Let’s take a moment to reflect on our lives so far. How many times have we given up?

When we first went to kindergarten as children, we felt nervous and didn’t want to leave our mothers, ending up in tears. Or the times we practiced riding a bicycle, fell many times, got hurt, cried, and became afraid to ride again, thinking of giving up. Everyone has such experiences.

In school, when we were first asked by a teacher to stand in front of the whole class and present, even holding the materials, we felt overwhelmed and wanted to give up numerous times.

Though the moments that make us feel like giving up vary from person to person, everyone, more or less, has faced such situations.

Now, many in our class are exploring further studies or job hunting. This year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many are facing tough situations and feeling lost. I’m also one of those affected. I finally found a part-time job in February, only to have to quit at the end of April. That led me to actively search for other means of income. Fortunately, I was able to join a volunteer group (supporting international students financially struggling due to COVID).

One of my mottos is “也許終點只有絶望和失敗、但這絶不是停止前行的理由.” This means that even if you know you’re heading towards inevitable failure, don’t worry about the outcome. Instead, seize the opportunity in front of you, take positive action, and strive to accomplish that task to the best of your ability. Even if you fail, you will gain valuable experiences and lessons.

Life is a series of choices. Every morning before getting up, our brain has to choose one of three options.

The first option is to “get up as the alarm goes off,” the second is to “press the alarm and sleep for another ten minutes,” and the third, the lazy option, is to “give up on getting up and keep sleeping, ignoring the alarm.” After choosing one of these, another choice about breakfast and laundry awaits. Whether to have rice or bread.

Thus, stacking up these choices, we make thousands, even millions of choices in a day. It makes you want to say “well done” to yourself.

Even if there are trillions of more choices and difficulties waiting ahead, let’s face each choice seriously, and even if it’s a challenging one, let’s not give up and strive to overcome it! Surely, delicious fruit awaits us beyond.