An old saying goes, “At thirty, one stands firm” — the hope that after thirty years of life, one can establish oneself in character, family, and career. Asking myself honestly, at the age of thirty, my gains and losses are roughly even.
Key choices in life
Life offers few critical junctures, and every choice shapes the years — even decades — of life and work that follow. In 2019, I was fortunate enough to make several key decisions.
- “A home for those who dwell” — giving my family a stable place to live. Following my own vision, starting from bare rebar and concrete, we decorated it step by step into the home of our dreams.
- “Residency” finally settled — the journey came to fruition. After drifting in the “Magic City” (a nickname for Shanghai) for 7 years, I successfully obtained Shanghai hukou (household registration) through the talent-introduction program, which also removed any worries about Dora’s schooling.
- A career identity shift. Over 7 years, I transformed from a student into a working professional. 2019 is both an ending and a beginning — in the next 7 years, as a bona fide “manager”, I will ride forward and embark on a new journey.
Angel and devil — an equivalent exchange?
It never occurred to me that while accepting life’s gifts, I would also have to give something of equal value in return.
- My performance didn’t stand out, but my lumbar disc started to. (A wordplay in Chinese: 突出 means both “outstanding” and “protruding”.)
- Songs night after night — from time to time an angel seems to sing in my ear. Since mid-2018, I have often suffered from nervous tinnitus.
- My weight surged by 3kg — for all these years it had never exceeded 62kg. Starting this year, it is approaching 65kg for the first time