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52-year-old Xun Zhenghua stepped on the university campus for the first time, looking at those youthful young faces, his mood was extremely excited, as if returning to the bloody years.
The dream he once had finally come true, and the college dream he had been pursuing for many years came true. But for a mason in his mid-teens, why did he suddenly want to go to school? Family and friends questioned his decision, believing that he was too old to live in his old age rather than return to school.
After three years of hard study, Xun Zhenghua finally got his wish and got the coveted graduation certificate. But just before graduation, he was hit hard by reality and slapped him in the face.
Although his classmates and friends diligently recommended them to the employer, they were all politely rejected because of Xun Zhenghua's advanced age. With the rapid development of science and technology, Xun Zhenghua's unfamiliarity with computer operation once again exacerbated his difficulty in finding employment.
Seeing others with the ease of driving modern tools, he was ruthlessly left behind by reality.
The people around him either sympathized or laughed at the ridiculous behavior of this "poor man dreaming". But Xun Zhenghua did not regret his choice in the slightest. In his opinion, his past self was just a flat boat, adrift in the vast sea, trapped by various difficulties, unable to find a way.
Now, after learning something, he finally understands the nature and laws of many things, and has obtained a beacon to guide the direction. The benefits far outweigh the value of the money.
Originally, Xun Zhenghua, like most of us, was born in an ordinary rural family. His parents were hard-working and simple farmers, and the family barely survived on five or six acres of barren land.
From an early age, he learned to help his parents share some of the farm work he could, and that little figure was often busy in the golden fields.
However, Xun Zhenghua was born a diligent and studious child. He has also achieved remarkable academic success. In the third year of junior high school, Xun Zhenghua won the admission qualification of Laiwu County No. 2 Middle School with a high score of 549 points.
At that time, this achievement was enough to make him proud, because in fact, in a class of more than 60 people, on average, one student in every six people could go on to high school.
However, due to his ill-fated family's poverty and long-term malnutrition, he unfortunately suffered from eye disease, and his eyes were on the verge of blindness on the eve of the college entrance examination. He could no longer take this big test of life as scheduled, and his dream was shattered.
At that time, Xun Zhenghua could not afford the tuition required to repeat his studies, and in the face of the cruel situation, as the eldest son in the family, he resolutely gave up his studies and shouldered the heavy responsibility of supporting his family.
In the beginning, he could only do the heaviest manual work on the construction site, responsible for pushing small transports, carrying bricks and stones, and other heavy labor. But he never bowed to fate, and used his hands to change the status quo bit by bit.
With his determination to never admit defeat and his diligent skills, he finally mastered the art of bricklaying and earned the title of mason. This undoubtedly brought a new dawn to his life.
After having a fixed income and a happy family, Xun Zhenghua's life seems to be finally on the right track. However, the ideal of studying has always been involved in his heart, and it has never been erased.
He used to read books and newspapers in his spare time, and whenever he saw a favorite article, he would carefully study it word by word, and collect it in the form of newspaper clippings.
Day after day of accumulation, from his hands was born a newspaper clipping work that was half as tall as a whole body.
It wasn't until 2012 and 2017 that the two children were admitted to Binzhou Medical College and Qingdao University of Technology successively that Xun Zhenghua had the opportunity to realize his dream.
At the age of 52, he resolutely chose to apply for the university entrance examination, and came to the school to report without telling his wife. In order not to add a financial burden to his family, he worked hard every holiday to earn money to support his family, and only immersed himself in hard study in his spare time.
Despite all the criticism and criticism, Xun Zhenghua never wavered in his determination to study. During class, he always sat peacefully in the front row of the classroom; After class, his life is three-pointed: classroom, dormitory, library.
Even on holidays, when other students went out to play, he worked tirelessly to study and review his homework. He turned a deaf ear to the cynicism of the villagers; Even though his wife urged him several times to drop out of school and return to a peaceful life, he did not waver.
In Xun Zhenghua's own words: "When people have a wealth of 80 yuan, spending 3 yuan of it is not a luxury. In the same way, for the 80-year history of his life, it is not too much to spend 3 years to pursue his dreams.
Faced with his family's financial constraints, Xun Zhenghua once could only spend 50 yuan to share a simple rental house with his co-workers. During the day, he still fights on the construction site, and returns to the rental house at night to study online.
Sometimes I get burned out from overwork, but I get back to fighting at the thought of making my dream come true. Even during the pandemic, when the school switched to online classes, he insisted on self-study and did not relax.
In this way, Xun Zhenghua completed three years of university studies with excellent grades and got the coveted graduation certificate as he wished. On June 25, 2021, he held the certificate with joy and left a precious graduation photo with his classmates and friends in front of the teaching building.
Seeing that the ideals of the past were finally realized, Xun Zhenghua's heart was extremely excited.
However, the reality is often skinny. Just before leaving school, he suffered another blow in his life. Although his classmates and friends diligently recommended Xun Zhenghua to their respective leaders, they were all politely rejected because of his advanced age.
Although some business leaders praised Xun Zhenghua, it was still difficult to hire an employee who was over 55 years old based on the company's employment principles.
In addition to age concerns, companies are also worried that Xun Zhenghua will not be able to master modern technology tools. In fact, in daily life, as long as computer operation is involved, Xun Zhenghua will subconsciously ask for help from his classmates.
This rusty use of modern tools will undoubtedly become a stumbling block to his development. Technology is developing rapidly, but he is ruthlessly left far behind by reality.
Faced with the grim employment situation, Xun Zhenghua had no choice but to return to the construction site and continue to engage in the previous masonry work. The people around him had mixed reviews about this, some sympathized with him and returned from graduation and still achieved nothing, while others laughed at his ridiculous behavior of "poor man dreaming".
But Xun Zhenghua made a strong response to this, he believes that in the past, he could only stay at the level of experience when he was crawling on the construction site, and what he learned in college allowed him to understand the essential laws of things, and this gain is far better than money.
There is no doubt that for a 52-year-old, going back to school is an amazing thing that requires a lot of courage and determination. But Xun Zhenghua did not stop because of age, but devoted himself to the world of this young man with extraordinary enthusiasm.
During his time at school, in order not to add financial burden to his family, he worked tirelessly to earn money to support his family during the holidays, and only in his spare time could he calm down and study.
Even during the pandemic, when the school switched to online classes, he insisted on self-study in a humble rental house and used his spare time to review his homework. Sometimes I get burned out from overwork, but the thought of being able to achieve my dream brings me back to the fight.
Approaching graduation, Xun Zhenghua was praised by the school leaders as "a serious and hard-working, down-to-earth and motivated outstanding student". Despite his age, his diligence and eagerness to learn won the admiration of his teachers.
In fact, throughout his college years, Xun Zhenghua performed well, ranked among the best, and even won the first place in the department in an exam.
Now that he is over the age of six, Xun Zhenghua still maintains his thirst for knowledge. Working the construction site every day is to gain more life experience and understand this unknown world.
He said that he was just an ordinary worker, not showing off because he had a college degree, and he had no intention of changing his situation, but simply pursued his inner ideals.
Regarding the doubts of the outside world, Xun Zhenghua has never responded. In his view, going to college is only to fulfill the dream of his youth, not to obtain other benefits. Even if he repeats his life as a worker, he is unfazed, because this persistent pursuit has given him unparalleled spiritual enrichment.
Mr. Xun Zhenghua's experience is moving. In our society, most people are always under the pressure of life, and few people will really pursue their own ideals.
But Xun Zhenghua is different, he uses his actions to interpret the determination to never stop and never give up.
Perhaps for some people, going to college in their 50s is indeed a "waste of resources and a wasteful waste".
The pressure of life is heavy, but if each of us can never give up like Xun Zhenghua, pursue our ideals with courage and tenacity, even if it is just seeking spiritual satisfaction, our lives will surely shine and be steaming.
Mr. Xun Zhenghua told us a profound truth: the most precious thing in life is not money and status, but the never-ending heart that can stick to dreams. If we have dreams, we are great; If there is a pursuit, we are great.
In fact, everyone has a dream hidden in their hearts, but many people have lost the courage to pursue it by the time they discover their dreams.
Let us draw strength from Xun Zhenghua, even if we enter the second half of our lives, we will never give up on ourselves. Because as long as you have a breath, you will always have a chance to start over.
In Xun Zhenghua's own words: "In everyone's 80 years of life, it is not a high price to spend 3 years pursuing ideals.