A medium for us to express our goals

Ten years ago, we didn't know what we were going to do in the future. Some people were preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam, some wanted to go abroad and some were looking for internships. We were making all kinds of efforts like headless flies.

I majored in physics, but I quickly understood that some other students were really talented. They learned much faster than me. I knew that this talent gap could not be filled.

I was confused, and I often couldn't sleep at night. I turned the problem over and over in my mind, thinking about past experiences.

One of the most impressive recollections was that during the third year of high school, when we were preparing for the national college entrance examination, everyone went all out. The only goal was to improve our scores. It was very precise and motivated.

The evening self-study period would last from about 7:30 pm to 10 pm. In those two-plus hours, the whole study building was almost silent as the students repeated exercises and reviewed every knowledge point. I could hear the current buzzing in the fluorescent lamp, the sounds of pens on paper and of people turning papers over. It was beautiful.

Later, when I couldn't sleep, I replayed those scenes and sounds in my head.

I really wanted to go back in time and ask my younger self what my life goal was. There were many questions I wanted to ask myself, but we can't turn back the clock.

Instead, I decided to act and record myself and the people around me at university. The people I filmed were classmates and friends, who recommended people around them.

I spent about a year filming nearly 100 people. I did a lot of interesting things such as uploading the videos to Renren, but that website is now gone and its content can't be retrieved. It's a pity. I also made a graffiti wall on campus at Renmin University. I painted graffiti overnight to publicize The Stories of Yuanbaoers. I also recently made invitation cards and reconnected with the interviewees from 2012. I had not seen them for a long time.

We talked about topics we wouldn't mention seriously in daily life, such as current problems and our visions of the future. When someone was busy with everyday life, they could suddenly step out and see themselves from a higher dimension. Everyone said it felt wonderful. I was very impressed. Many people cried in front of the camera.

Through this event, I have seen many possibilities for life. Different people in different situations are making their own efforts to struggle through.

Gao Song spoke with Yan Dongjie.