1. My own little challenge-shave or not.
You may remember me as the guy who takes photos all over campus, who rides a crappy bike that does not even have a brake or the one who has lots of facial hairs, the thing I call "beard."
Now I am thinking about shaving them. I've never shaved in my life, thus my beard is still soft with fine tips. I did not plan to shave until I get married. But now, I am no longer that sure.
To me, my beard means far more than just several grams of protein. It has become part of my identity. I do not shave because I do not want to admit I am an adult yet. I think marriage is the only event significant enough to make me declare my adulthood and shave.
However, here are the problems: First, as many friends of mine have commented, I might never get married if I had that on my face. Second, my bride might love me partially because of the beard and would not even recognize me without it.
Over time, my beard has become my stubbornness. I don't want to yield to social norms by sacrificing my personal identities. I am confused if it is an improvement to "understand" the social norms and obey them or if it is a loss of who I am. I may become a "better" person but less worthy as an individual. Is it a good thing to become an adult or insist on being a child? About to graduate, I am puzzled even more.
2. The finals
I hope the professors will make the finals just easy enough, or you have studied hard enough so that they will not be challenges. Often times, exams are more of a challenge for your patience than your intelligence.
For me, some final finals. Jokingly I said to my friends I might want to fail one so I could stay for one more year, because I wanted to write more about our rowing team (Yes, rowing, not basketball. We have a rowing team? Yeah. To learn more about them, please turn to my article on page 11). As the sports photo editor over the past year, I, for the first time in my life, started appreciating sports. It is not only about the excitement sitting courtside photographing J.J.; it is about seeing each individual athlete, with or without public attention, putting in enormous efforts to achieve the greatest excellence.
3. The first job
If you will start working in the New York area, good, and good luck! I probably will see you around. Please say "hi" if we bump into each other, no matter if I do or do not have my beard anymore. If you will start working and will not be in the New York area, goodbye, and good luck! The first job is a always a challenge, if not the greatest one. A good start is halfway done and I hope you will enjoy it. If you are going back to school, good luck, and good lord! After 16 years of education, you want more?! Among you are some who I admire the most, who possess a genuine passion for knowledge-and some who I feel sympathy. If you don't know what you are doing yet, good luck. Take your time; life is short, but it takes longer to come back from a wrong track. Think carefully before you move and make the first a great one. you will do fine.
4. The rise of China
The challenge we face. I am from China, and I think most of you guys are Americans. Here I use "we" because I believe that the States and China will become partners rather than enemies in the future. There will surely be conflicts, but it is "our" challenge to resolve them.
China is not the challenge. The challenge is how the Americans should approach China's rise. After the reformation in China in the past two decades, it has become one of the most important economic entities in the world. But the political reformation has been halted. It is foreseeable that China will have political reformations in the coming 10 to 30 years. How the Americans should interact with a different China, a stronger and also a more open one, will determine China's, the United States' and even the world's future. We may be sitting on opposite sides of a negotiation table, but I hope Duke can be the common bond we share and together we can face the challenges.
Tian, Qinzheng is a Trinity senior and sports photography editor of The Chronicle. If you have extra baccalaureate tickets, please contact him at qt3@duke.edu. He desperately needs some.
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