Shengliver’s Note: This Chinese teen writer Jiale is getting wiser. Hopefully high school trials and tribulations will not crush her; instead, she will come out stronger, maturer.

Life is a journey. Along the way, you go different places, meet new people and see fresh scenery.

I turned 16 last week, but I have got tired of struggling in this mundane world, where on a daily basis I do the same things again and again. I hit the bed after 11.30 and get up before 6. I rush to the bus stop to catch the bus. If I miss it, then I will be late for school and rebuke will be served to me. After getting to school, I start my boring long day.

In my day-to-day school existence, there are several students who I find are difficult to tolerate. After joining YYHS, I find girls’ relations very complicated, quite different from what I was used to in junior high. Some girls around me are very scheming. When the plot that I watched in soap operas was unfolding in front of me, I rubbed my eyes and had to believe it.

Long hours in the classroom and seemingly endless schoolwork have gradually sapped my enthusiasm and creativity. Our weekly break is less than one day. Stuck in the rut, I am sometimes cast under the illusion that life is meaningless, for every day is a replica of every other day without any respite.

The truth is that deep down I am an ambitious girl. Anytime I am about to weaken, I try to bolster myself, reminding the diffident girl in me that the morrow will be better. I want to go to my dream uni and eventually to have a way of life I fancy. Truth told, I determine to own great wealth in the future. I have told myself that the two must-haves for my adult life are some pets and a roadster.

Mind-numbing as my daily routine is, the wisest thing for me at the moment, I have realised, is to study hard. It is true that all roads lead to Rome, but most adults around me, parents and teachers alike, preach a belief that uni is the easiest approach to a better existence. I subscribe to it. Gradually I find I have no choice but to do my lessons for my dream.

Most girls have a soft spot for soap operas. So do I. It is nothing wrong. The cast are handsome and the plot sweet, but they are not real life. Whenever my dream pops back into my mind, I resolutely tear myself away from the unrealistic dramas and devote myself to study.

No matter what life has to offer, you have to embrace it. Tomorrow will be a better day. You have to believe in yourself. Never give up. You can make it.