Seeing as that the semester is coming to a close, it is time to look back on the past few months. I've always had an interest in Chinese language and culture, and I signed up for this class and the Chinese minor with the intent to travel to China after school and teach English, either to international students or Chinese children.
Overall, I am fairly pleased with my progress this semester. It's amazing how much I have learned so far, but I know I have a long way to go. Although it often seems daunting, a journey of 1000 miles begins with one step, to take a page from Lǎozǐ. Everything in life must be taken in stride.
Studying Chinese interests me; when I go to Chinese class, I pay attention and study not because I simply want to do well, but because I feel that learning the language will open a lot of doors, e.g. business, travel, but also a deeper understanding of world affairs and the ability to converse with billions of people that I otherwise couldn't.
I've always tried to study that which truly interests and inspires me. My ultimate goal is to turn my knowledge of world affairs / political science and combine it with Chinese to do something that I can be proud of, something that I can look forward to doing every day when I wake up. True happiness comes from doing what you love - it's that simple.
