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When I visited the maritime university near Shanghai, I
spoke with a student who really showed me the level to which individuals’ lives
are calculated and determined in this country.
His conversational topics revolved primarily around how he was able to
achieve high test scores and secure himself a spot in the university. He had no concept of possible paths for his
life beyond that which was laid out before him.
Speaking with some other students, it seems that the higher educational
system of China locks students down into a single career path. Transfer is possible, but only if you were
first good at the path you are choosing to forsake. But in short, what I am seeing in the
students of China, or rather what I am not seeing is a soul, free and seeking
fulfillment.
When I inquire about feelings towards their country, I am
met with responses that seem almost rehearsed.
But when I look at the faces of the others who do not respond, I see hints
of either absentmindedness or even contradiction. China has made great strides in the world
order through its imposition of strict government control. Yet its greatest leaps come as it transitions
over to a less socialistic and communistic economic system. The government however, is not following
suit. I simply cannot help but wonder
where these students would be if they were free to pursue their own
visions.
In lecture, our professor makes continuous reference to one
thing, Freedom. It is his primary cause
for having chosen to leave China for the United States. The freedom to be who you choose, to pursue
the career you want, and to upend it all for something new. Some others I spoke with kept asking about
different rights we have in the states.
From freedom of speech to 2A, I kept sensing a longing for the simple
freedom to choose. I can tell already,
that I would still choose my country over theirs.
Colton Stinger, of Elizabethtown, Ky., is a senior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville, where he studies chemistry and political science.