New Year

It is officially 2026! I still cannot believe that I have been in Guangdong for a year already, and this year has been a year of change, growth, and evolution for me. I have been through so much within the past 12 months and I simply feel like I have grown more than I can ever imagine. I have had so many shifts in perspectives and perceptions through all the experiences—going back to Beijing for MUN, business operations, transferring to a new school, and getting used to life in a brand new city. If you were to tell me my life will be like the way it is a year ago, I would not have believed it, as there simply has been so much change and so much transformations that has given me. For example, when I first came to my new school, I was shocked that there were no student organizations and even no MUN. This had given me the chance however, to be the founder and secretary general of my school’s MUN club and be more proactive in the activity. I also was able to truly learn to be openminded, and not fix my own ideas and preferences towards a thing, but rather towards a set of values and beliefs, which I quickly established after moving here to Guangdong.

I now have the chance to go to Macau whenever I want and have malls there be my usual place of getting on walks, which I guess is almost equivalent to the streets of Beijing’s city center, although Beijing still feels like my forever home. This makes me recall a quote from Dune, saying that if one develops emotions for one place, it should not be appreciated, as missing a place and emotions like so are what “cows use to make love”. I don’t think that is true for me because as a teenage girl, having a place where I can call home increases my sense of belonging instantly, and it gives me reason to feel purposeful about life. I sometimes felt lost or wanted to quit so badly, but in the end, I just always tell myself to keep on going, because if I know what I want, then I am going to pursue it no matter what it takes. Wish 2026 will be a year full of growth and happiness ✨