After living in Europe for three months, I deeply realized: East Asians seem to start at the age of 30 when they are 18 years old.
In Europe, Europeans and Americans tend to look down upon decisions and turning points in life. They can change majors at will, just because they are not interested; they can resolutely drop out of school and spend a gap year, just to experience a different life; they can even turn off their mobile phones and meditate, devoting themselves to hiking, cycling, and returning to nature, but The work makes them exhausted. Or, you might choose to just enjoy a relaxing relationship after a long-term relationship ends. Various decisions may seem random, but they also demonstrate the autonomy and freedom of life.
On the other hand, children in East Asia learn step by step from an early age. In our perception, every stage of life is like a critical golden moment that cannot be missed. If you fail to get into a good high school, it seems that your life is a failure; if you fail to get into a good university, it seems that your future is bleak; if you choose the wrong first job, you will feel that your life is a failure. Trapped in a dilemma; if you miss the best time to choose a mate, it feels like your life is over. If you fail to achieve something by the age of 25, you are in danger; if you have not achieved anything by the age of 30, it will be a disaster in life. Our lives seem to be controlled by a ticking time bomb. If we are not careful, our lives will be blown to smithereens.
Facing the lifestyle of Europeans and Americans, we inevitably have complicated emotions in our hearts. On the one hand, we envy them that they can have sunny beaches without having to work eight hours a day; but on the other hand, we can't help but feel that such a life is a bit monotonous. Just like when we try to express our thoughts accurately in English, we know that the unique context, emotions, and complex upbringing experiences behind some Chinese words cannot be fully conveyed to the other party. In this exchange, our individual characteristics become blurred and we are reduced to an East Asian image under a unified template.
We often regret that things we should have experienced when we were 18 did not happen until we were 30. However, looking at it from another perspective, without all the experiences before the age of 30, we would not have the deeper ideas we have today. It is better to experience the world with this mentality than the ignorance and recklessness of youth. Today, we not only retain some of the adventurous spirit of newborn calves, but also have the rational analysis of adult thinking. Even if the 18-year-old journey begins at 30, so what? After all, we East Asians have our own life time zone and flowering period.
I hope you can share your views on this cultural difference in the comment area. You are also welcome to share this article with more people and explore life trajectories under different cultural backgrounds.
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