educational innovation practitioner and researcher, founder of “Nidunsha Kindergarten” and “Teenage Life Rehabilitation”.

    Photo/Yezi at the coming-of-age ceremony

    Greetings Dear Seven Pounds: Today is your 17th coming-of-age ceremony. In fact, on my mom’s birthday on May 26th this year, I already felt that you have really grown up and come-of-age ceremony. On that day we played a game with my aunt and uncle, Auntie Xiao Hui and Auntie Li Han: Before you die, if you have a 12-year-old child, what would you leave your child with the most precious dying words? What you said that day is still fresh in my mind: 1. Improve your cognitive level and view the world holistically. Your perception of the world shapes you and determines what kind of person you will become and what kind of character you will have in the future.2. There should be love, great love. You should have compassion for the world.3. Have pursuit, try your best to pursue what you like, there is not much meaning in a peaceful life, have a big and ultimate dream. I almost shed a tear when I heard your words the other day. I was relieved to see that you had begun to think about the value and meaning of life, and that you were trying to connect yourself with others and the world, and I was happy to see that you had already stepped into “the way of the way”. From the time you left traditional school in 6th grade to now, you have transformed from a naive boy to an independent thinking young man in 7 years. I am deeply grateful to Curionesty College for all the companionship and support it has given you, and I have witnessed how a good Curionesty College can help a child become accepting of himself, loving others deeply, and loving this imperfect world.

    Photo/ Group photo


    Once upon a time, in a traditional learning community, you said that your classmates were all rivals, you didn’t have a single friend, and you were bullied by your classmates. But in Curious, the bottle told me: you are kind, gentle, and also the classmates’ paragraph player and happy fruit, you are one of the most popular students in Curious, and your classmates love you very much. And you also told me that you love every single one of your classmates in Curiosity, and you don’t even want to go home on weekends, you want to be with your classmates. I am so surprised and touched by this change, honestly, this is 100 times more important than you have learned a lot of knowledge. Once upon a time, I was a mother who spoiled her child, a mother who held you in her hand for fear of dropping and in her mouth for fear of melting. You were in fourth grade and couldn’t tie your shoes. I peeled your eggs and put them in your hand in the morning. I gave birth to you at the ripe old age of 37, all of which I understood, but I couldn’t control my flood of love for you. But in Curious, you not only learned to take care of yourself and have a sense of responsibility, but you also cared about the new students, talked to them, and used your own experience to encourage the new students to cherish their time, study hard, and not waste their time on video games. When I think of when I first went to Curious, your work schedule was to play video games all night and sleep all day during the day, and now you are beginning to persuade the new students, which is really marvelous. Once upon a time, you looked up to your mom, thinking that she knew everything and was your support. But now you’re starting to dislike your mom, saying that she doesn’t read novels, doesn’t know history, and that any two of your curious classmates have read more books than I have. The traditional learning community is about grades and scores, but your learning community is all about who has read more books. Last year, you even finally got runner-up in the reading league. You started to worship your president, Ji Xiao, and for a while, Ji Xiao’s big avatar was actually your cell phone’s screen saver, which honestly made me a little jealous. One weekend you came home and excitedly told me that Ji Xiao was so awesome that he had invited Chen Danqing to come to the learning community to talk to his classmates. Your eyes sparkled with the light of enlightened minds and throbbing youth. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Tan Pek Niu again at the coming-of-age ceremony today. In wonder, you grew up with your classmates, and your friendship often touched me. I remember one time you were at Wu Han’s house until 3 o’clock in the middle of the night in order to make a video for Jing Yi. In that video, in addition to love and friendship, I saw your cooperation, creativity, and spark of ideas.

    Photo/Xiong Zhongyu expresses his thoughts on adulthood

    In fact, I’ve always had a wish, and I’ve told you that I’d love to invite you and your classmates to come over to our house for a feast and a sea of conversation, and I’d love to join you. Mom is a good cook, and my pickled pepper triangular peaks are still a little bit famous in Chengdu’s innovative education circle. But I was still rejected by you, and I’m not angry at all because you’ve grown up and I respect your choice. Anyway, you are free, especially from today’s coming-of-age ceremony, you have to try to be an independent person, try to face all kinds of situations in life: good and bad, full of vitality and full of despair, all are your own life. Of course, with the knowledge, experience and personality foundation you have now, you may still be far from being able to cope with the complexity and difficulty of life. Next year, when you graduate from Curious, your secondary school career will come to an end, but this must not be the end of your life learning, but should be another beginning. If you are not a lifelong learner, you will easily be eliminated from society. I also have some advice for you as you are about to enter society.1. “The more I love mankind, the less I love specific people.” This is a quote from Dostoevsky, and you need to be vigilant not to become such a person. Sometimes you have to come home and tell me about some of the thoughts and discussions you and your classmates have had: for example, how to fight for civil liberties under the new crown? What can you do as an ordinary person in the Tangshan beating incident? You and your classmates are busy thinking about the things of all mankind and the fate of Chinese people, which shows me your ability to think independently. At your age, when most test-taking children still only know how to care about grades and scores, you are thinking much deeper, and I am very pleased with that. But I want to remind you of this: to love abstract human beings costs nothing but thinking and writing. Whereas to love a concrete human being, it takes time and energy. For example, if your mother-in-law at home is sick and bedridden for a long time, do you want to talk and chat with her often? You are already 17 years old, nanny Auntie Pang still have to do your laundry, can you do it yourself? Can you clean up the garbage from instant noodles every time you eat them? Do some small things around you that seem to be very small, starting from loving your loved ones and friends around you, to practice your ideals about love, which is more important and more real than ambitious goals, you have to remember that the road to the faraway land never starts from every step of your feet.

    Photo/Students listening attentively

    Find the strength to grow in the reality of the situation, and don’t egg it on. You are now in the prime of life, in the family of curiosity, you are free to speak, longing for the good. However, once you enter the society, it is possible that you will find some dark side of reality, which may impact on your values, and even think that life is not worth it, and you will despair because you are powerless to change. How in the world should you stick to your ideals? The law of doing things in this world is divided into inner game and outer game. The outer game is this time and environment we are in, which is beyond our control. If we focus on the outer difficulties, then very soon, nothing is possible for us anymore. But the inner game is to stimulate one’s own potential, this is the challenge that can be reached, this is the destiny that is in one’s own hands. So the core of a person’s self-growth is to reduce the interference of the external game, accept what we can not change, but at the same time do not forget the sky above us, as well as a person’s conscience, in the unsatisfactory reality of the environment to try to find a way to live with themselves, a kind of growth force, to bring their own potential to play to create the greatest possibilities in life. 3, to keep the good habit of reading to old age. Find a life-long love of interest. Two weeks ago, Mr. Bottle told me that seven pounds had built up the habit of reading. I was so happy to hear that. A year ago, you also told me that Chi Xiao told you that the distance between you and Cheng Xinyu (an excellent sister in Curionesty College) is the distance of 300 books. Now, I also find that you spend less and less time playing games and more and more time reading books. A child who loves to read books, I believe it’s hard for him to become bad again, and he can’t change even if he wants to. Because in the book, you have appreciated the wisdom of mankind, the fruit of social civilization, you have opened your eyes, and gained the pleasure of climbing in the spirit. When you have reached the top of the mountain, I believe that you are no longer willing to descend to the bottom of the valley. So, please keep the good habit of reading until old age.

    Picture/Tutor Mr. Bottle and Zhongyu and Siyuan

    Also, I hope you don’t stop exploring yourself, and make sure you find an interest that you will love for the rest of your life. As far as my own feelings are concerned, if a person’s work can be aligned with his interest, this will enter the highest level of life. At this point, I know you are still confused, not knowing what you are really good at? Not sure if you are going to college next year or still going to work? In this world, some people are a bit lucky and find their destiny very early; some people seem to be wasting their time and have never found what they really love and pursue. And then there are those who spend their whole life and may not even find themselves. But no matter what, you can’t give up the journey of finding yourself. You search hard and there will always be a door that opens for you. You have to understand that the self is like the trunk of a big tree; only when the trunk grows will the branches, flowers and fruits grow.

    Photo/Zhong Yu and his Mother


    Reaching goals starts with the smallest feasible action. Seven pounds, I know you and your classmates are all loving, courageous, and pursuing children, which is also the slogan of Curionesty College, but sometimes I am a little worried that your goals are too ambitious, and it’s too complicated to start actions, and as a result, you may not be able to hold on to them for a long time before you give up. In other cases, you want to be sure of everything before you dare to take action, and you end up suffering from too much pursuit of perfection, which leads to a long time of inaction. For example, two years ago you opened a public number, but you think you can’t write to your satisfaction, so you simply give up updating. You have to understand: the process is more important than the result, and completion is more important than perfection, so the best way to reach your writing goal is to start from the minimum feasible action, which can be started from writing 100 words a day, or even from posting a circle of friends every day. There is never a tomorrow if you don’t start. If you start with a very small action, the sky is the limit and the water drips over the stone. Big strengths come together from small persistence. Lastly, I want to send you a poem, and unfortunately, even though my mom loves to write poems, I posted this one because I saw it on the internet and I thought it suited your personality:

    Let yourself be like a river
    Neither resist nor panic
    Love life in all its fullness
    Love every sunrise
    Love every late night
    Good night, darling.

    November 11, 2022 at 25:00 a.m. Love, Mom.

  • Tanboniu: We Honor People in Time

    Editor’s Note: This is the speech given by Mr. Tan Perniu at the fifth coming-of-age ceremony of Curionesty College on November 11, 2022, and this speech has been compiled and revised based on the live video. Tan Bo Niu: a scholar of late Qing history, especially dedicated to the history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the history of the Hunan army, and the biography of Zeng Guofan. He is the author of “Battle of Tianjing: A Record of Military and Political Correspondence in the Late Qing Dynasty”, “The Remnants of the World: A History of the Late Qing Dynasty Taken out of Context”, “The Rise of the Hunan Army: A History of the Struggle of Hunan People in the Modern World”, “The Shengshi is Prisoned by Writings”, “The Brightness and Depth of Modern History”, “After all, Who is the First to Achieve Great Results in Battle? Recorded TV lecture “Legend of Hunan Army”. Academic advisor for the documentary film “Record of Xiang Army’s Eastward Expedition” and “Zeng Guofan, a Close Friend”. Reviewer of “Autumn of Heaven”.

    Photo/Mr. Tan Boniu at the coming-of-age ceremony of Curionesty College-Xiamen

    I see that some of the five students have met before. First of all, I would like to congratulate them on their first coming-of-age ceremony, and I think they should have a script, but what I am going to say today is not quite the same as the script because coming-of-age is a very real thing, and I would liketo say a few words that are true to life. In my opinion, the word “adult” has two meanings, one is a person and the other is time, and the word “adult” is time, which means that to become an adult is to honor a person in time. And this time we can see that the time we live in today is our time, and we can understand and observe and analyze this time, but how this time became what it is today, we should also understand.

    1

    We know that all people, Chinese, foreigners, yellow people, white people, black people have a common ancestor, that is, he came from Africa, that is to say, in the beginning all people were in the same place, there was no very special development, but to this day we see that there are very big differences in the civilizations, countries, communities, and because of these differences we have wars, alliances, trade, spread of religions. and all this is both for unity and a cause of all the divisions, and this is a big development of our time.

    Specifically, as Chinese, we have a history of civilization of more than 3,000 years, and the civilization older than ours is about 6,000 years of Egyptian civilization as we know it now, so we are at the back of the list of ancient civilizations, but I personally think that no matter whether it’s the 3,000 years of China’s history of civilization, the 6,000 years of Egypt’s history of civilization, the even shorter history of civilization in the Americas, or the more than 2,000 years of European civilization, they all have a common feature, especially for those who are in this era. They all share a common feature, especially visible to those who are in this era, we are much luckier than a Victorian, we are much luckier than a person in the mid to late Qing Dynasty, and this is the greatest feature of our era.

    It is because we are living in the world after the Industrial Revolution, the world before and after the Industrial Revolution are two worlds, just like what Ji Xiao said just now, the world after the Industrial Revolution is a world with light, because there is electricity, human beings have discovered electricity and are able to use it, and in the era after the Industrial Revolution the dissemination of our information and the swiftness of our transportation are far more than that of all the people in the ancient times, and this is the most fortunate thing about the modern people, and this is of course also the This is one of the reasons why modern people are far more anxious than ancient people, whether about physical and mental illnesses or internal and external anxieties.

    We modern people can’t find the kind of emotion that the ancient people had, because sincere emotion requires a long period of isolation, a long distance separation, before you can experience it alone with your heart, and emotion is the source of all rationality and sensibility in human beings, and the brewing of emotion is the most important, and it’s also the source of knowledge, but we modern people, because of the industrial revolution, we’ve lost all of that forever.

    So I think that the 3,000 years of Chinese history before the Industrial Revolution, and even the 6,000 years of Chinese and Western history, it’s a long cycle, whether it’s the Egyptian elders, or the European monarchs, or the Chinese emperors, essentially they practiced the same kind of system, that is, the system of one family ruling over a large group of people, and all of the ancient civilization and culture is overwhelmingly about how to maintain that rule and how to All ancient civilizations and cultures were largely about how to maintain this rule, and the knowledge that came out of it, and the ancient laws, and the moral requirements were all about this central point, and it was only in this process that the people were able to go and enjoy a little bit of their own happiness as human beings – that’s what I mean by saying that the ancient history was by its very nature a very dark place, and that if we want to look for light in the ancient world, of course there is light, and we can’t say that it’s not there, but it’s not there. If we were to look for light in the ancient world, of course it was there, not to say it wasn’t there, but it took a very good pair of eyes, but the industrial revolution changed all that. Because the industrial revolution allowed a lot of people to receive the same knowledge, the isolation of information became a very difficult thing to do, and because the development of trade also made it very difficult for an isolated monarchy to emerge, then everything needed to change, and these changes have not been accomplished up to now, which means that the coming-of-age ceremony of the new mankind, of the new history, has not come into being, and it would be better for the coming-of-age ceremonies of you five to be able to set a timely Set the date.

    We are all in the midst of history, and this is what we are in such a new era, so-called new era that we often talk about, we are going to usher in a big era, this is the big era that we are in, that we are going to meet, and this is a more fortunate moment than many, and of course the big era generally, often, and all the time, means wars, pestilences, tyrannies, and outbursts of culture and art, and a lot of individuals, a lot of specific people inside the big era can ascend to the top, this is not determined what kind of people, can be on the top of that wave, but there are also many people, who, for unknown reasons, will be buried in the middle of the wave.

    We, as human beings, we commemorate our birth, we commemorate our growth, but we also have another important thing that we understand that we are in the midst of time. We commemorate our growth and at the same time we usher in our death, which we will get closer to. We are not going to go into unlucky words, but we as rational people should understand this: the important de and not how to commemorate how you die in the future, but that you come to understand what death means to you, and what growth means to you, and that you have this kind of mindset, and that in the process you are really human beings in the midst of time to feel it all.

    Picture / Remote blessing from parents

    How do we understand growth, how do we understand people in a time like the present, coming up to huge times as well as people who are in such big times, and that’s the word that precedes what I just said about adulthood inside – time.

    3

    As for human beings, I have just said that in the ancient dark world there was light, at least one kind of light, and both our Eastern sages and our Western predecessors, in some aspects, they were in agreement, for example, the highest kind of enjoyment a human being can pursue in this world, the most difficult kind of knowledge he can pursue, and both of them would agree that it is beauty. The hardest and most pleasurable knowledge one can pursue is beauty. Of course this beauty may be different from the definition of beauty in general school education, and also different from the definition of beauty in various schools, because this beauty is not only artistic and aesthetic beauty, it is a state of human existence and life. And this state of beauty, I’m too late today to explain how I understand the East and West on the composition of this beauty, but I think it has a few key words, you recognize beauty, you create beauty, you need these key words:

    Photo / Coming-of-age ceremony group photo

    The first is honesty. Honesty is not just so that you can get along well with people, it is not so that you can get a good name on earth for not lying, it is only if you are honest with yourself that you can gain real knowledge, what you know, what you don’t know, what you have foreseen, what you would like to forget, what you are able to forget, and what you are not able to forget, all of this makes up your honesty. But this honesty is only within you; we cannot see how a man is honest unless TA shows integrity.

    The second is integrity. Integrity is when you gain knowledge with honesty, then when faced with many things, when faced with different situations, you can make your judgment, and you have the ability to make your judgment, which means that you will know what is meant by right and wrong, you will know what should be done and what should not be done, what is wrong and what is right, what has not been done but I want to do it, what has been done What I regretted doing, these are integrity. Of course when you have achieved integrity, you have only made it clear that you are a reasonable person and an insightful person, but at this time you have not yet reached the state of beauty.

    The realm of beauty is the third step. In the sense that you have the knowledge that human beings need, the knowledge that you yourself need, in the sense that you know what is right and what is wrong within that knowledge, in such a way that you take that step of your own, that step of your own life, and you become a courageous person, and you go on to really do those things that you think are worthy of being done, that you ought to be doing. Only then do you become a person of beauty, a friend of beauty, and a friend of time.

    With these words I hope to be able to give some blessings to five friends who look like they are already sunburned.

  • Chi Xiao: Being an adult with light in the eyes

    Editor’s Notes:

    This is the November 11, 2022 message from Ms. Ikkyo at the Curionesty College 5th coming-of-age ceremony.

    Photo/Mr. Chi Xiao giving a speech at the coming-of-age ceremony

    Welcome to Curionesty College’s fifth coming-of-age ceremony.

    Each year on November 11th, we will sink our teeth into something serious while others go on a shopping spree. It will be a time to get together and give our 17 year old students the blessing of growing up to be adults when others are proud to be bachelors.

    1

    Just in case you don’t know, I repeat every year another important reason why we chose this date.November 11th is the final day of World War I. It is the first day of World War II. Our first coming-of-age ceremony, 2018, coincides with the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI. We want to look forward on this day to the disappearance of war and the replacement of it with a mitzvah. Confucius said that rites are lost and sought in the wild. This means that a certain “rite” that has been generally lost in mainstream society should be sought out in the people.

    And this rite, as I understand it, is summed up in one word: civilization.

    The coming-of-age ceremony is one of the most serious programs at Curionesty College, and we expect everyone to take it seriously and prepare for it. Because it’s the civilized thing to do, and war is never the opposite of civilization. It always breaches the boundaries of dignity.

    Photo / Mr. Zhang Tongqing
    Founder of Take Charge Initiative, Founder of Qizheng Children’s Reading, Founder of Children’s Positive Reading Education Theory

    Franklin said that there is no just war in the world and no unjust peace. War is full of uncertainty and harm, while peace guarantees certainty and growth. Don’t underestimate the power of cumulative growth. You have done many projects filled with uncertainty at Curious, because real life is like that. The only coming-of-age ceremony that demands extra certainty is the one that requires everyone to write carefully and read aloud in formal attire. Because writing is more certain than speaking. Because we want you, on this day, to fully identify the forces of certainty that can sustain you as you grow into adulthood, to safeguard your growth in certainty. The choice of this day for the coming-of-age ceremony, and the most serious way of approaching this day, carries deep within it one of our hopes for you, which is that you will be a defender of peace, a person who does not tolerate harm to others, and a civilized person.

    2

    I know the five of you must have been under a lot of pressure during this time. To prepare for something serious, you must be extra cautious. All of us are afraid of saying and doing the wrong thing. But don’t let your fear keep you from doing things, but let it help you to do better things and to do things better too. Every year today, I have to find some more differences between adults and non-adults. A true adult must be more resilient and able to regulate his or her behavior under different pressures. Many nominal adults appear to be adults, but are not. Many will crumble under pressure, many will compromise under pressure. Especially in these years of your near-adulthood, in the foreseeable future, I want you to remain resilient. Fight stress with a growth mindset.

    3

    A friend used to say that the process of schooling is the process of making the light go out of children’s eyes. It is because we don’t want to sit back and watch such a tragic situation that we at Curionesty College are making all sorts of attempts. I wish education could be normal, and that normal education wouldn’t dim the light in your eyes. I wish we could try to protect the light in your eyes. All five of you, I’ve basically known you since you were 12 or 13 years old or even earlier. I see the state you are in today, I see your eyes, and comparing them to your peers, I know that our efforts have made some difference, and I hope that you will stop relying solely on the protection of others during this time before graduation. Learn to protect yourselves as well, and protect the light in your eyes.

    Photo/Gift Giving Session

    We had the privilege of having our coming-of-age ceremony at the beach today. This is different from the past. I would like to ask you to imagine if you did not have a map of the world as it exists today in your mind, would you, standing on the shore, be willing to cross the ocean? Actually, crossing the ocean is not even an accurate term anymore; if you didn’t know the opposite shore existed, it would only be called crossing the ocean. Are you willing to try? Or, with a growth mindset, under what conditions are you willing to take on the challenge to see? And how should those conditions be reached? Since ancient times, there have been many warriors who have rafted the oceans alone. What kind of people were they? They were actually ordinary people, but they had light in their eyes. Their curiosity allowed them to see the light of the unknown. They could see what existed on the other side.

    Photo/Parents Remote Blessing Session

    At the beach, some people can only see obstacles, but those with light in their eyes can see anticipation and love. Their eyes see the sea and the sky, and they reflect the shiny sparkling waves. I want all of you to be adults with light in your eyes. One day, I hope it will light up your eyes not only with the reflection of the sun, but also with the brightness of your heart. I sincerely wish you all the best as you grow into adults! Thank you all!

  • Wu Han: Born as a human, grows up as a human

    Wu Han: Born as a human, grows up as a human

    Wu Han, 18 years old, joined Curionesty College in October 2019 and graduated in July 2022. He loves comics and insists on updating his work on B-site, and is an UP master with more than 6,000 followers. After graduation, Wu Han will continue to work as a freelance manga artist.

    Hello guys.

    Who am I? I am an individual. I’m an individual who walked onto an intersection, in front of a door.

    Walked eighteen steps for 6,645 days.

    Why personal?

    我为什么生为人,我为什么长了一个脑子,长了一双眼睛,长了手、耳朵、嘴?它们或许是为了明天——或者说将来的今天而长的。我从何时起,拥有了它们,然后有了需要用它们来完成的事。我站在了世界的土地上,成为一个个体,此时此刻我开始学习,如何真正地成为一个人。

    我已经开始去创造,而且在去年已经迈出第一步了。一个幼稚,但忠于内心的童话。那是一个故事,用充满挑战与可能的载体讲述出来,而且还未结束,每当我想到它的未来时,几乎就不去在意别的阻碍了。

    在这之后,我便开始步入死亡。此后的很长一段时间,我都将走在同样的道路上面。直到下一个转折点来临。这不会是对自己的祝福,只是一个预告,一个期待。

    图片
    将近三年的时间,好奇对我的改变很大,我似乎更明显地成为了一个人。人,不是什么褒义词,但我生为这样的个体,却无比幸运。我可以向上攀登,当然,永远达不到山巅。但我有眼睛,有手,耳朵,嘴,我或许会用我拥有的,来将手里的笔握得越来越紧,或许还能用它来改变些什么。

    我将要出门了,实际上,我刚刚开始。接下来的经历不会令人放松,反而是更严峻的挑战。我看到前面有一个高高的路标,要走过去很难,但也令人兴奋。我不知道我将为此填充多少富有魅力与棱角的知识,也不知道那支路标将带给我什么,但这不重要,我只需将它带来世上就行了。

    到这里,我不自量力地献上一个警示:爱。我当然爱,我爱我的小房间,爱自己的创造与将要创造的可能性。但同时要爱世界,这样才能活着。本就是由爱塑造,才从此走到这里。过度的愤怒与仇恨会让人放弃生命的美的。真实的世界或许不那么美,但它多么正常,它就是“一切”。于是人要爱生命,并且不因为有什么相反的惩罚。

    所以我要感谢,推动我的生命的人事物。

    我想该看向他们。

    图片
    我要死了。

    每走一步,死亡的山便压得越近。当人的目标的终点终究会是一座坟墓时,该如何是好?这个地方的从头到尾的言语,离不开“我”这个字,但这个“我”是终究要消失的。该这么承认自己的努力一无是处吗?答案当然是没有的,至少现在没有。不过不管是否真心,我还是要感谢死亡,它让我的时间不那么容易被浪费,让人知道世界是有终点的。于是就攀爬,没完成的,就去充实;搅成一团的,就去缕清,努力地爬到一个满意的高度。等到死亡突然到来时,说不定还能不紧不慢地说一声“你好”。

    遥远又临近的未来,死亡问人:“你为什么不害怕。”人说:“我已成人,我有了智慧,也得到绽放。”

    我生而为人,之后也将成长为人。

    文字:吴汉

    图片:昕妍

  • Wu Han: Adulthood is a bright yellow

    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!