Have you ever felt like you're running a race you never signed up for?
Yeah, I have. Actually, everyone around me feels the same way.
"Involution" is so common in my country that you don't have the power to choose your own life. Everyone's life seems to be planned (your only task is learning to get higher scores when you were a child). You might think you're free when you're a university student. Yeah, I thought so too. But unfortunately, society expects you to study hard so you can get an easier job or go to a more prestigious university. When you become an adult, you have to endure "996"—go to work at 9 am, go home at 9 pm, six days a week. Or "PUA"—a common workplace tactic where managers constantly criticize and gaslight you.
Have you ever been told you're "not doing proper work"?
You will be told you're "not doing proper work" if you go against society.
During my college years, I tried to solve some problems I noticed. I built a website to collect practice problems and learning resources — hoping to help students who wanted to learn something new but couldn't find suitable materials. But I failed. I kept asking myself: should I persist? Is it right?
"Why not study hard and find a good job?", "Your classmates study so hard." Sometimes I ask myself: am I being irresponsible to myself by choosing a different way?
I still remember that time in university when I first built and released my first product. It failed.
To be honest, that experience taught me something unforgettable. As developers, we always dive into the mud, chasing bleeding-edge technology while ignoring how users feel. Though others laughed at me, I took away one key lesson from that failure — "Technology is not supreme, but rather serves people." That's a lesson I still carry with me today.
Even though everyone — or society — tries to persuade me to give up, I will never, never give up, until the day I die. If I could start over, I would still choose this path.
Do you have a similar experience? Would you still choose a different path if you had a chance to restart?
Top comments (2)
I can relate, and yes, you are doing the right thing!
Where we are and what we have right now are the best things that could have happened to us out of all the infinite possibilities and realities.
It may not be satisfying our expectations but we can't get better than this.
Keep going. Keep moving forward! Anything that can stop us should be left behind!
Thank you so much for this lovely comment — it honestly made my day. It means the world to know someone gets exactly what this struggle feels like, and I’ll keep pushing forward just like you said.