Guangen Shen (申关根)

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I was born in a small remote village, nestled in the mountains. Although I long to visit the big cities, my village lacks developed roads. People in my village either do farm work or hard labor. The only source of income in my family is the money earned by my father. Unfortunately, when I was little, I fractured my right arm, and in order to afford my medical expenses, his family had to borrow money from neighbors. To pay for tuition fees of both my sister and me, my father had to find a second job. The work was hard to find because my father is illiterate. Like many other poor families who have children attending school, my family is heavily in debt.

Despite my difficult circumstances, I love to read. Physics is my favorite subject. When I was in elementary school, I often borrowed physics textbooks from my older sister every time I went home. Since I lived approximately 8.3 miles away from my elementary, I could only go home once every three weeks. In middle school, I enjoyed physics and chemistry, but now, I have discovered that astronomy is my passion.

I like science so much that I decided to be a scientist. People say that poor people do not have aspirations, but I disagree – success does not always require money. I think that as long as I have confidence and perseverance, anything is possible. When I was in elementary school, I knew that I had to study hard to get into middle school. And when I was in middle school, I made up his mind to study hard to get into college. I believe that knowledge can change my destiny. In rural and remote areas, the only way out is to learn more. Being skillful and knowledgeable can help me achieve my goals. I want my parents to have happy and fulfilling lives – in my opinion, being poor is not pathetic, but staying poor is cowardly. One day, I believe I will get out of poverty and lead a happy life. My arm may be fractured now, but my hopes are not.

(Translated from Guangen’s autobiographical sketch)