王致虹 北京航空航天大學

The Road Not Taken

20 years ago, Wang and Xiao, two passionate junior high students, dared to dream, dared to act. Wang loved Michael Jackson’s dancing, and Xiao was addicted to playing guitar.

The two then formed a band, hoping that one day they could get on the stage and perform.
However, the reality has always been unsatisfactory. On the path of realizing their dream, the two suffered countless setbacks---from the fickleness of the world to conservative ideas of the society, from employment pressure to marriage pressure, and worse still, the rising of prices.

After 20 years’ torment, they compromised to the reality---Wang is now a barber, and Xiao is a wedding host.

Yet one day, they got to know that there was a talent show Happy Idol. They could not stop thinking of their original dreams of performing on the stage. And eventually they decided to participate.

This time, the two old boys, realized their dream. Once again, Wang played the guitar and sang. Xiao danced with preoccupation. The song they sang is a beautiful elegy to youth, a lament for all the things the post 80’s have lost along the way.

As was sung in the song, “dreams are always out of reach. Should I just give up? Have you realized your original dream? Or can we only mourn he present circumstances? Life is like a heartless chisel, changing our appearances. Must I wither before we blossom? I used to have a dream.”

This is the story in a hot online movie named The Old Boys. The movie has touched the hearts of almost all Chinese netizens, especially the post 80’s and 90’s. It makes them realize that, from the very beginning, we should choose to follow our heart, and follow our dream.

Robert frost wrote in his famous poem The Road Not Taken, “two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference”.

In our life journey, we sooner or later will have to face the two spurroads. One leads to dream. The other leads to reality. Wanting wear, the dream road is grassy yet winding. The reality road, however, has been terribly trodden.

Why?

It’s because people are always struggling for the reality, having no time to fight for their dream.
Take the post 80’s generation as an example.

If you ask what their dreams are when they were kids. They might give you answers like becoming a scientist, a politician, or a great businessman. However, if you ask them now what their dreams are. They would tell you that they want to buy a house, a car; they want to have a secure job, a moderate income.

I got a question: where is their original dream now?

Actually, in face of the huge pressure from the reality, they have set aside their dreams.

Confronted with the college entrance exams, they spent 12 years in the ocean of papers. At last still not everyone could be admitted to their ideal university.

Confronted with the rising of house price, they will have to spend almost their whole life to earn a house.

Confronted with the pressure of raising family, they strive on their post day and night. When they go back home, tired with fatigue, they have no energy at all to think more about their original dreams.

It takes young people their whole life to fight with the reality. Meanwhile, their original dream fades out as well. Even if they have the passion, it still would be worn down by the pressure from the reality.

Living such a fail-fail life, how could one possibly get the real happiness?

How should we do then?

The dream road and the reality road diverge at the very beginning, and as the two roads extend to the distance, they would become even farther apart from each other.

Thus we need to make our choice at the very beginning: to dream, or to struggle with the reality.

I would say to young people that, it’s time for us to discard the pressure from the reality and follow our dream. It’s time for is to unburden our load and go to our Walden Ponds. It’s time for us to undertake the career that we have been dreaming of.

The housing price is high. So what? We could still choose Dwelling Narrowness.

College entrance exams are cruel. So what? If it really unfits you, then skip it and establish your own business.

Your girlfriend refuses to marry you simply because you have no money to buy a house. So what? I would say that she’s not the one deserves your love.

Stop hesitating, young people. If today is the last day of your life. You’ll know what to do! For the sake of not letting yourself regret when you grow older; for the sake of not letting yourself regret that the pain you have suffered does not pay you back any true happiness, please choose to follow your dream.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I-I took the dream road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.