Be the tail of the phoenix, not the head of the chicken.

This article is unrelated to the title; it's just a casual essay. (The title was chosen after I finished writing because I couldn't come up with one, so I used the topic discussed in the last paragraph as the title.)

It's been a long time since I last wrote in my journal. I've been wanting to write something these past few days, but various things have kept getting in the way. And whenever I finally have free time to write, I find myself unable to pick up a pen. Many thoughts are fleeting; if I don't record them then, it's hard to have the same understanding or insights later.

These past few days have been a whirlwind of early mornings and late nights. Every morning I'm woken by my alarm at 6:30, dragging my tired body to New Oriental class. After class, I sometimes manage to sleep for the entire afternoon. In the evenings, I study for the TOEFL, and the day is over. It goes by quickly, but feels scattered and unfulfilling.
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At the end of last month, I upgraded my personal homepage, but haven't had a chance to introduce it yet. Let me give a brief overview here. The original blog address, tjblog.net, has been changed to blog.taojing.name, and the original domain name has been redirected and will be retained for three months. All content has been retained unchanged, but the functionality has changed. The blog is now only used for personal reflections and life descriptions. Other modules have been moved to taojing.name, which now includes sections for works, topics, and photo albums. The topics section contains various resources and insights. The website is still in testing and will be continuously improved.

Okay, back to the main point. My biggest takeaway from these past few days at New Oriental is that the teachers in Hangzhou are generally not very good. However, this isn't directed at all New Oriental teachers in Hangzhou, but some of the four teachers who taught us were truly terrible. Their lessons were disorganized and useless; it was better to just read the books and organize the material myself. However, our reading and speaking teachers were quite capable; at least their lessons were practical and helped me clarify my thoughts. If you're a new TOEFL student, I'd suggest avoiding Hangzhou.

After two weeks of TOEFL preparation, my biggest takeaway is that listening is crucial; reading and writing, based on my GRE foundation, are relatively easy to handle. For me, listening is key! I hope my luck goes well on the exam on the 23rd—but I'm confident I'll pass it in September. Compared to the GRE, this preparation is much easier.

I've been busy with web hosting lately, and some of the things domestic hosting providers have done recently are infuriating. I remember a few years ago, there were no restrictions on web hosting. Then, a single hosting plan only allowed a certain number of domains from different providers to be linked. Later, one hosting plan could only use a certain number of domains from the same provider. Now, one hosting plan only allows one domain. No notice, no warning, no discussion—it's outrageous! I'll never feel safe renting web hosting in China again; they might delete all my data someday. Before my hosting expires, I need to find a good international hosting provider to host my website in a safer place.

My mind has been very active lately, but this activity hasn't left any trace. Ideas flash through my mind, some about the state-run sports system, some about chaos and corruption, some about closed-mindedness, and so on. I really want to write a long essay, but when I have ideas, I have nowhere to put them into words; when I have time, I can't put pen to paper.

Finally, I'll write down what I just realized: Be the tail of a phoenix, not the head of a chicken! The reason is simple: anyone striving for success will choose a place with room for advancement; only the weak are content with the status quo and being the head of a chicken. Being at the tail of a phoenix allows you to learn how to become a phoenix, gain deeper knowledge and skills, and live in an environment where everyone is stronger than you, enabling you to bide your time, accumulate strength, and eventually unleash your potential.