Heart is full of wind

To this day, I am already a junior student. After experiencing the baptism of the college entrance examination and the long journey of seeking knowledge in university, I can still say without hesitation: Teacher Jiang is the best and most important person in my life. A teacher who had a subtle influence on my outlook on life and the world in junior high school and even later. For me, the nickname Jiang Ma is well deserved.

In junior high school, I was still in a period of ignorance, and I yearned for the adult world, especially Jiang Ma’s casualness, freedom and fearlessness, which made this yearning come true in daily life. For a long time after we first met, I could not summarize to my parents what kind of woman my head teacher was. She could be in a red dress like a fire on the first day of school, or she could be in a plain white dress under the ginkgo tree in early autumn. It can also be a handsome jacket and overalls... In the end, I can only draw one conclusion: Jiang's mother is a very tolerant woman. In terms of clothing, she is willing to accept and constantly try new or unfamiliar styles, and she can also understand and respect styles that she does not like and are not suitable for. These are reflected in the treatment of students. Students are not measured by their grades. Poor grades do not mean that the student is poor in all aspects. Similarly, students with excellent grades cannot be excellent in everything. Every student has his or her own characteristics. Each style has its own way to go. What she will do is to correct the students in a good direction, rather than force the students to change the so-called good path.

This is how Mother Jiang treats us and how she treats her son. She encourages her son and us to try things we have never done before in college and to get in touch with new things. Of course, within legal and ethical boundaries. As for me, in addition to envying my senior for trying to tie up the pigtails on his head, and then "wasting time" on his favorite photography with a camera in his arms, I have to admit that I am really jealous of my senior for having such an open-minded mother.

Jiang Ma is even more free with herself. The books she has read and the roads she has traveled are all reflected in her movements and her broad thoughts. I once stood in a church with a towering spire, watching the pure veil flying above the bride's swaying smile, and listened to the tender and sweet children's voices singing hymns. I also climbed up the stairs step by step, holding my hands in the smoke of incense. Putting hands together, I admire the solemnity of the Mahavira and sigh for the mercy of our Buddha. However, I still cannot understand what freedom is. There is responsibility in holiness, and there is awe in solemnity. Responsibility is a limitation, and awe is also a limitation. When I was in high school, I followed thousands of troops on the single-plank bridge. I was confused and at a loss. Time flew by but it was painful. Suddenly one day, I turned to an old picture in the photo album. It was the first snowfall of a certain winter. Mother Jiang stopped a class and drove us out to play in the snow. The photo was frozen in the moment when we were laughing and having fun... ...So all the memories about Ma Jiang kept flowing, and the two strands of thoughts in my mind that couldn't match up were finally connected.

Life is short. If you don’t live casually and focus on the things you like, wouldn’t you be living up to your time in this world? Freedom inherently has limits. Unlimited freedom will only make people confused and even destroy a person. Restrictions come from the outside world or from the self. Focusing on what you like is a very direct form of self-restraint, and this restriction helps reduce freedom, so you can choose your own path, and it is also on the way forward. Be the source of fearlessness. So all the problems were solved, and I finally chose my favorite university and major, and I got what I wanted after the college entrance examination. It took me a long time to understand that this period of confusion and clarity was the beginning of my self-identity.

I don’t know what kind of person I will become, nor what kind of life I will have in the future, but I know that I am meant to be constantly refreshed, and life is meant to be experienced rather than feared. Mother Jiang teaches by words and deeds what it means to be free and easy, and what it means to be free and fearless. Then I think, with a peaceful mind, the future will be promising.

It’s not just Mother Jiang’s, it’s not just mine.