Year after year – 2015

According to past practice, when the Gregorian calendar year 2015 arrived, we should have written "year after year," but unfortunately, I just couldn't find the time. Some things were missed, and that's that.

This is my third year abroad, and I haven't been home for Chinese New Year for three years either. Each year has its own reasons. I vividly remember that the Spring Festival in 2013 fell on a Saturday morning. I got up early to go to class, exchanging New Year's greetings and watching the Spring Festival Gala in the classroom. Most of my Chinese classmates were doing the same. Perhaps it was the novelty, but I was quite happy. Last year, I was already working. Having graduated early and just started working, and wanting my company to help me apply for an H1B visa a month later, it was natural that I couldn't go home. I secretly watched the Spring Festival Gala in the office. Perhaps I was the only one in the entire building silently immersed in a strange joy, like a solitary celebration, like a dream between virtual and reality.

The Spring Festival of 2015 has arrived in the blink of an eye. Ever since graduating from school, life has been synonymous with "busy." Although I was busy while in school, that busyness was in a fulfilling way, where I could sleep in until I naturally woke up and was fearless in the face of the future. The busyness after starting work is 40 hours a week just to survive, plus overtime to study and work hard. Sometimes, all I do is work, except when I'm sleeping. I think everyone is probably in the same boat. At least during the Spring Festival, the number of replies and likes on my posts on social media was dozens of times higher than usual. It felt like everyone had come back.

Sometimes I feel that China is really great. Maybe after being away from a place for a long time, I start to miss it. I always feel that at this age, I should go out and explore, instead of confining myself to one place. In student days, everyone walks on a well-designed highway; whoever walks it the fastest will succeed. After starting work, the path becomes a narrow, winding trail; whoever can widen it will have a better life.

Looking back, I haven't had a break for two years in a row. The summer of 2013 was spent interning, the last semester of 2013 was exhausting trying to graduate early and find a job quickly, the H1B visa battle at the beginning of 2014, changing jobs and switching to H1B in September, and even now... I really envy students; they have winter and summer vacations, and even spring break. I envy students; their time is all their own.

Of course, time cannot be reversed. Each stage has its own tasks. Since I'm no longer a student, I should think about what I should be doing. 2004 was the year my first website, Pingjing Paradise, started. Now, 10 years have passed. In those ten years, the internet has evolved from BBS to SNS and then to the micro-mobile era. The next step should be the era of mobile devices and wearables. The predictable progress indicates that the potential of this market has not been fully explored, and it also means that there are unlikely to be any explosive opportunities. The industry seems to be progressing steadily, but brave individuals are fighting, falling, fighting again, and falling again.

I've thought about doing something, but the US and China are so different, and my student days and working life are so different. I feel helpless and lost. I long to find a team where everyone works tirelessly towards a common goal, helping each other and moving forward together. But I feel like I'm drifting further and further away from that.

Anyway, 2015 is almost here, and I should regroup and start afresh. I also wish everyone a Happy New Year and all your wishes come true.