It’s the end of the year again, hi! 2021 me, what are you busy with?
You once told me: you love freedom. But since you graduated from middle school and embarked on the journey of 2021, you feel like you’ve lost the freedom you cherish. However, in this passing 2022, I will tell you the answer: it’s not true.
In 2022, you regained the freedom you longed for, and the brilliant fireworks will reflect the grandeur of your soul. You no longer speak of "freedom" casually, but instead feel the warmth and coldness of the world with your heart. Even if natural disasters separate you from distant horizons, and man-made calamities distance you from the corners of the earth, nothing will stop your soul from reaching the edges of your ideals.
Your beloved brother has finally stepped into the hall of marriage. After a lifetime of searching, he has found his true love and has a child he loves dearly. You suddenly realize that you have become an elder, and your mother’s once black hair is starting to turn gray. Tears roll down your face, which should still be youthful but is gradually maturing. You finally realize that time is quietly slipping away from both of you, and you should no longer indulge in meaningless stubbornness. You resolve to change yourself, change your family, and change the world.
You cannot forget those beautiful old times that made you linger. You gently touch those mementos, those fragments of memories, silently shedding tears. But in the end, you deeply bow to the past, bidding it farewell, determined to seek a new future.
In the past year, you chose to stay more in this small city, watching the fleeting time slip away. Here, you felt the warmth and coldness of the world, the vicissitudes of life. You are no longer filled with passion, no longer recklessly charging forward, but rather viewing everything rationally and cautiously taking each step. You know that perhaps your former self was full of youthful vigor, but now you appear more dignified and profound. However, before this, many voices influenced your thoughts, making you impulsive. Looking back, you realize you did not understand the darkness of political struggles; you should become profound, and thus you have understood new truths that have made you deeper.
Listening to both sides brings clarity; believing only one side brings darkness.
Wang Fu, "Qianfu Lun: Brightness and Darkness"
Becoming profound does not mean you have lost your fervor. You have not made more friends, but rather slowly moved forward with those old friends, sharing each other's heartfelt thoughts. Your old friends are happy to spend joyful times with you, and their evaluation of you remains the same: a lovely and passionate friend. You finally understand the true meaning of what Xin Qiji wrote: “Searching for him thousands of times in the crowd, suddenly turning around, that person is there, in the dim light.” The beauty you once spent countless years pursuing is actually right beside you. You smile and wave to fate, telling fate: although it once played such a joke on you, you still found the beauty you sought. You walk away, no longer arguing with fate, leaving it to ponder for a long time.
In the past 2022, the Chinese people have endured too much suffering! One round of suffering after another, and you cannot escape it either. You absurdly think that 2018 took away too many guardians of this world, but only now do you realize that perhaps you will become a new guardian of this world? Your kind light shines upon the entire universe; life is the meaning you pursue, and you should become stronger and more resolute, gradually growing into the person you love most.
You are losing, yet also blooming. You are exploring the warmth of this world, discovering those details you never paid attention to, which are the most precious memories you possess and will not lose. Those moments with your loved ones will become enchanting and provide you with endless motivation to move forward. The future will soon bloom in your sea of flowers!
You still need to write more articles that touch people's hearts, helping countless lives that are suffering like your former self. Please remember: start by changing yourself, gradually change your family, and ultimately change this world.
You are me, and I am you.
Sincerely
To my 2021 self at the end of the year
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