Despite our mini winter holiday, I still went back home with my parents. Back in Fangxian I met my cousin Lu. Both of us were excited. It was a whole year since we had last met.

Now Lu is going to start Grade 9 while I am about to graduate from high school. Because my uncle and aunt have been working in Anhui, she has to attend school in that province, where school lessons differ in some ways from those here in Hubei. The differences in the curricula do not change in any way the fact that both Lu and I have to be fed enormous amounts of homework, day in day out.

Lu was an outgoing girl when she was younger. With a sunny character, she could bring joy to everyone around. In contrast, she is very quiet now. It occurs to me that Lu is not the Lu any more. Her mother arranges for her to attend all kinds of after-school lessons, such as maths, dancing and singing. At a family party in the holidays, her mother said to her, “You should try your best to study. You should follow your cousin’s example.” I noticed that my aunt used the word “should” twice. Therefore, I felt awful.

Yes, I can relate very well to Lu, because when I was her age, I was reminded by my mother time and time again to follow another cousin’s example.

My cousin will have to be swotting for four years before she enters uni. My high school journey will come to an end in a couple of months. By then, I won’t have to worry like hell about tests and grades any more. Meanwhile, I keep my fingers crossed for Cousin Lu, who hopefully will be strong enough to survive the inevitable fierce battles in high school. After all, every Chinese teenager has to go through the gruelling years. No one is immune to the pain.