I used to be one of those fanatical advocates of environmentalism, boycotting wooden crafts, blaming factories and having an irrational complex towards green T-shirts. We told everybody we met that if people keep ignoring the environmental issues such as global warming, everyone on this earth is going to die, or, even worse, will be living in a hell. I even thought my dream career would be found in the broad realm of natural science.
Things changed on my journey to where I regarded as a holy land.
For the sake of saving the world and the ignorant human being, I participated in an expedition which was going to do research in the Arctic area with several classmates in 2011. I believed that places like Greenland and Svalbard have only been touched by a few human beings and thus have good reasons to be considered as the original earth. I made my mind that I have to find something significant there as my first step on the career of a natural scientists.
But things did not work as the way I expected. You know, I was just an ordinary high school student with a good will, or, in another word, vain hope. I had nothing to do with the precise apparatus on board, had no idea about what the scientists were doing and could not even become a member of their conversation. I felt confused, upset, and to be honest, jealous. I was wondering why wouldn’t I be able to use those mystery instruments and even contribute a word to their obscure terminologies.
The weather those days in Arctic area was capricious. We had a few days when the sky was covered with cumulus clouds through which the sun was hardly seen. I completely got the same mood with the weather and found myself a loser. I started to question about the purpose of this trip. Interestingly, some of the scientists had the same question as I did, but, actually on a different base: why are there students on board?
Like every story, people with same thoughts get along with each other quite fast. I met a scientist named Amy. She has blue eyes and brown hair. She looked not so young with wrinkles on her face, and I guess that might be the long term result of the fierce wind blown on the Arctic Ocean. She did not smile a lot, but each smile of her was warm and sweet. In a word, I liked her. She appreciated my courage to be there with them but also told a story about global warming: there are some people who argue that global warming is not something disastrous as people expect. It is exaggerated or even somehow fabricated by a bloc of people to accomplish their aim. It could be company that urges to sell their products, or a country attempts to prevent others from developing.
“You know what, I’m not saying that the global warming is fake or does not exist. There are just too many theories or hypothesis that you have never heard of, and there will be no end of such situation. So my suggestion would be, take it easy, be open, meet new people, never side entirely with any position, think critically, and be yourself.”
I sat silently, staring at the cup held in my hands. I thought the remark from Amy was familiar, but I have never listened to those people with a sincere heart. Perhaps one could hardly accept opposite opinions until the person find out how stubborn he or she used to be.
A few days later I ceased my activities on scientific research. Instead I found talking to people interesting. I talked to people on board. They were mostly scientists, but there were also professors and journalists. I told them stories about me and listened to their stories. I wrote down everything I saw and heard in my diary.
When I got back to my hometown Beijing, I organized my diary and came out with a photo story. I published it and surprisingly gained 150,000 hits in a week on a Chinese search engine called Baidu. Back then I was applying to colleges. I decided to give up science majors and transformed into the major of journalism. I think I love telling stories and love what Amy said about being myself.
It is difficult for one to be completely objective. Yes, really hard to get rid of biases. But on the other hand it is those emotional moments that make us human. So again, in my world there is nothing absolutely right or wrong. Everything I need is the critical eyes, as well as a heart of sincere.