The journey of self is often nothing more than an exercise in patience and in the management of expectations. Many years ago, I was getting ready to leave home for college. I had the hope that I could finally answer the questions that had been bothering me since the beginning days of my high school years: what did I want to do; who did I want to be; what would make my life truly meaningful? I felt certain that I would be picking up the answers along the way. And there was this belief that the me who had spent many a day thinking over such things would one day suddenly pop out from his chrysalis (蝶蛹)like a caterpillar (毛毛虫) does when it becomes a butterfly. But alas,my change from caterpillar to butterfly was like being stuck in an endless queue for a ride at a Disney park. It took me a long time to realize that there is no such thing as a fast-pass in life.
——Daisy
The journey of self is often nothing more than a tug-of-war (拔河)match between who we see ourselves to be, and how others view us. I had been considerably shy growing up, and often had trouble talking with new people. This made my high school years even more difficult as I had moved from my hometown and had registered in three different high schools over that period of time. It was at this time that I started to follow my own interests and to better understand and develop my own sense of self. However, the self is in fact partly formed by how others see us. There is a natural tension (矛盾)between our inner sense of self, and how other people see us. The general rule is that the truer you remain to your internal sense of self, the more likely it is that people will like and admire you.
—Emily
