Today is the last day of the year 2011. We Chinese seem to have a tradition of looking back and summarizing the past. I don’t know if it is a fine tradition to spend time on this. Many other nations like the States prefer to focus on the present and look ahead. I guess it is one of the cultural differences between us and the West. I always believe that if we can combine the two, the Western and Chinese ways of thinking, we could be more prosperous and could possibly surpass every other nation. We tend to think rationally and always try to reach the state of being harmonious while Americans think more practically with a big I in the center of the picture.

As a Chinese person, I believe it is wise and beneficial to look back and draw some lessons from the past year. When I first realized that another new year was just around the corner, I was astonished at the relentless elapsing of time. I would always sigh with a sense of helplessness. You just cannot stop the going of time, the huge wheel of time. I wondered where the past twelve months had gone. Nothing much, it seems, has been accomplished in spite of the fact that I have been busy all the time. Was the whole year wasted? Furthermore, you have to face a cruel reality that you’re one year older, one step closer to the time when we have to go. How nice it would be if we could grow up in the first half of our lives and then grow younger in the second half!

Objectively speaking, we did a lot for our society as well as for our family. On the days when I had to oversee the morning reading, I usually got up very early, having to cook and walk my dog before going to work. On the road, the only people I saw were street cleaners and teachers and students. Usually it was still a little dark with some pale light on the horizon in the east. I never dare to neglect my duty of being a teacher. I’m gratified that most of my students appreciated what I did for them, though I cannot make everyone satisfied. As a husband and father, I think I was not a role model but passable, at least I did what I could to make them live a decent life.

Everything we did appears ordinary, nothing splendid which deserves to be admired. After all, we belong to the 99% who are common people. Life is not meant to be eventful. Life can be fun and even romantic sometimes. For most of the time, however, life is routine and could be dull. Life is made of little things that are concrete and practical. As a human, we cannot always expect to receive or unwisely wish to live a life of celebrities, which is beyond our means.

I seldom make New Year resolutions. However, it seems necessary to remind myself at this special moment: Be grateful! You’ve got so much! Just think how many people are still struggling for the next meal. How many are still trying to cover their body with thin clothes in the cold weather like today? Be nice to the people around you, no matter what they say or believe in. 99.9% of the hatred and arguments are caused by misunderstanding in communication. Be content with being nobody, with what you’ve fortunately got! Life is to be enjoyed. Life is like a mirror, which would smile back if you smile, and would also cry if you cry to it. Goodbye, 2011! I'm looking forward to stepping into a brand new year.