Not at the Cost of Savouring Life  

Liu Yuxue 

A 23-year-old Chinese graduate student in Beijing 

If I had talked about this topic two years ago, I would have said that young people must endure hardships to achieve self-fulfilment. I am an ordinary girl from a modest rural family. I used to tell myself that only by relentlessly pushing myself could I attain a favourable result.  

And I did, in both the college entrance exam and the postgraduate entrance exam. 

But it was this very mindset that left me struggle to relax and enjoy my life. Consistently, I studied and led my life in a manner I deemed diligent, leaving almost no room for leisure. During high school, I thought life would improve once I entered university; while in college, I convinced myself things would get better after starting graduate life. I was always striving for the next phase, yet never truly savoured the present moment. 

It was last year, during my first year of graduate school, that my perspective shifted. At that time, my life seemed glamorous on the surface; I had won numerous awards and was admitted to a prestigious university in Beijing as a graduate student. But internally, I was gripped by profound anxiety. Surrounded by immense talent and grand opportunities in Beijing, I constantly questioned how I could stand out, secure a respectable career, and lead a fulfilling life. I felt utterly lost. 

It was precisely then that I went through a breakup. For over a month, I suffered from insomnia, contemplating my identity, my future, and the life I truly wanted, while questioning whether to persist in the relentless pursuit of academic and personal success. I was gripped by profound mental anguish. 

Gradually, I began to transform. I slowed down my pace of life, frequently met friends, explored new places through travel, nurtured personal hobbies, and discovered my true self. Through this process, I realised how remarkably beautiful life could be, and no longer felt like suffering was a prerequisite for self-improvement. I began to cultivate an appreciation for life’s beauty, freeing myself from self-imposed pressure and compulsive habits. 

Now I do what I want. This lifestyle brings me genuine comfort. 

Seek Hope in Hardship 

Getahun Assefa Tessema 

A 34-year-old Ethiopian journalist, TV show producer, and host 

Hardship, wherever it strikes, tests the human spirit. It shapes character, demands sacrifice, and reveals what we can endure to build a better life. In some places, hardship has faded behind comfort, technology, and convenience. But in Ethiopia, it still chooses us, a daily reality in rough roads, power blackouts, and endless queues. Here, endurance is not just a virtue; sometimes, it is survival itself. 

Yet, from this tough soil grows something beautiful. Hardship has forged a people who keep going when nothing is easy. It teaches that no honest work is beneath us and no effort wasted. The child studying by candlelight, the mother rising before dawn to prepare her market stall, the graduate taking any job to keep hope alive - these are not just stories, but realities of life. 

Times are changing, though. A new generation is learning that while hardship may be unavoidable, how we respond is our choice. Young people are softening its edges, working smarter, embracing technology, and sharing ideas that lighten the load. They believe the real test is not how much we suffer, but how well we build lives that do not demand suffering as proof of worth. 

Still, there is wisdom in hardship we cannot afford to lose. It reminds us that some dreams require late nights, sacrifices and patience when doors close, and grit when progress stalls. In a land where much remains unfinished, the old lesson stands: If we do not endure, we do not advance. 

Do we still need hardship? Perhaps, not the kind that breaks us for no reason, but the kind that tests our courage and keeps us grounded when life’s promises run slow. The challenge now is to carry the grit of our ancestors while dreaming of an Ethiopia where hardship is no longer the only path to success. 

If we can learn both patience to endure and the wisdom to build a gentler life, then hardship may become not a curse, but a quiet teacher we can outgrow.