How are you? Have you had a good week? I do hope that you are well and have a relaxed Weekend.

This week, one of the biggest things in China is, that about 9.6 million high school students have joined the 30th university entrance for examinations for 3 days since the Culture Revolution was finished in 1977.

In my city -- Shenzhen, for offering a peaceful environment for the examinees, all of the building sites stopped to work in the nights. All of the buildings stopped the decorated with sounds.

It has been raining heavily since Thursday. I often felt that I was driving a boat in a river instead of a car on the road. Many hotels, taxi drivers and citizens offered a lot of free services for the students. Policemen also locked the traffic around the examination rooms to keep it quiet for the students. Everywhere, you can see students that was cared for.

I also never played my piano over 10:00 pm. In case I needed, I stepped on the silencer to reduce the sound. After all, I was also an examinee and I had taken part in the first province and national examinations after the Culture Revolution was finished 30 years ago.

As one of the young people who had been to the countryside according to the request of Chairman Mao. I was so happy that China recovered its national examination for us to enter the universities after stopping for 10 years in the terrible times. With a beautiful dream, I took part in an examination by an art college of a province in 1977. But, for there were only two quotas for 300 examinees in my area, I lost that opportunity. That year, I was younger than 20 and the oldest students could be 32, I was confident in myself to be an art student some day. So, except working, I painted, painted and painted as much as I could so that my middle finger grew up some thick cocoon, until today, it is still there.

However, the huge hurt of the Culture Revolution was too deep to forget. People scared if it would re-start one day. My parents did and they worried me losing the final opportunity to enter a university. Meanwhile, they worried me to go on a same road of my aunt as an artist, who had lost her husband and child in the tragedy time. So, under the heavy pressure, that would be broken off the relationship of parents and daughter, if I did not give up my idea to enter an art college, I had to give up my art dream with many tears after not eating anything for 4 days. After burning on my art books, plaster models and clocking my dream into heart. I involved myself into the other project. Three months later, I past the first national examination in 1978 and became a university student to learn Chinese classical Language and literature for 5 years. Then, I continued to learn World Economy, Journalism and Business Administration, while I was working…

Until 2002, 24 years later, I got my doctoral degree and my career entered a new phase also. Just this year, my elder brother passed away when he was only 48 years old. My best friend who had accompanied me to go over a long and hard / happy road ? my son's father left from me, my only child went abroad, I dropped into an overly pain and alone. With a deeply turned over to think about life and destiny, I re-started my art and music learning and I would like to make my childhood's dream to be true. Right now, four and a half years has past, my teachers thought that my Chinese painting level is able to support me as an art student who's major Chinese painting on the 3rd year in the art college and my vocal music level can support me as a student on the 2nd year in a music college. My little web site has had about 1000 friendly users... I have changed to be a happy career woman, while a learner of music and painting with a peaceful heart .

I am really happy to see the lovely change of my motherland, people and myself. I am sure that as long as we keep a dream in hearts and work on it down to earth, we can really make it to be true some day. Destiny of a person and a country can be changed along with time.

Do you think so? Do you agree with me?
I am just a learner on art, music, English, French and the work on the web site in my free time. Anyway, I would really like to do a little bit things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be An Electronic Bridge Of Culture Exchange, Friendship and Language Learning. During the process to help the others and to improve myself.

I do appreciate your understanding, directions and supports. I do hope to get your great help continuously now and in the coming time...

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please write to shirleyz004@yahoo.com or shirley@ebridge.cn . You are welcomed to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley
Written and Edited on Sun, June, 10, 2007