作者：张智慧

　　It was in the year of 1999, the unexpected failure in College Entrance Exam smashed all previous wishes and threw me to a college that most of the outsiders had never known. On the very first day there I just told myself to accept what I could not change and change whatever I could. I had been a busy girl since then.

　　I registered in the National Self-educated Exam for Bachelor Degree, which proved to be an absolutely pains consuming course in the following four years. I made great efforts to keep a good record in my original major. I was extraordinarily active in Students’ Union. Also I did part-time jobs on irregular basis. I struggled for something even unclear for myself during the whole college period. After graduation, I was selected to work for a co-hosted program between a Ministry and Unite Nations. I was as busy as before, if not more than. I kept studying in the evenings. I seldom had weekends because I usually went for various training classes. Last year, I began to study English at Online Institution of Beijing Foreign Studies University.

　　In a long time, I used to value happiness with personal goals as most people. I thought I would be happy and relaxed once I finished an exam, got a Bachelor Degree, found a good job or something else. Then something happened to my director and close friend totally changed my mind. She was diagnosed suffering a severe cancer right before her departure to UK for the long-dreamed further education with Scholarship. I witnessed how she struggled for life with great courage during the whole year. I got to know that goals were endless in the journey of one’s life but one could not focus on goals themselves. I also finally forgave my failure to be admitted by a brilliant university. I learnt that “the scope and possibility of one’s success was not determined by which college you attended. The experiences you encountered and the characters you developed were far more important than the name on your diploma.”

　　Just on this Sunday, I went through all procedures to get the BA of Journalism while I may have to give up my job because of an unexpected thing . I am not so excited about what I achieved. Either not so frustrated by what I might lose and the pain I suffer. The most important thing is that I got to understand there was a big difference between achieving to be happy and achieving happily. We should take good care of ourselves, enjoy every single day, and make use of it to the fullest while squeezing happiness out of each moment.

　　Achieving to be happy or achieving happily? You definitely know my choice.