The Year of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony

Featured on the “2020 Must-Read List for Female Readers”

A poem conceals the universe; a dream twists and turns through countless lives.

It seems as easy as reaching into a bag to take something, but in truth it is like trying to scoop up the moon reflected in water.

Heavens, I’m begging you! We only get one life, and all I want is to enjoy it. I came here to live, not to undergo tribulations...

The heavens said, “Which would you choose: hardship before sweetness, or sweetness before hardship?”

I don’t know, but Great-Grandpa said, “Once you’ve suffered enough in this life, sweetness will come naturally.”