My First Milestone: Looking Back on Two Years of Work
Preface: I like to treat a two-year period as one professional phase. Having worked for two years now, let me write a bit about these two years of growing up.
I rarely visit my own blog these days. Every single day flies by in a frantic blur, with no time to catch my breath. Honestly, that’s not a healthy way to live. I still remember my homeroom teacher back in my freshman year of high school—he was a wonderful teacher who never yelled at students. No matter how well or poorly we behaved, he would always set aside some time after a while for us to reflect and look back at where we’d been. Back in my school days, probably not many students realized just how meaningful that was. But now, I realize that the busier you are, the more important it is to pause, step back, and look at the trajectory of the path you’ve walked—remembering both the hurdles you stumbled over and the laughter you shared.
In the blink of an eye, I’ve been working for over two years. I remember when I first started, I was constantly wishing for more vacation days. That wish gradually faded away—not because I didn’t want them, but because I had to face reality.
During this time, I’ve learned a lot. For a while, I would come home every day feeling a massive sense of accomplishment, watching myself grow step by step. That feeling was absolutely incredible. Before long, however, those moments became fewer and farther between. Gradually, my sense of responsibility grew. I slowly transitioned from being just a hands-on worker at the absolute bottom of the ladder to someone drafting plans and guiding others. But I guess I wasn’t born to be a pure manager; I’ve never forgotten what I truly love to do, and I continue to do it with endless enthusiasm.
Reflecting on these two years, the question that always left me most bewildered was: “What is your career plan?” I probably got into this field purely out of passion. Naturally, I thought that as long as I could find joy and earn a decent amount of money, that was good enough. I never really gave the word “planning” much thought, let alone a “career trajectory.” To be honest, in a country like China where systematic career planning education is practically non-existent, it’s hard to know if everyone actually has a solid plan. All I know for sure is that, right now, I’m still not ready to make one. For now, I’m still exploring; otherwise, how would I even know what to plan for? I might as well just go with the flow and let my passion dictate the path.
Two years ago, I used to wonder: What am I actually going to get out of working? I always felt like I was a step ahead of my peers. Maybe working itself wouldn’t bring huge gains, and a few years down the line, I might end up being quite ordinary, with no hope of a sky-high salary.
Two years later, I’ve learned a crucial word: Fight (proactively pursue - 争取). Everything that holds true value to you must be actively fought for. Of course, this doesn’t mean crying for attention like a baby. Instead, you must hold leverage (bargaining chips - 砝码) in your hand. When an opportunity arrives (or when you simply have to create the opportunity yourself), you use your leverage to make the exchange. The most exciting part is that the more you exchange, the more bargaining chips you accumulate in your hand!
Growing up, I was never the type of kid who liked to fight for things. Even in kindergarten, I was a very introverted, quiet child. Now, I force myself to actively pursue and grab opportunities. Because only by doing so can you prevent your bargaining chips from turning into a pile of scrap metal, allowing them to grow in quantity and value instead.
Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch. If you gain these chips, what do you trade away? That’s right—your physical health, your family time, and the relationships you didn’t have time to maintain. These are the prices you pay for your professional gains. I fully agree that we should work hard and hustle while we are young; otherwise, we won’t have any capital left when we grow old. However, I also believe in finding a balance in everything. Otherwise, going to extremes will almost certainly lead to disaster. (Actually, I feel the Chinese people as a whole can be quite extreme sometimes, haha—either going too far to the left or too far to the right).
If I were to expand on this, there is so much more I could say. But let’s put a semicolon here for now. Marking these two years as a milestone, I am ready to embark on the second stage of my journey. I hope to learn more, grow stronger, and achieve even greater things across all areas of my life.