What is beauty? Where does confidence come from? Recently, at the China Ice and Snow Night event held at the Beijing Capital Gymnasium, Gu Ailing chatted with everyone about her answers to these questions.
I don't want to speak to you tonight as the youngest gold medal winner in skiing, I want to be your friend, Gu Ailing, and chat with you for a while.
Let me introduce myself, I am 18 years old and especially enjoy skiing, my cat and food. I would pick different fields to bloom my perfectionism, and other times I was a very normal youth. That's what I want to talk to you about most today.
As young people, we will have a lot of influence from the outside world. Sometimes, we hear the voices of our parents, sometimes, we hear the voices of social networks, and we hear the voices of our friends. But what I want to ask you today is, what is your voice? Who are you as an individual?
For example, let's talk about the definition of beauty, I hope you can think about it now, use three words to describe beauty, describe beauty. Why do we want other people to think we are beautiful, is it because we think the more beautiful we are, the more other people will love us? Then think about it, the people you love the most, it may be your family, your friends, in three words why do you love them? Are these three words a little different from the three words of beauty? In fact, in different places and at different times, the definition of beauty is always changing, but the inner beauty will never change. Anyone can learn to be generous, kind, and confident. Yes, you heard that right, confidence can be learned.
As another example, for me, skiing is my biggest source of confidence. I started skiing when I was eight years old and I was the only girl on our team. And the school I was going to was an all-girls school, so I saw these boys and thought: Wow, like aliens, how do I communicate with them? It was so terrible that I didn't dare talk to them.
But when I learn a new move, they'll ask me, "Ailing, how did you learn that?" How did you do it? When they learn, I also ask, "What do you see in the air?" What did you feel like when you landed? "So through skiing, I found friendship; through skiing, I found confidence. Not by looks, but by skiing, by sports.
When I was ready to do the 1620 action, my mother and I had already agreed that the night before I said not to do this action, it was too dangerous, and there were two projects behind it. I said yes, but after I finished the second jump, I already knew I was going to challenge. Because since I was nine years old, my goal has always been the same: I want more Chinese teenagers, especially girls, to contact and fall in love with ice and snow sports, find self-confidence through sports, break their boundaries, and become the best version of themselves.
I know that when I was in the Olympics, I was on the biggest stage, and I had a lot of friends in China who were paying attention to me, and there were many people abroad. So I feel like I've been saying this all along, and now it's my turn, and I'm not afraid of mistakes, because I love the process, and I love the skiing itself. So I called my mom and said, "Mom, I'm going to do this," and she said, "You don't do it, we've already said we're good, you don't do it, why are you doing this, it's too dangerous." Then I said, "Mom, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."
Because my mother especially respected my freedom since I was a child, she would let me have my own choices, did not want to control my life, but wanted to accompany me to grow up. She wanted to guide me, but her biggest goal was for me to enjoy my life. Because we have this respect and connection, she said, "Well, I respect your choice, you want to do this action, you just do it, stay safe."
I was particularly touched at the time, because in fact, I am generally consistent with my mother. But it was the first time I really said that no matter what you say, I'm going to do this and as a result she supported me, so thank you so much for my great mom. When I did this 1620 movement, I felt like the most beautiful and confident moment of my life.
By skiing, I became the best version of myself, I found my platform, I found a way to let more people know about the sport, that's my goal. Others can also push their boundaries through sports, through their love, and make the world a better place.
Thank you!
(wc: People's Daily)