Week 15: Now That Wasnt So Hard, Was It?

「Nothing worth doing is easy.」

I stumbled across this mantra during college and it has served me well ever since. It helps me stay motivated despite the myriad different challenges on the path to any goal.

What』s the hardest thing you』ve ever done?

It is really hard to say what』s the hardest thing for me. I mean, nothing is easy. Recently, the hardest thing I had to do was learn how to face a rumor.

Like most people, ever since I was a child, I』ve wanted to travel the world. For me, exploring different cultures and talking to different people are the wonderful things in life. So after a long struggle, I finally decided to go to study in a foreign country and experience a new life.

After I made my decision, I conducted deep research and constructed my to-do list for the next period of my life. Since my high school doesn』t have an international curriculum, I had to study on my own at home.

But studying wasn』t the hard part; the bigger problem was what people started saying about me. Many people think that if plan to study aboard, your family must be very rich. Being rich implies that you don』t have any thing to worry because your life must be really easy. However, the truth is the complete opposite.

At first, I felt down because of the rumor. I tried to explain the real situation to them. As time passed, I gradually realize that you can』t ask everyone to understand your life. They would never truly understand your feelings unless they experienced it themselves. Everyone is special and everyone』s life is unique. So I should respect that.

From then on, I wasn』t bothered by the rumor anymore.

By Siyi

Brian: I think Siyi really struck a chord here: in the struggle against the world, it』s often friends and family that pose the biggest obstacles.

What』s the hardest thing you』ve ever done?

Two weeks ago, downtown Columbus witnessed my epic failure in driving. That night, we went to watch fireworks in celebration of Independence Day. After the show, one of my lab mates, who had been kayaking elsewhere, asked me if I could drive his car to pick him up from a nearby port. He told me the location and I agreed readily.

I quickly became familiar with his car, so I was doing fine at first... until I got on Highway 315. The sudden traffic slowed to a crawl. Even worse, every exit I was planning on taking was blocked by a police car. I could only continue crawling on the highway. To make matters worse, the air conditioner was broken.

The traffic was suffocating me. My sweat was drowning me. I started to lose my calm and the car swerved around in the lane. The only exit I could take was another highway onramp. It felt like I was stuck in a loop, leaving Highway 315 but entering Interstate 71, just like jumping out of a rabbit hole and right into another.

When I finally got off the highway, the local roads were the same — roadblocks and flashing police lights everywhere. The only difference was that now I was on the wrong side of the river and I could not cross it. It occurred to me that my situation resembled Kafkas Castle a lot: I could see the castle but would never be able to reach it. Then panic mode kicked in.

I lost control. I had to stop. I took a wild right turn and pulled the car into a dark alley, escaping the massive police presence. I rolled down the car window and finally got some air. I realized then fortunately that I actually couldn』t make it, so I called my friend about the location and everything. Then I locked myself inside of the car, terrified, waiting for rescue...

By Lei

Brian: Wow that degenerated quickly. It』s true, traffic can be pretty nasty on July 4th. And it』s certainly smart thinking to get off the road to calm down. Sometimes overcoming something hard is as simple as taking a break.

1. What』s your favorite movie and why?
2. How did you feel right after moving to a new place?

3. What do you see your life moving towards?