14. "I don't think about winning or losing during the competition. I just do my best, and the rewards (奖励) come naturally," Gu Ailing, free skier from Chinese Winter Olympic team, said in an interview.
When I had this interview with Gu in 2021, the young skier had just achieved"record﹣breaking wins for two gold medals at the world championships in Aspen, US. But what impressed me most was how she treated her great achievements. While many people, consider Gu talented, she believes she is just one of the many sports lovers, who, with such pure passion (纯净的热情) , could overcome any obstacles or setbacks and enjoy doing what they love.
Her words struck a chord (引起共鸣) with me. As a young journalist covering the youth of today, I have written thousands of reports, digging up inspirational stories of Gen Zers who are born between 1995 and 2010. I also look for different ways to make their stories known by more people. For example, I have made videos on hot topics while also writing articles.
My efforts have reaped (收获) fruits. On April 15, I was awarded as a national outstanding member of the Communist Youth League of China (中国共青团).
I am so honored, but what makes me more thrilled is that some of my interviewees are also on the 1 list. We are all exploring different career paths, but we share the same attitude toward our passions like Gu. This award, I believe, is for the spirit of Chinese young people.
For example, the awardees from the Sanxingdui Museum have a passion to bring the 3,000-year-old Sanxingdui relics back to life and reveal a magnificent civilization in history. In October 2021, I went to the museum and interviewed two young restorers (修复师) there. Through working with them I got to know that restoration is a long process, and they might repeat one single action carefully every day for several months. "We are doing ordinary things and we just do our best," said one of the restorers.
I believe similar situations can be found in the story of every awardee. Just as the lyrics of the popular song Lonely Warrior(《孤勇者》) go, "who said heroes can't be ordinary souls?"We are all ordinary people. doing our best for our passions, and together, we can make extraordinary achievements.