Every time I feel exhausted either physically or mentally, I will take a look at my watch. It is a gift from one of my best friends Marilyn. She studies humanities; I science. This term she went to Beijing alone to attend an art school there. I thought her life there must be a breeze because she is doing what she is interested in.

It was not until several days ago that I realised that all fairy tales are lies. That day my friend called me around 11pm. I was lying in bed, ready to sleep, while she was still putting the finishing touches to her painting in the studio. She told me that her present classmates were all talented and industrious. Most of them often stayed up all night to meet deadlines. So did Marilyn. It shocked me that art students should be slaving away more than us.

Marilyn told me that once in class her tutor did a survey on whether the students chose art of their own free will. What surprised her was that only one seventh of them raised their hands. She was one of them. Most of the students were doing art because their parents made the arrangements based on their inadequate academic performance.

The talk on the phone broke into pieces all my stereotypes about art students. It raised my awareness that whichever way we might go, we have to keep running in the direction of our goals. There are alternative ways up to the summit, but none of them is a picnic.