As one journey ends, the next adventure awaits

Liu Hongsheng, 18, high school graduate from Changsha, Hunan province

As my three-year high school journey comes to an end, looking back fills me with many emotions. There were times of confusion and bewilderment, moments of feeling lost, but also the sheer joy of finding a way out after feeling trapped in hopelessness.

For the first two years of high school, I lacked direction. Just as my head teacher described: "Busy all day, yet achieving little". I tried to refute this deeply insulting remark, yet repeatedly stumbled on the same path. My grades were unsatisfactory, and I constantly fell into a vicious cycle of mental emptiness. Fortunately, it was still early.