Editor's note
School starts, and another group of freshmen have begun their college life. At this time, those "student tyrants" who take high scores and go to prestigious schools always become a hot spot of public opinion. In fact, in addition to the aura of prestigious schools, there are more ordinary college students with "two books" and "three books". They constitute the mainstream group for the development of higher education, the huge foundation at the bottom of the pyramid, and the main force for future job hunting. To pay attention to them is to pay attention to the growth of most young people. From them, you can see the lives of ordinary people, and you can see the future expected by ideals and struggle.
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The university "entrepreneurship training camp" told me to be a small online shop owner is not ashamed
Chen Mingquan
I remember that in the year of the college entrance examination, at a family gathering, my uncle who was doing business in Yiwu drank some wine and patted my shoulder and said: Young man, take the exam and enter a famous university Guangzong Yaozu. Don't "go to the market and set up stalls" like the uncle. At that time, I laughed and laughed with me, with embarrassment in my smile-because I knew very well that the famous university was destined to miss me. Later, when the college entrance examination was released, I only took two exams. The uncle saw me again and didn't say anything about famous universities and stalls. He just said to me: I can be a college student, and I am much better than their generation. I read it hard. There will be promises in the future.
Although I didn't know much about the adult world at that time, I could already vaguely feel that the uncle was actually full of unwillingness to his social identity. Although his income is pretty good, in his (and my other elders) view, small business is not very popular after all. In the environment of my growth, the first-class way out of people’s eyes is to study and enter the system. Even if you do it yourself, you must have a properly registered company to be called the "boss". Let people take a high look.
However, my destiny is very interesting. Not only did I have limited talent for reading, but I actually went to the Internet to "set up a stall" after graduation and became a small online shop owner. However, what is different from back then is that today I am no longer ignorant, nor do I feel ashamed to “set up a stall” at all. In fact, it is the days I spent in university and what I learned I became an online shop owner who was able to support myself, and at the same time straightened my ideas.
In university, the name of my major is "e-commerce". When I applied for the exam, I thought that after learning this, I would be able to work in companies like Ali and JD.com in the future. However, the reality quickly gave me a head-on-the first professional class, the teacher told us: Those big companies' jobs are prepared for 985 and 211 students. As for us, it is better to let go of our fantasy and be prepared. Use your own hands to "dig" a way out for yourself.
What's valuable is that the school did not "let go" to us because of the limited talents of our "saplings". Instead, it taught us a lot of skills to survive in society. Before, when I communicated with a cousin who was studying at 211 University, I used to think that college life is about taking classes, collecting credits, taking qualifications, and mixing clubs, but I never thought of it: In my school, the main content of the course is Entrepreneurship practice that lays the foundation for us to leave school in the future.
Since the sophomore year, the college has required each of us to have our own online store. Although most of the classmates' online shops didn't make any money at all at the beginning, and even few customers, the teachers have been taking our "career" seriously. At this time, I realized that this "e-commerce" major I was in meant.
Compared to college life in the traditional sense, my major is more like a four-year "entrepreneurship training camp", but not only did I not feel cheated, but felt very rewarding. In fact, during the period when I was admitted to the second book, I heard people say more than once: Many second-level colleges and universities are simply cheating money, and on the surface they have trained many college students for the society, but the society does not use these "superfluous" "Talents. During that time, I often felt scared and confused about my future. However, my university proved with practical actions that the students trained by the two universities can also have unique uses.
In fact, whether it is us students or the teachers on the podium, we know one thing very well-the diploma of our school does not contain much gold. However, after facing this fact, we did not give up on ourselves, but replaced the formal "university education" by cultivating real earning ability. I remember that there is a professional course in the junior year called "E-commerce Practice". There are only four teachers in one semester to teach the main knowledge points on stage. In other classes, the students are taking care of their own online shop. However, the teacher is not "herding sheep" on us, but will contact us at any time to discuss with us the dilemma in the process of opening the store, and solve our problems. The final result of that course is also based on the online store's operating results ranking. Looking back now, although most of the stores we opened at that time were just a little joke, many of my classmates who took the path of e-commerce after graduation, accumulated the earliest store opening experience and network resources at that time. .
Now, seeing the uncle again, I will frankly exchange the latest market conditions and trading experience with him. Maybe we are not very good at reading, but we have our own career and direction, there is nothing to be ashamed of. As a second undergraduate, I learned the knowledge to support myself in school, and achieved "applicability". From this perspective, I have every reason to thank myself for my university life.
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Others choose Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and I want an "energy-saving" life in a small town
Yi Shanjin
When choosing a university, I seemed to have determined my life direction. My hometown is in Shandong. Because I was an only child, my parents didn't want me to travel far away from home, and even wanted me to choose Shandong University of Technology in this city. But as a young person, I always wanted to go out and have a look. After a lot of seesaw, I chose another second university in the province-Qufu Normal University Xingtan College (now Qilu Institute of Technology).
Going out to read, there is always a kind of adventure and unknown pleasure. But four years later, I discovered that this is more of a process of self-knowledge: imaginary freedom is not so attractive, and the loneliness caused by the unfamiliar place of life spontaneously arises; after being outside for a long time, my character The part that likes a stable life and loves home is gradually revealed. Therefore, during college, I did not work hard for the postgraduate entrance examination like many Erben classmates around me, trying to use knowledge to change my destiny, nor did I aspire to work hard in big cities to obtain better educational resources and living standards. After some explorations abroad, I decided to go home after graduation and work as a new media editor in the local media center.
Although big cities have many incomparable advantages, for me, living in a small city is a more cost-effective choice. For example, there are a lot of talents in big cities, and many jobs even only accept 985 and 211 graduates when recruiting. For me with only two degrees, this cruel reality makes me have to think: although big cities seem to have opportunities Quite a lot, but how many opportunities are there for you? On the contrary, in the small town where I live, many units do not propose such a daunting entry threshold, generally requiring a bachelor's degree.
In the recently hit "Thirty Only", the protagonist Wang Manni once gave up working hard in Shanghai and returned to her hometown to do a clerical job. In the end, she found that she still couldn't stand the kind of "seeing to the head" life. In fact, this might not be a misunderstanding. After I really started working, I didn't think I would embark on an unchanging and lifeless path in life. As the university major and the job position are not exactly the same, I really enjoy the challenges, freshness and fun brought by this job. It’s the first time to publish in a newspaper, the first time I saw my photos on the photography edition, the first aerial photography, the first photogenic... I watched the number of clicks on my work steadily increase, and slowly learned photography, video editing, With post-production and other techniques, my sense of work accomplishment has also been greatly satisfied. So even though this job is not the traditional nine-to-five, and sometimes even work overtime until two in the morning, I still feel that it is not curing, but constantly improving my abilities.
Sometimes, I also wonder: If I went to a better school and went to work in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, what would I be like today? Although there is no "what if" in life, it is not difficult to understand the bitterness and sweetness of it. Just open the circle of friends of some high school classmates and have a "cloud experience". I find that life under their rosy filter is sometimes not so pleasant. For example, one night, there was a heavy rain in Beijing, and my friend who worked overtime at an Internet company until ten o'clock in the evening, took a taxi and waited in line until midnight. When another friend complained that her monthly rent was more than 4,000 yuan, I was also shocked and sighed about the convenience of living with my parents: not only there is no high cost of living, but every time I work overtime, I still have a hot meal when I go home. The food is waiting for myself. Except that the daily reminder of marriage is a bit difficult, other aspects make me more satisfied.
So for me, although the second degree is an objective limit for me to go to big cities to work hard, I think about it carefully, maybe big cities are not suitable for me. High-intensity, fast-paced work style does not make me enthusiastic, but makes me feel a little depressed. Compared with the complicated interpersonal relationships in big cities, the concept of acquaintances and human touches in small cities have also brought me a lot of security: in my free time, meeting with a few chats, looking for a new store to eat and chat, there is nothing wrong with each other. Talking about leaders, talking about work, watching movies, can make me experience the simplest happiness and happiness.
Based on academic qualifications, everyone's life choices will of course have different dimensions. I admire and admire those students who continue to study and work hard in big cities after graduating from Erben, but I do not regret my life choices. Everyone has the right to decide the path that suits them best within the range of options. In the words of my favorite anime, they choose a rose-colored life, and I want a more "energy-saving" life.
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Maturity means accepting mediocrity and still having expectations
Zhuang Sifu
The generation between the ages of 30 and 40 has long said goodbye to adolescence and campus, but they are still "young people" in social cognition. Some people feel embarrassed about their intergenerational positioning, while others laugh at themselves as "social animals."
They seek room for improvement in the workplace, nurturing young children and supporting the elderly at home. They are small spots in the city's morning and evening peak traffic, and small screws in skyscrapers.
I am also a member of this group of "quasi-middle-aged people", like a bubble between the waves, an ordinary ordinary person.
Since elementary school, I have always belonged to "wandering in the middle of the world, and it is like a paradise", and the well-off home has not given me too much pressure to work hard. When I was a student, I was just a freebie, and I can't say that I don't work hard, and I can't say that I work hard. Fortunately, my luck was not bad. I did well in the senior high school entrance examination and entered a key local high school. My high school classmates are all top students from various schools, so in the three years of high school, they became less confident and became a "almost" miss for three years. At the first sprint of life-the college entrance examination, I lost the chain. In fact, the outcome of this kind of foolishness is predictable: the 10th from the bottom of the grade, he missed the second line by 2 points. As a result, I felt relieved to study at a well-reputed three college in my hometown in a second-tier city.
Before graduating, my parents still had the mentality of "learning is precious, read more books" and offered two choices: buy me a car to work, or go abroad to study as a graduate student. During college, I visited classmates who were admitted to colleges and universities of 985 and 211, and took a few interesting professional courses. I deeply feel that the average level of courses and teachers in a good university is definitely better than that of my alma mater. Out of "peer pressure", on the threshold of job hunting, I feel a deep inferiority complex, and I have a feeling of eagerness to refuel. Therefore, I chose the latter and obtained the basic version of the "Golden Returnees Package" in one and a half years.
After graduating and returning to China, I joined a local company in my hometown to work. In the eyes of the people around, this is a peaceful life-returning home to stay with his parents, there is a boyfriend developed by a high school classmate.
I am 30 years old. I am married to this boyfriend. I have no children yet. Thanks to my parents, I have a house and no loans. I have a silly cat. I plan several long and short trips every year. There is no reason to be dissatisfied with the current life. Seeing this, you will definitely feel that this kind of stability is justified.
However, when I was 25-30 years old, like many young people who had just worked for five or six years, there were moments when I thought that luck was coming, and there were also "crises" that I felt difficult to overcome at the time.
My undergraduate and postgraduate majors are completely mismatched with my work. However, I don’t feel that 5 and a half years have been wasted. University life is the only precious experience of “being alone” in my life. After working, I met very responsible and patient seniors, as well as exquisite and self-interested colleagues. Even though I became a monk halfway through, I gradually became able to stand alone. It was not all smooth sailing with her boyfriend. After going through the separation and reunion, now there is no quarrel or cold war, and no longer try to change each other. I think happiness is to eat as much food as you have appetite.
Living in a small city has limited prosperity, limited income, and limited possibilities. My spiritual core may not have changed from beginning to end, and it is still "wandering in the middle is better than paradise". I don’t yearn for big cities. I don’t want to make big things and make big money. I just want to live my little life and save money if I make less money. In my opinion, the process of maturity is to subtract life from the complex and simplify it, so that it is not so easy to be confused by consumerism, and it is not so worried about buying and selling.
In addition to the reality of odds and ends, cultivating a little hobby is a good "escape channel." Hobbies seem to be a spiritual outlet. If this spiritual outlet can give you some extra improvement, that would be great. For me, this exit is to see the world more, in another corner of the earth, how people live similar or different lives to us, to explore strange natural landscapes and cultural customs, or it may be the road A magical but wonderful experience, to feel the complexity of the world and the smallness of oneself.
Now I am convinced of several truths: There is no shortcut in this world, gain and loss are equivalent exchanges, and the ups and downs are the norm in life. After understanding these points, I can maintain a relatively calm and calm attitude towards life. Although procrastination still exists, it has slowly healed on its own; not afraid of pain, and gradually become brave, will face the straight ball of life; more outgoing and tolerant, able to communicate with more different types of people, I also tried and fell in love with a lot of weird foods.
What is the sign of a person's maturity?
I think that I can accept the fact that I am mediocre, and still have expectations of life, recognize the ordinary nature of life, and accept ordinary happiness.
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After two postgraduate entrance examinations, I became a master of a prestigious school
Li Shaobo
The "prejudice" of "Shandong learning tyrants" seems to have become the consensus of the people across the country, but behind this lies the cruel reality of the fierce competition for education resources in Shandong. As a native of Shandong who took the college entrance examination ten years ago, I still have a fresh memory of the college entrance examination experience. The college entrance examination is indeed an important turning point in determining the direction of life. It can lay the foundation for the next long journey, but it is not the whole of life. After the college entrance examination, there will still be other opportunities to choose and start again, such as the postgraduate entrance examination. For me, this is the key to changing my destiny.
In the exam ten years ago, I failed to get the ideal result, and therefore missed my dream university. My first choice Northeastern University was not accepted. I was transferred to a very ordinary college in Tai'an, Shandong. I wanted to repeat the reading, but in the end I followed the advice of my family and "compromised" to reality. First, it was because my family members were particularly opposed to my repetition, and second, because I tried to persuade myself to fight for another chance in the postgraduate entrance examination four years later.
At that time, I was proud and arrogant. After entering the university, I had to face a psychological gap. I had to adjust and adapt for more than half a year. Later, I gradually realized that the level of school is only one aspect of college life, and whether the four years are rich or not depends on how I view reality. Instead of complaining that the school is not good enough, why not reflect on whether you have done your best? Do you use limited resources to pursue the greatest value for yourself?
I was very fortunate that I was not lost in annoyance and unwillingness at the time, but found the direction of persistence and hard work, and gradually discovered the unique charm of the undergraduate school. I earnestly study professional courses and regard them as one of the main lines of university life, as well as the direction of postgraduate entrance examinations. I consciously develop my interests in an all-round way, give play to my strengths in writing, expand the dimension of life, and add other possibilities. These are also quite beneficial in my future life. I have also made some mentors and helpful friends, who have given me a lot of help and enlightenment as I progressed from childishness to maturity.
Especially the reading habit I developed in the university has continued to the present. Reading and thinking have been integrated into my blood and soul. I have extensively studied books in various fields, established a knowledge system and thinking framework, and learned critical thinking and rational analysis. For us students in ordinary colleges and universities in Shandong, the postgraduate entrance examination is not a process of hard work in the later months of the university. The study and hard work of the whole university stage are gradually approaching this dream.
Or because of too much emphasis and tension, my first postgraduate entrance examination results were not satisfactory, especially poor mathematics, which directly caused me to miss the dream of Peking University. After four years of baptism, the dream has not become clearer, but once again clouded with a mist. The unwillingness of four years ago came to my heart again, and there was nowhere to resolve it. I gave up the opportunity to be a civil servant in my hometown and decided to take the exam again. The difference is that my mother stood up firmly this time to support me and withstood the pressure at home for me. I know that this is my only chance.
I reached a consensus with my mother and no longer applied for Peking University because she felt that the risk was too high and I might not be able to go to school again; I was also a little bit timid, after all, my first math exam was so bad. Therefore, I decided to cross the entrance examination of Renmin University's English translation postgraduate, which is much less risky than Peking University. Thinking that I have been doing very well in English and I have also minored in a second degree in English at the undergraduate level, I have more confidence in my heart.
For the second time preparing for the exam, I went all out to study, except for eating, sleeping, and going to the toilet. Finally, I entered the retest with the first score in the written test and was admitted to the National People's Congress. I seized the opportunity to make a new choice and gave myself and my family an explanation.
Compared with ordinary colleges and universities, I have more resources and advantages for learning and development in the National People's Congress. Moreover, Beijing's rich cultural environment and practical resources have also helped me open up a new world of life. In the National People's Congress, high-quality teaching resources and a solid academic atmosphere have satisfied my thirst for knowledge and shaped my attitude towards academics and learning. Taking courses of interest and listening to lectures by famous teachers and celebrities helped me quickly broaden my horizons and knowledge. I have also met many outstanding classmates, alumni and friends in other fields, and learn from each other.
As early as when I was studying in graduate school, I got some rare internship opportunities. These are opportunities that I could not get or even imagine in the relatively closed environment of undergraduate. I was fortunate to go to the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries and commissions for internships, and feel the rhythm of working in the ministries up close. In addition, there are more opportunities for school recruitment during the graduation season and a greater chance of entering famous companies. This aspect depends on personal ability, and the school’s platform advantage cannot be denied. After graduating, I entered my favorite work unit as I wished. To a certain extent, I also changed my destiny and opened up my life.
There is only one time in life, and the choice at a critical moment will affect one's life, and what the postgraduate entrance examination brings me is an opportunity to choose again. Especially this process of hard work helped me get out of the haze of self-doubt and regain my confidence in life. Today, if a child from an ordinary university asks me whether I want to take the postgraduate entrance examination, I will still tell him without hesitation: Although it is more difficult to enter a prestigious school, as long as you accurately locate it, choose rationally, and work hard, your destiny will be achieved. The "reversal".
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4 years of hard work failed to narrow the distance between me and 985 University
Practice
In May of this year, I was faced with a choice: whether to stay at home and accept a job promised to become a regular employee, or go to Beijing or Guangzhou to continue the job search and risk amid greater uncertainty.
When the newspaper volunteered to screen schools 4 years ago, I remembered that my father said at the time: "Don't worry about money, it depends on which school you think is worth going to."
In my father's view, if the school level is not very different, it is better to go to economically developed areas, maybe there are more opportunities. We thought of a piece of me, growing up in a small city, never let go of the desire to go outside. With limited options, I went to a second college in a capital city in the Yangtze River Delta.
After enrolling, I know that the students of Erben School will face many challenges when they are employed. Unlike many people's plans for postgraduate entrance examinations to improve their academic qualifications, I firmly believe in working after graduation. The major I study is what I like, and the direction is clear. As long as I study as hard as I can, I can always overcome the disadvantages of the diploma and find a satisfactory job. After all, the industry values practical ability.
In this way, most of the four years of university I spent on doing three things: taking classes at my school, going to 985 universities in the same city, listening to lectures, and internships during holidays.
My school and that university are nearly 40 kilometers away. It takes nearly two hours to commute to work. I often finish my school in the morning, and I rushed to the afternoon class before lunch. In 4 years, I have finished nearly 10 courses, as well as various lectures, competitions and activities.
After experiencing two schools with very different strengths, I am more aware of the shortcomings of my school. to date. I still remember the inner expectation of each class, so that some students over there said, "I think you are more serious than our students."
In 2019, the college of Chang Ceng Class invited a senior in the industry to give a lecture. He learned that most of the employees he had worked in were from the National People’s University, China Transmission, Fudan and other schools, and most of the internships were for seniors who had internships. Sister recommended.
Later, I also learned that many prestigious schools would sign agreements with employers and recommend a certain number of students for internships.
Even so, I still have a resume for overseas investment, writing a cover letter sincerely, and winning internship opportunities in Guangzhou and Beijing successively. During the internship, I found that most of the interns are from prestigious universities, but not everyone is very capable. Looking around, there are still very few people from Erben School like me.
This is the real situation of Erben students, this is only the internship level. Looking back, after all, the internship gave me experience and made me confident enough to find a job. I sometimes think, if this kind of internship experience is a minority among the second undergraduate students, how can I improve myself and deal with competition?
After experiencing the double "beating" of autumn and spring recruits, I still ask my heart from time to time: Is it because the past four years have not worked hard enough, or the educational barrier is insurmountable?
I checked my mailbox, and from the fall of last year to the appointment of a job in June of this year, I sent 30 job search emails to various professional employers, and fewer than 5 responded. Counting the resumes delivered by recruitment websites, there are nearly 50 submissions in total, and less than 10 companies actually give me written exams or interview opportunities.
Ideals and reality meet each other, which is endless sway. As my resumes fell to the ground, and the outbreak of the epidemic, anticipating the severe employment situation, I began to deliver to local institutions that had not been considered before, including the units where I work today.
One thing was impressive. Last fall, I participated in the school recruitment of a well-known professional counterpart employer, and I also practiced there. I thought that the internship experience would at least allow me to pass the preliminary screening smoothly, but I didn't expect to even pass the preliminary screening.
At the beginning of this year, after it announced the preliminary screening list, I chatted with my friends and unexpectedly learned that he passed the preliminary screening. At that time, I was slightly shocked and puzzled. This friend is very "Buddha"-he doesn't like the industry, he doesn't have much internship experience, and he has no clear career development goals. In my opinion, his past experience, including ability, is not enough to support him to pass the preliminary screening. It can be explained. Perhaps he studied in a 211 college.
What is even more shocking is that it wasn't until the employer announced the admission results in July that I found out that it had collected more than 30,000 resumes and eventually recruited about 100 people. Faced with so many resumes, HR really cannot look at the specific content of each person, and can only use the "simple and rude" method of "screening schools". Even if a second undergraduate student like me has a rich internship experience, he cannot escape the fate of being brushed.
Back to the choice I faced at the beginning of this article.
If I accept the job in my hometown, it means that I have successfully landed ashore in a severe employment situation. But it also means that I will stay away from my previous ideals. If I go to Beijing or Guangzhou, it means I want to compete with others for employment. I may continue to lose in the resume battle and miss the recruitment period. In addition to time cost, there is also financial expense. In the end, I chose to be safe and stay at home.
Maybe this is not my original intention, but this year is a special situation, this may be the best choice I can make from Erben. As a friend who has worked said: "You have to consider that your diploma has no advantage, you can't afford it."
They come, the security. I have been encouraging myself this way for the past few months. In my heart, I have never forgotten the encouragement of a teacher when I graduated: No matter where I am, I will try my best.
Source: China Youth Daily