Having All of Nothing

April, 1987

One young man is getting ready to graduate from high school in Beijing, the capital city of China. He has safely finished taking Gaokao, the national college entrance exam everyone has to go through if they want to attend college. The placement exam placed him at Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, one of the best pharmaceutical programs in the country. As the oldest son of his chemistry professor parents, it was a promise to attend a prestigious college, and the parents were sure proud of him. As valedictorian of his graduating class, he is representing the school by going into the medical field.

His mother approaches him and says, "Are you ready? Do you have your speech memorized? You’re going to do great. Just bring that diploma back for us."

"Son, we are proud of you," his father says, looking him straight in the eye.

"Thank you for everything that you’ve done for me all these years. I will not disappoint you," he replies with a strong sense of determination in his eyes.

He isn’t that tall, but his intelligence and boldness make him appear taller. Teachers say that he is a role model for other students, and for this reason, many of his classmates look up to him – his younger brother being one of them. His family isn't necessarily wealthy; they are just "comfortable.” The fitting comfort within the household allows him and his brother to focus on their schoolwork and hobbies. His younger brother is good at sports, while he is all about academics. Their parents are certain that they are going to be something big in the future because that’s how they raised them.

About 450 miles northeast of the capital lies the city of Shenyang. Going even further north, around 50 more miles, lies the small rural town of Jinwutaizixiang. A single scan of a stained photograph capturing the town hall is all that comes up on an internet search. The town consists of around 100 people, most of whom are farmers. One young woman studies hard all day and all night to attend university and to eventually get her family out of poverty. Her hair burns at the tips from the candles, which she relies on when studying in a house without electricity. Not to mention, she is severely emaciated from a lack of nutrition. All the family has to eat are some potatoes and old cabbage.

Her mom, excitedly, says, "Kids, tonight’s dinner is going to be special. We got some pork from the neighbors."

She replies, "Mother, how did we get that?"

Her mom replies, "The neighbor’s pig, the sickest one, got cancer and died this morning. So they were distributing the meat to everyone in town. They couldn’t sell those to the market."

An hour later, the "dining table" made out of blocks of dried mud welcomes the family’s first meat dish in over a year, a big deal to them.

"How was school today?" the mother asks.

"It was great. I was told that I might be able to get a full scholarship to Shenyang University,” she replies. 

"I am proud of you." her mother says with teary eyes.

Three out of her four older siblings have already dropped out of school. Some didn’t even attend one day of school. She is the family’s last hope. The responsibility of taking care of everyone in the family is now on her.

"I will not disappoint you, mother. I can’t thank you enough for raising me and my siblings. I promise, I will get you out of this misery."

"My poor girl, I don’t want you to burn yourself out, though. You’re the youngest one. You have to eat the most and sleep the most out of all of us. Look at you; you’ve become so skinny because you’re doing the opposite of what I tell you to do," her mother says, worried.

"Mother, because none of my older siblings did anything for you, I have to. Also, you have become as skinny as I am, so please, take care of yourself. I’ve got this." She says it confidently. Before her mother could even respond to her, she was already up, getting ready to study for six more hours at night – it was her routine.

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March, 1995

Two young individuals, born and raised in a communist country, look for freedom of speech – one is heading to Japan, the other is heading to the United States of America.

The woman was just offered a full scholarship to study at a college in Japan, following her bachelor education at Shenyang University, while the man flew to New York to attend graduate school.

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September, 2003

The first day they met – back in Beijing – a huge conference was taking place, and pretty much all the businessmen and women in China were showing up. The two are attending their first business conference after each pursuing advanced education for nearly 15 years. The man graduated from the University at Albany with a master's degree in computer science a few years ago, while the woman also graduated from a university in Tokyo with a master’s degree in economics. The two are now considered the ones with higher degrees in society, which was expected for the man but not at all for the woman, who came from nothing.

"Hi. It’s nice to meet you. What is your name?" The man asked the woman first.

They had no idea that a simple introduction of each other would turn into hours of long conversations that would eventually spark interest in each other.

"Isn’t it so interesting how we both left the country to study but happened to meet each other here back in Beijing?" The man says.

"Yes, certainly. I would love to get to know more about you. It seems like you have a clear goal for the future," the woman smiles.