Thesis thanks to Su Zhengmin, who moved the entire network, for pursuing a graduate degree: I am an ordinary person who does not want to praise suffering. Liangshan | Life | Whole Network
On September 3rd, Su Zhengmin, a college student from Liangshan, Sichuan, has returned to Central South University of Economics and Law to pursue a master's degree after more than a year of teaching support.
In addition to being a graduate student at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Su Zhengmin is more well-known for his 6000 word thank-you essay written in 2022, which also touched the entire internet.
Su Zhengmin returned to Central South University of Economics and Law to pursue a graduate degree. Image/Provided by Respondent
On September 2nd, the day before the new student's registration day, Jiupai News contacted Su Zhengmin. He spoke in a calm tone over the phone, as if he had not become restless due to numerous reports and promotions over the past year. He also patiently responded to problems.
Frugality is a habit of children growing up in a poor environment. Even though they have received many subsidies from various sectors of society, Su Zhengmin still chose to take the green train from Liangshan to Wuhan in order to save more money.
Just by train, he needs to sit for 20 hours to arrive in Wuhan the next morning. Qi optimistically stated that it is now much better than before. Five years ago, when I enrolled in my undergraduate program, it took me 9 hours to travel from Liangshan to Chengdu alone, and it took me 30 hours to get to Wuhan.
Luggage map brought by Su Zhengmin for this school registration/provided by the interviewee
If we could go back in time, perhaps we wouldn't have the courage to write that thank-you article
A year ago, Su Zhengmin, who was about to graduate from his senior year, completed the main part of his graduation thesis. In the library on a summer night, he began writing the final thank-you section.
"At the time of writing, I didn't have any special plans and only hoped to summarize my past life. Many people may think that graduating from undergraduate was not a very special experience, but for me, who had a bumpy academic journey and faced the risk of dropping out multiple times, successfully completing my studies from Central South University of Finance and Economics was a very valuable thing."
Speech by Su Zhengmin at the 2022 Graduation Ceremony of Central South University of Economics and Law Image/Network
Expressing gratitude to those who have helped him along the way is also the reason why he wrote this long thank-you article. He feels that he currently cannot repay them on a material level, and recording their help in this way is a way to give back to them. He also hopes to remind himself not to forget his original intention.
This thank-you article took Su Zhengmin two nights, and he described his bumpy academic journey with emotional and sincere words. Not long after, the article received high attention online, but there were also some voices questioning his attention grabbing skills.
He told Jiupai News that he was not praised for his paper itself, but for receiving praise in the acknowledgment section, which made him feel a bit ashamed of the controversy.
After the incident gained attention, he wrote a paragraph in his notebook, flipping it out and reciting, "I wrote my most sincere emotions in what I consider to be the most solemn, sacred, and representative place, but perhaps this is not compliant."
He said that if he goes back to the past with the current mindset, he may not have the courage to write this thank-you again.
Faced with some questioning voices, he said, "I have indeed received honors along the way from studying to teaching, and I have heard many unpleasant words. Whether it is praise or criticism of me personally, I don't think it matters. I don't care about others criticizing me. I think it's normal. If it were me, I might also feel that this person is riding on the heat, and I can understand it very well. I am willing to do many things for my hometown, but I never expect these things I do to highlight my personal contribution. Sometimes, I don't care about the promotion of myself."
Build a public library for my hometown and make plans with my children to go home after graduation
A few years ago, a volunteer teacher named Liang Jun created the song "Moss" based on ancient poetry while teaching in Guizhou. One of the lyrics was "If it weren't for that tear irrigation, perhaps it would still be that naive child." This lyrics is also suitable to describe Su Zhengmin's educational experience.
Young Su Zhengmin knew that his impoverished family was facing considerable economic pressure to support his education. After seeing the "endless scenery" of those working people his age returning to their hometowns, he had considered dropping out of school and working more than once. After learning about this, my father, who valued education, chose stick education. "We worked so hard and just didn't want you to suffer from being uneducated again!" His mother, who had always been strong, cried beside him. The memory of being beaten this time still lingers in his memory.
The thank-you article has made Su Zhengmin popular all over the internet, receiving care from various sectors of society for many years. Su Zhengmin, who has also won awards and scholarships through his efforts, believes that he has the ability and it is time to give back to society. So after graduating from undergraduate studies, he chose to return to a middle school in Liangshan to teach as a volunteer.
A picture of quality development activities carried out by Ayi Bookstore/provided by respondents
Many students who have heard of this teacher's story are curious about him. His students wrote in their essays, "Today a new teacher has arrived. He stands among the seven dwarfs, like the eighth dwarf, with skin as black as if he had just come back from digging coal."
Previously, these words were mostly spoken among his peers, which also hurt his self-esteem. Now, he can accept them calmly, and with humility and nature, he has a relationship with his classmates as both a teacher and a friend. On the other end of the phone interview, one could vaguely hear the voices of children around him joking with him.
In Liangshan, he is not only a volunteer teacher, but also a philanthropist who is dedicated to the education cause. Although the learning and living conditions of children in Liangshan are no longer as difficult as they were in the past, and basic education is also guaranteed, the issue of extracurricular education for many left behind children remains a local challenge.
He often sees children after school squatting in the corner of the wall and surfing the internet, using their phones to watch short videos and play games, and lacks extracurricular education on the way to work. So he and other classmates engaged in public welfare began to organize a public welfare bookstore, named after the Yi word "Ayi" which means "child". Now, five Ayi bookstores have been built, and another two are under construction. The books in Ayi Bookstore are all donated by individuals and businesses, and after approval, they will be released to various bookstores for children to read.
Reading is a sacred thing in Su Zhengmin's heart. When he was in junior high school, his father passed away due to illness, and he experienced a period of dropping out. After helping his family plant the land, he accidentally discovered a book called "Ordinary World" that his father had picked up from his home.
When reading this book, the description of the life scene of not being able to leave the mountains inside made him feel unwilling, and also made him decide to leave the mountains. When he came to Wuhan for university, reading was also his way of balancing the sense of separation between his backward hometown and the bustling city.
Su Zhengmin, who returned to his hometown to support education, has been striving to enhance the richness of educational activities. In addition to regular coursework, he also values shaping students and respects their dreams. After understanding the students' ideal careers, he invited students from various majors and industry practitioners he met on the path of public welfare to provide online career introductions for the children, including students from higher education institutions, veterans, and newspaper reporters.
Ayi Bookstore is not just a separate place for reading. During winter and summer vacations, college student volunteers come to several bookstores distributed in village committees or township communities, ranging from about ten square meters to 50-60 square meters, to carry out quality development activities for local children, mainly focusing on music, painting and other aesthetic education work.
Farewell painting sent by local students in Liangshan to Su Zhengmin/provided by interviewees
Now that Su Zhengmin's volunteer teaching life has come to an end, he still feels that his work has not met expectations despite his pursuit of perfectionism. He made an agreement with the children that he would definitely return to Liangshan when he completed his studies.
When bidding farewell to Su Zhengmin, the students gave him various gifts, including essays and paintings. Among them, "study hard and step out of the mountains" was the most frequently mentioned phrase.
When being reported extensively, I am afraid that I will get lost because of it
In the past year, Su Zhengmin has gone through a lot of interviews and reports. When asked if this would bring psychological pressure, he told Jiupai News. After all, he is just a young man in his early twenties. At the beginning of facing overwhelming publicity, he will feel proud and wonder if he is really good? However, he, who had always been accustomed to self reflection, soon began to develop feelings of panic, fearing that he would lose himself as a result.
Later on, I realized that from the Western Development to poverty alleviation, I had always been basking in the glory of national development. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible for me to step out of the mountains under such conditions. Therefore, I still need to think more. It is not that I am truly outstanding. Without the help of social activists and policies, I may find it difficult to move forward. It would be terrifying to become complacent because every year there are many children who come out of the border, and everyone should face their shining moments with a calm heart.
"I have always believed that I am a very ordinary person. I cannot escape the shortcomings of most people, such as arrogance, carelessness, and so on. It is just that the media has magnified a person's small strengths. In the past, I have been persistently exercising for blood donation, such as running and pulling the horizontal bar every day. However, recently, due to fewer blood donations, people have become lax and have not persisted in exercising. Therefore, it can be seen that my self-control is actually poor and I am working hard to improve."
Local children in Liangshan are studying at Ayi Bookstore/provided by respondents
Returning to school again, Su Zhengmin's identity became that of a graduate student. Compared to when he first started his undergraduate studies five years ago, his biggest feeling was that he had become more confident. With a better understanding of the country's funding system, he became more natural when applying for student loans and other affairs upon enrollment. "After living in a place with humanistic care like university, I have become less introverted. When I return to school, I no longer worry about not being able to get along well with my classmates and teachers due to my introverted inferiority complex."
As he said, the media sees him as just an ordinary student in the wilderness, naturally leading to confusion in a new stage of life. Now he is also worried about how to excel in his graduate studies and is struggling to publish more papers.
He made an agreement with the children in his hometown that he would return to Liangshan after graduation. Regarding his plans for the future, his current ideas mainly have three directions. Firstly, he will continue to go back and become a teacher to help more children get out of the mountains through education; The second is to return to the hometown Youth League Committee to serve young people, train them to go out, and also strive to guide them back to build their hometown; Another option is to go to the grassroots and do practical things face-to-face for the local people to change their lives.
His several considerations are all related to building his hometown, which is also his original intention for pursuing postgraduate studies. He knows that with his undergraduate education level, carrying out basic work in his hometown can actually meet the requirements, but he is not satisfied with it. He believes that only by cultivating his skills better can he make more contributions to his hometown.
Su Zhengmin is a child who emerged from suffering, but this Yi ethnic child admits that he is not grateful for the suffering. "I am not someone who likes to stir emotions. Only those who successfully survive in the end will describe suffering as a wealth, but how many people have not been able to survive? For these people, suffering is just suffering."
He added, but facing difficulties and overcoming hardships is a spirit of perseverance that I think is commendable, because no one can guarantee that they will not encounter difficulties. People need this kind of spiritual power.
