2024: A Pivotal Year
Graduating from undergrad and leaving the familiar campus that shaped the past four years.
A 15-hour flight from China to Atlanta.
My first time leaving the country, my first time in the U.S., and my first time visiting Latin America.
XbotPark
At the beginning of the year, I spent time at the XbotPark base in Dongguan, meeting a group of entrepreneurial peers and participating in some “I to E” (innovator to entrepreneur) activities.
Special thanks to Zheng Zheng for pulling me into this adventure.
I visited suppliers in Dongguan and Huawei’s Songshan Lake campus. Along the way, I enjoyed some classic Cantonese dishes like white-cut chicken and fish maw soup.
The last few days there, we worked until 3 or 4 a.m. every night. At the time, that month felt like the longest month of my life.
The Final Semester
I loved the vast grove of dawn redwoods and the wetland park between the west gate and the library. When sunlight pierced through the leaves and illuminated the patches of grass below, everything seemed even greener.
I often wondered to myself, “If today were my last day here, how would I spend it?”
Maybe I’d wake up in the dorm, ride my electric bike to the campus shopping street, grab a Luckin Coffee, and pick up a 2.5-yuan pork bun from the nearby shop. Then, I’d find a window seat on the fourth floor of the library, open my laptop, and aimlessly browse random, unrelated web pages.
By 11:30 a.m., I’d head to Longhu Mall’s basement food court or the iron skillet stall on the first floor of Yinhua for lunch. Afterward, I’d nap until 1:30 p.m.
On the long, warm afternoons, I’d stay in the library but take a short walk around West Lake at 4 p.m. Returning to the library, I’d work until 5:30 p.m., all while pondering the eternal question of what to eat for dinner.
Would it be spicy hotpot on the first floor of Xuezi, teppanyaki on the third floor, Longhu’s Boboji skewers, or lamb rice noodles?
In mid-June, we took our graduation photos—faces familiar yet distant.
Before leaving, I saw a banner hanging over the dormitory gate: “Wishing the Class of 2024 a Bright Future.”
But I didn’t feel that bright future at all. Instead, the uncertainty of what’s ahead felt even greater.
Traveling
In 2024, I visited Guangzhou, Beihai, Zigong, Dujiangyan, Xinjiang, Atlanta, Colombia, and Panama.
Every trip felt like a grueling special-forces hiking challenge.