8 years old

Taotao

Daughter of Wang Ling, an employee of the Brand Communication Department at Xi'an Eurasia University

Those who are into fitness know well that "abs" symbolize strong willpower, high self-discipline, and rigorous training. It is hard to imagine that the mark of six-pack abs would appear on an 8-year-old girl.

From a "weepy girl" to a swimming champion.

To ensure Taotao would grow up healthy, her mother signed her up for swimming classes during the summer after kindergarten and before starting first grade. At first, Taotao was afraid of water and the cold. Every time she thought about crying during swimming lessons, she dared not do it in front of the coach; instead, she would grit her teeth and get in the water, then go home and cry to her mother. To encourage Taotao, her mother would promise a small reward for successfully finishing class, and the coach would humorously remark that Taotao had a good feel for the water and was quick to learn. Thus, in just one month's time, Taotao adapted to the underwater world.

Afterward, Taotao would set aside 4-5 days a week for swimming lessons, with each session lasting 2-3 hours. Before each practice, they would start with a half-hour of dryland training, involving strenuous exercises like burpees, jumping jacks, and planking. Next, they would train in the water for distances of 4-5 kilometers, which commonly took between 1.5 to 2 hours to complete.

Winter swimming is a significant challenge for many adults, yet Taotao has persevered.

During the winter training, Taotao never took a day off, going back and forth in the swimming pool without pausing. At times, her mother felt pained for her daughter's hardships, but Taotao never complained about being tired or "the water being too cold." Because she knew that professional swimming training required the water not to be too warm, she slowly learned to let herself accept this fact.

When dreams shine.

Butterfly stroke and breaststroke are now Tao Tao's specialties. She frequently asks her mother to look up training videos of Zhang Yufei, the world-class female swimmer, on her mobile phone to watch repeatedly. Zhang Yufei is also Tao Tao's most admired idol. "I'm not afraid of hardship. I want to be like Zhang Yufei, a formidable swimmer," Taotao asserts. After days and days of arduous professional training, Taotao has achieved excellent results, winning second place in Shaanxi Province and fifth place nationally in competitions.

(Fig. 1) Taotao wins the silver medal in 100-meter breaststroke at the Shaanxi Provincial Sports Club Swimming League

Now Taotao has grown into a strong little girl, not only in physical health and immunity but also radiating a sunshiny confidence. When asked about her aspirations for the future, Taotao gave a naive yet determined answer: "I want to be a brave person in the future."

20 years old

Wu Jing

Student at the School of Humanities Education, Xi'an Eurasia University

How many doubts must a woman traverse before she can truly become herself? This is a question that Wu Jing has been experiencing and contemplating since her middle school days.

Rewinding back to high school. Eager to participate in the preparations for the school sports meet, Wu Jing was nevertheless turned away, with a simple reason: it was work that challenged physical and endurance strength and was deemed inappropriate for girls. Struck by this rebuff, Wu Jing quickly regained her composure and bravely told the teacher, "Girls can also have strong physical abilities, and we tend to be more meticulous, noticing problems and aspects that might otherwise be overlooked." After standing her ground, Wu Jing was allowed to take part and performed exceptionally well. It was the first time she consciously advocated for women in public.

Upon entering university, Wu Jing was attracted to the Queens' land community, a group focused on female growth that perfectly matched her vision of a wholesome university experience. It was here that her understanding of women deepened.

"Everyone in this all-girl community is resilient and strong." Seeing the power of women, Wu Jing wanted to do more for these young women. Consequently, after serving as a community student assistant and vice secretary of the Youth League Committee, Wu Jing and her teachers planned the "First Women's Forum of Queens' land Youth Community Brand Festival." The forum invited Professor Vita, Dean Chen Yang, senior student Liu Jing, and others to explore topics such as "female interaction," "women's leadership," and "women's growth." Many female students began to reconsider their notions of "womanhood" at this forum, which garnered high praise. Now, the second Women's Forum is set to open this May.

(Fig. 2) Wu Jing speaks at the First Women's Forum of Queens' land Youth Community Brand Festival

Beyond the campus, the proverbial "glass ceiling" in the workplace is also gradually being pried open by young women working together.

To better expand her horizons, Wu Jing tries different internships every summer and winter break. From human resource management and planning operations to psychological counseling, she has dabbled in new fields. While doing so, she has also experienced a certain degree of "gender stigmatization" in the workplace. For instance, when a job requires going outside, companies often prefer men, which inadvertently becomes a barrier hindering women's career development. Fortunately, like Wu Jing, there are other young women who bravely step forward to express their desires and fight for opportunities. "We are all human, why is it that they can, but we can't?" Wu Jing wrote these words in her notebook once she returned home.

Immersed in such an environment, Wu Jing gradually found her path. She continues to surpass and temper herself, and more importantly, at 20, she has learned to recognize and assert herself: "I am myself first, a role second, and finally a woman. We should not be restricted," she states.

32 years old

Li Ge

Teacher at EAaD School, Xi'an Eurasia University

Li Ge has always believed that women must and can make efforts for the real world.

Having graduated in landscape design, she has always been working with plants and has found healing through various flowers, grass, birds, and trees; she is well aware of the boundless strength that nature brings to people. After joining Xi'an Eurasia University, her identity as a teacher made her aware of the current divide between education and nature, and she decided to make a change.

Get children back into nature and let them grow with copious space.

(Fig. 3) Li Ge leads students to renovate a small garden

In 2018, Li Ge founded "Plant Wisdom Society" at the university, a plant-centered club that attracted many students. In the same year, she led the club students to build a small garden for a kindergarten in Xi'an. Before the garden was built, the children only had classrooms as their learning space, and their artwork tended to be hollow and repetitive; after the garden was completed, the learning space was filled with the sounds and sights of nature, and the children's work gained "soul." One of them even directly wrote the words "happy" on their painting. In 2019, this project was selected as a successful case for the first case collection of the Shanghai Community Garden and Community Design International Symposium, and the team became the only one invited from Xi'an universities to share experiences and stories on the international stage.

In 2020, Li Ge became a "novice" mother. The change of identity makes her more determined to integrate nature and education. It was through the growth of her child that she completed the "first 30-year milestone of life."

Li Ge founded a project called "Nature STEAM Lab," and how to combine nature education with science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics became her new subject of interest. She has also set up a video channel on WeChat to popularize the importance of nature education and share the progress of curriculum design and related educational products. In 2023, she went on the "Xi'an Friends" knowledge sharing platform to spread the concept of nature education to more people. At present, Li Ge is still making two attempts: one is to promote the construction a child-friendly Xi'an and improve the environment for children in the city; the other is to combine nature education with +STEAM education in rural areas and explore the future of education guided by AI technology.

"Girls in their twenties are adding to their lives, while I am at the stage of subtracting from mine." She is very clear about devoting herself to improving children's education with nature education at the core. Li Ge encourages young women to learn to rid themselves of others' gazes, focus on their self-growth and improvement, stay true to themselves, and realize their true value.

43 years old

Zhu Lingwei

Teacher and Associate Professor at the School of Culture & Media, Xi'an Eurasia University

In 2022, at age 41, Zhu Lingwei finally set foot on foreign land as she had wished, embarking on a long-awaited journey of doctoral study and further education.

Chizuko Ueno once said in a book, "Womanhood is a circumstance," and as one reaches midlife, one often has to endure tremendous pressure from gender-assigned "family duties" and structural pressures from society. However, Zhu Lingwei, who was deeply cared for by her teachers during her middle school years and was thus able to continue her education, had long been determined to carry on the ethics and to become a teacher with integrity. Therefore, after being promoted to associate professor, she resolutely chose to move on to the next destination—to pursue a Ph.D. and improve her abilities with the support of the university, undeterred by the challenges of age and status.

It took her two full years to resolve the conflict between pursuing a doctorate and taking care of her family.

She had started making plans and weighing the pros and cons in 2020. Eventually, Zhu Lingwei turned down offers from universities ranked in the top 100 by QS in Europe, America, and Belarus, and instead chose a university in Thailand that was closer in distance, more convenient in transportation, and equally high-ranking. It was through this path that she achieved her dream of further study. "I can be a good mother, a good wife, and also a better version of myself."

(Fig. 4) Zhu Lingwei (second from left) studying for a doctoral degree in Thailand

Studying abroad for her doctorate was a process of breaking up and rebuilding herself.

From the age of 41 to 43, Zhu Lingwei challenged her age, energy, and intellect. In the past, she had to go with tour groups when traveling abroad. During her doctoral application, she handled visa applications, found accommodations, and dealt with immigration authorities all by herself. In the past, she only needed to take care of work. Now, she had to balance attending classes, studying, reading in foreign languages, doing research, and writing various papers. In the past, she could see her family every day. Now, she could only "cloud gather" with her family. In order to maintain a good state, she also chose to exercise every day... All the hardships are lightened by her humorous remark, "I have now become a master of time management."

The world has become bigger, and there are now more that can be done.

After going abroad, Zhu Lingwei met classmates and friends from all over the world, met many top international scholars, and experienced different sceneries: "It feels like my whole life has been opened up." Aside from academic and intellectual improvements, she also saw a broader horizon—"In the future, I want to become a 'bridge,' transferring the resources and theories I have encountered abroad back to the school, to feed back into the classroom and students, including conducting transnational cultural exchange workshops, hosting international lectures, etc. I hope to align my teaching quality and goals with the international forefront and provide students with better educational resources."

Now that she has overcome many challenges, Zhu Lingwei has reshaped a better self in her "second growth." She also hopes for all women: "Life is a lighthouse, and you should always bravely march towards the place of light."

65 years old

Vitomira Loncar

Teacher and doctor of drama at the School of Culture & Media, Xi'an Eurasia University

In China, 60 is the age when one becomes attuned to others' voices, according to Confucius. But Vita is at a stage of “core stability” and realizing greater life values.

38 years ago, Vita established the first theater in Croatia and became a celebrated actress and theater producer honored by the president. She was wild, brave, and full of ambition. 30 years later, her passion has not diminished, but with age, her mindset also changed—she wanted to write another kind of "script" for her life, to do something broader and more meaningful. Therefore, she chose to give up everything and come to China, a country she had long admired, with her husband to become a teacher.

While no one can predict what will happen, success comes from following one’s heart.

Before coming to China, Vita also taught at a local university in Croatia, but choosing to cross seas and cultural gaps to become a teacher at a Chinese university was a huge leap from her previous position due to the significant cultural differences. To adapt as quickly as possible, she began learning Chinese with her husband, extensively reading about Chinese culture, and making friends to directly understand Chinese people's life habits and thought patterns. Starting from scratch is hard, but every day is a new beginning for Vita. "I am a long-life learner," she says, and she cherishes every opportunity to learn and reinvent herself. Now, Vita has become a popular "star teacher" at the school.

(Fig. 5) Vita travels in Nepal

A woman with no limits to her life chooses to help more women break theirs.

Women around the age of 40 often feel like a "sandwich cookie," struggling to juggle family, work, and life. To assist these women in clearing the complications of daily life and finding themselves, Vita established a "women’s workshop" where she dedicated herself to helping women rethink questions like "Who am I," "My relationship with my identity," and "Where is the future" using systematic themes, dramatic methods, and a variety of activities. "Having children does not mean our only identity is that of a mother; we can still do many things and have many different identities." Today, Vita is also attempting to inspire and change the lives of women in China.

In her free time, she enjoys exploring the unknown world with her husband. They met the unique "Kongge tribe" with distinctive customs in Xishuangbanna, ascended the Yulong Snow Mountain at an altitude of 4,680 meters in winter, rode camels through deserts in the northwest, and flew over the Flaming Mountains in a glider... In every new city, she immerses herself in the local life, and this sense of novelty keeps her feeling young and unafraid of any challenges.

"The train of my life never derails, so I welcome blizzards, storms, mudslides, and absurdities." At 65, Vita is passionate about "change" and has a clear understanding of her life goals. She encourages women to be brave in shedding anxiety over age and not to lose confidence in striving for life over specific numbers. "The world is big and different, but just do it!"