Life is a long journey and money is not the measure of success

Illustration: Hang Dachuan/Global Times

Recently, a video titled "Me: Five years after graduation, I only have 5,000 yuan ($728) in savings; her: a master graduate from a top university who is now a waitress at a hot pot restaurant" became a sensation on Chinese social media.

While most netizens recommended that the people in the video should not care too much about what they got for now as life is a long journey, but still a few mocked them by saying "learning is futile" as in their mind, money is still something that matters the most in terms of being successful.  

According to reports, the two college students both graduated from Central China Normal University (CCNU). While one has not made much progress in establishing a nest egg and the other, who also got a master's degree from the Communication University of China, has not yet achieved her dream of becoming a scriptwriter, they both do not see themselves as "failures." Instead, they say in the video with smiles on their faces that they have found that they have many more choices available and "have never had such free and open minds in life."

In response to the video, their alma mater CCNU encouraged the two girls to "keep up with their efforts, and there is hope as they are still young."

It also raised the following four questions and gave the answers as follows: "Have they 'lain flat'？No." "Have they complained? No." "Have they given up? No." "Are they confident? Yes!"

Then it declared: "We believe they have chosen the hard way in life. Of course, we know that it is not easy, but as long as they stick to their beliefs and do not lie flat, they will surely blaze a trail to meet their goals."

Many netizens also comforted them by saying, "I was with them when I saw their smiles！Cheer up, girls!"

"To be an ordinary person is good enough. To have a healthy mind and body is the biggest joy in one's life," wrote another.

A fellow alumnus of theirs said, "Once you get over this obstacle, your future will be bright despite the ups and downs on the road."

However, there are some people claiming that "education is useless", thinking their cases are best proof for that.

In recent years, the number of college graduates has been increasing year by year, so some of them have found it hard to find satisfactory jobs or jobs at all. According to statistics, 11.58 million people will graduate from college in 2023, an increase of 820,000 year on year.

It is true that with the advancement of technology, it has become more and more competitive for college graduates. Under these circumstances, young people should be well-prepared for the changing job market. Without a decent education, one will certainly not find a good job. And even if one gets a decent education, that does not guarantee they will find a good job. So one should learn about their strong and weak points, and try to equip themselves with better skills and work experience. If a job does not meet their expectations for the time being, they should also learn to be patient, and be confident that sooner or later they will find the right position in society. Unfortunately, some people have decided to "lie flat." This is a very negative attitude, which will do harm to themselves and society.

Furthermore, it is worth paying attention to the criteria for success for a college graduate.

"The criteria of making one happy should not be whether you have a stable job or got a promotion or not," said one of the young women in the video, noting that by her own standards, "we are absolutely not losers!"

"We are both hard-working and want to do a lot more in our lives."

She also stressed that their original intention in making the video was not to "lie flat" but to tell more young people to learn to "accept themselves as they are right now."

Her thoughts were echoed by a netizen who said, "What is success? Different people have different understandings of success."

With the progress of the times, the definition of success has no standard answer. In fact, there are many paths in life. College students ought to choose their own direction on a broader road. Of course, society should also expand job opportunities. Only by choosing work according to their own interests can people make full use of their advantages and create value for society.