The place you can’t go back to is your hometown, the place you can’t reach is the distance

I don’t know when it started, but I gradually noticed that the older people around me, most of whom were in their 40s and 50s, mentioned the word “sense of belonging” more and more.

He always has a sad expression on his face, as if he is talking about something that cannot be accomplished. I always smiled and listened quietly to their slightly sad reminiscences of the past, but without making much noise.

Until one day, I seemed to understand that the so-called belonging probably stems from the unique complex planted in people's hearts by a special place. The place will give rise to strong feelings, which will always linger in the heart.

01

I accidentally visited Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan.

In my impression, Henan is known as the Central Plains, with its plain terrain, staple food of pasta, profound culture and long heritage.

As the provincial capital of Henan, it seems to be very different from what I imagined. When we got off the train and left the station, our classmates were waiting at the exit. We gave each other a big hug to express our happiness and miss.

She is my high school classmate. She passed the college entrance examination and came here, and she adapted well. I worked as a vocal teacher in a piano store during my freshman year, and already had a considerable income, which was more than enough for living expenses. She always had a smile on her face.

She held my hand and took me to "see" the local environment of Zhengzhou. Following her footsteps and looking at parts of Zhengzhou in my eyes, I suddenly felt an inexplicable sadness, and I thought in a daze. After leaving the small town where I live, I don’t know if this is a “sense of belonging”.

02

To be honest, I am a little silent about this city.

After getting off the train at the train station and walking for about ten minutes, we reached the center of Zhengzhou. Wherever I looked, it seemed that the bustling city was not as prosperous as I had foreseen, but more of an untidy and chaotic order. Pedestrians ignore traffic lights, vehicles in traffic do not slow down because of passers-by, trash cans are always full of garbage, and the ground is a mess.

Seeing this is part of the reason for my silence, but I still cannot give this city an unfriendly evaluation. Because if you don’t understand it, you don’t have the qualification. I know this.

It would be unobjective and impolite for people to always evaluate something easily. What we can see is often only partial, and the evaluations we give are often one-sided. changes, so it is taboo to jump to conclusions.

But the impression is based on subjective feelings and is not conflicting.

Praise should be blurted out, and hurt should be thought twice before doing so. This is out of respect.

03

Welcome to our big city - Zhengzhou! Hahaha! "My classmate smiled at me very excitedly. I smiled and then asked her: "Have you ever thought about going back? ”

She answered me without thinking: “I always think about it, but the wages here are high, and you think, the house prices in Zhengzhou are quite high, ten thousand to twenty thousand per square meter, I was thinking about me How long will it take to buy a house in my current situation? I still want to be better off before going back. ”

I still smiled and said nothing, understanding her very well. In my opinion, her words were full of pride and helplessness.

There is nothing wrong with this. , the city will develop and progress, and in this process, she will always maintain an upward heart. And she who chose to live in this city has this upward heart. Deep in her heart, she still hopes to be the best. Returning to her hometown is one of the motivations for her efforts.

There are many foreigners like my classmates studying, working, struggling, and wandering in this city.

Most of the strangers I met and communicated with here came from different places and were not locals. They chose to work here mostly for a better life. When it comes to the small city where they were born and raised, they always It is a gentle-looking place, and the place where you give birth is always the best place.

But they are in a foreign land, and their uneasiness and embarrassment cannot be hidden or covered up, including my classmates, so I say that home is a place of belonging. I may think that I will be happy, but it cannot give me peace of mind.

04

It is when we are twenty years old that we choose the city where we will work for a better future because we hope that when we are forty or fifty years old, we Able to gain that "sense of belonging" deep in my heart.

Because I am young, I strive hard. When you were young, you may have left your hometown just to return home in a better place.

People say that there are beauties in the north, peerless and independent. Men will feel wonderful just thinking about it.

Our original intention of yearning for the distant future remains unchanged, because beautiful things are always far away. We long for beauties and pursue ideals because we cannot reach the distance we imagine in our hearts.

In order to wait until the age of forty, we choose to live up to our youth at the age of twenty. As the saying goes, the place you can't go back to is your hometown, and the place you can't reach is the distance.

People are always on the road.