An Older Single Woman’s Journey to Pursue a PhD in America

Name: An Older Single Woman’s Journey to Pursue a PhD in America
Author: Lin Wenmo

大龄单身女，赴美读博路

by Lin Wenmo (林文墨)

Status: Ongoing
Length: 113k Words
Genre: Urban
Subgenre: Urban Everyday
Updated: 1y ago
Source: Fanqie

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Synopsis

I’ve seen both poverty and wealth with my own eyes.

The rich drive sports cars, live in villas, speak fluent English, and receive a good education. Handsome men and beautiful women, top students who think they’re modest and polite. They eat Western food, know their wines, have traveled all over the world, gone on adventures, and explored the arts.

I think back to the week before I was about to study abroad, when I wanted to eat peaches. Mom took me to a peach orchard in the countryside to pick some.

I saw the woman selling them. Years of exposure to the sun and wind had turned her face dark, and her wrinkles were truly carved into it like knife marks. Her hair was gray. In fact, she wasn’t even fifty yet.

It was hot in the orchard that summer. I saw a tent with a simple bed inside. A pillow and thin blanket lay in disarray on it, so dirty they had almost turned black. There was also a biscuit.

I didn’t feel disgusted at all.

I just thought that farming was so hard.

To stay alive, people had to make such an enormous effort and sacrifice so much. Even being reborn couldn’t change your fate, could it?

But who was I to feel sorry for the world? I was a complete mess myself, a throwaway NPC in a story about a heroine.

I knew that twenty thousand yuan was one month’s living expenses for me, a whole year’s income for many rural people, and just the cost of two meals for the rich.

That’s how crazy the world is.

If the poor never realize they’re poor, and the rich never recognize their own cruelty, both groups can be happy.

But stuck in the gap between wealth on one side and poverty on the other, I often feel like I’m suffocating.

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60Chapters

3.2kReads · all time

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Reader comments 9

Translated by Google Translate

So well written! It must be updated. At the same age of 30, the plight of the family of origin and the plight of the workplace, despite trying one's best, one can still see the differences between people and between classes. Only when you lose your filters to the world and people can you truly live and interact.
6 likes2y ago
Let's talk about the good parts first. This book really made me gain knowledge. I have never been abroad. After reading it, I have a certain understanding of the life of ordinary people studying abroad. As for the bad parts, I think the author seems to be a bit blaming. Reading the full text, there are mostly negative emotions. It's not easy to reach a certain occasion and find that you are surrounded by Kochi families, which makes people feel dissatisfied. It doesn't matter if you are dissatisfied, you still have to survive. It seems that the author's two roommates were both born very young. The girl from overseas is not even as good as the author. I don't agree with some of her remarks, but I think one of her good points is to see herself clearly and find a way out. She had no money, and the only value she could provide to others was her beauty. Using this as a starting point, she became rich. As described in the article, her life was pretty good. It is painful to accept reality and then adapt to reality, but if you want to develop further, you must see the reality clearly. In addition, I think the author's family is not as bad as you said. My parents have a good career, my parents also have college degrees, and my relatives around me are rich and powerful. This is already better than many people.
3 likes1y ago
It's so courageous to go out and study for a PhD. I've thought about going back to school for many years, but I've been procrastinating and I can't go back.
1 like1y ago
Is it realistic?
1 like2y ago
It's very true. I haven't read such a good first-person story in a long time. Come on, author, I believe you can do it.
1y ago
I really like this book of yours. Good luck to the author✊ for more updates 🤭
1y ago
Nice. Nice.
1y ago
Are you still studying in the United States, or are you going to Australia? I don't have any articles in my undergraduate degree. Will I really be unable to keep up if I go to a better school for the postgraduate entrance examination? Please give the author a clear answer
1y ago
It's very real, very heart-wrenching, and very insightful. I hope I can keep writing. Good luck, author💪
2y ago

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