jiatong Gu

Designer, Idea generator, Project manager, Student, World traveler, Writer/Editor

When I was in 8th grade I found my purpose in life, I was committed to studying abroad and wanted to experience a different life in a different city. So without hesitation I transferred from a public school in Shenyang to an bilingual school in shanghai, and last year i transferred to Harrow beijing. As a new student I faced a lot of pressure both academically and socially, and I realized that the teaching schedule at Harrow was completely different from my previous school, which meant that in order to catch up with the other students I needed to learn a lot of new things before my IGCSE exams. At the same time, I had no friends in Harrow or even in Beijing. But I didn't feel discouraged and I forced myself to become outgoing, which helped me make a lot of friends. In terms of my studies, I used to ask my teachers a lot of questions after class, so I was always the last student to leave the classroom and make it to the next class. But I think it was worth it, in the final IGCSE exams I took eight subjects and got five A stars and one A. Outside my studies I also participated in many activities and competitions. For example, I made a video about economics and AI in the NEC Economics Competition, and i got the global top ten. I won the global gold medal in the IMC Maths Competition. I was appointed as a Student Leader in my school, and I attended Columbia University's summer school(entrepreneurship and innovation) this summer. Through these experiences, my communication and problem-solving skills have improved greatly. I have never regretted transferring to Harrow beijing because it has allowed me to grow so much.

I run a social media account - lens holders. This account interviews some of the minorities around us in the form of photography, journalism, etc. and publishes them on multiple platforms. The purpose of this account is to bring more attention and understanding to minorities, disadvantaged groups or endangered cultures, and I am committed to providing them with a platform and empowering them to happen. (This account is still in its initial beginning stages) I am passionate about observing and discovering the overlooked people and things in life, and taking a camera to record them, and then making these "blurred" images clearer and showing them to more people. In the process, I not only helped minorities to get more attention and help, but also gained leadership and sense of responsibility. I remember that after the first piece was published, I received messages from two netizens who wanted to learn more about the culture of Xiabu embroidery, so I gave them the contact information of the interviewer. I am so happy and honored to be able to help carry forward an endangered traditional culture.

The idea that i want to spread is "passion can change your life". And the main point is "There is no audience in this world, no one cares what others have done, and no one will be remembered forever, so just take out our passion, enjoy and create your own vivid life! Some people in the past twenty years or so have failed to get into college, have hit a brick wall in finding a job, have not started a family at the age they should have..., and they may feel that their life is over and wasted. But these are just part of a long life, as long as we still have passion, we can start again. PASSION can give us mental strength and inspire us to follow our dreams. Like a line from The Shawshank Redemption, "Any place you don't like and can't get away from, any kind of life you don't like and can't swing away from, is a prison. If you feel pain and lack of freedom, I hope that there will always be an unquenchable flame in your heart, that you will not be blind, that you will not be assimilated, and that you will strive to become a powerful person." I think the "flame that will never be extinguished" in this passage refers to Passion!

My favorite TED talk is "The power of passion and perseverance" by Angela Duckworth. In the talk, she talks about how talent and IQ are not the most critical factors in a person's success, but perseverance is. She said that perseverance is the quality of perseverance in the face of difficulties, and it is also the emotion of remaining positive even after failure. Her speech reminded me of my own experience. I grew up in a very strictly regulated public school, and I didn't find my life's purpose until I was in my second year of junior high school. Until then, I was totally going with the flow, not knowing what the purpose of learning was, and I had no idea where perseverance came from. But once I found my purpose in life, I worked completely towards it. I broke out of my comfort zone - coming to school alone in an unfamiliar city - and in the process of doing so, I improved my grades a lot and developed leadership and problem-solving skills, and that's when I suddenly realized that my success came from perseverance. Because in the process of transferring to another school, I encountered a lot of academic and social difficulties, but none of these difficulties knocked me down, but made me more motivated, I think this is the power of perseverance. After listening to this speech, I am even more certain that I want to keep challenging myself to always find what I love and stay passionate about life.

People may not know that I am good at editing and shooting videos. In my spare time, I am good at observing some warm moments and recording them. I love to make videos on urban culture topics and whenever I visit a new city, I enjoy checking out the city's old streets and places with traditional culture and filming them as mini-documentaries. This skill has also been utilized in my studies, where my team members and I filmed and edited a documentary on the topic of economy and AI in the nec Economy Competition and won the top 10 globally.