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| Meng Li of China |
Like Miguel in our previous post, Meng has written her essay in response to an assignment that asked her not only to narrate an important life event but also to probe its meaning. Meng has chosen to write about her experience with military discipline as a middle school student. Meng excels in setting the stage for the event she narrates, in building up to the crucial moment, and in delving into how she felt and what she learned. Here is Meng's essay.
* * *
Military Training
By Meng Li
When I was 12 years old, I
attended a two-week military training after I had graduated from elementary
school. Military training is required for most Chinese students before they enter
a junior high school and again before high school and before university. I'm no
exception. So I have attended military training three times, but the first one
is the most unforgettable and meaningful.
I remember that we were
forced to get up at 6:00 every morning, and then we needed to make our quilts
like cubes before we went to have breakfast; we were forced to finish our
breakfast within ten minutes, otherwise we would be punished by the
instructors. Normally, the punishment was running around the perimeter of the
field five times, which was about 2000 meters. So all the students needed to
eat as fast as they could; then they rushed out of the dining hall, and ran to
the field. We also needed to stand up straight in the playground and wait for
the instructor to count off every student. What’s more, the instructor would
inspect our appearance and behavior to make sure we looked like real soldiers.
After this, we started running, doing military boxing and climbing across
barriers. Those tasks were very difficult for the guys, not even to mention the
girls. Usually after a whole day's training, I was exhausted and so hungry that
I could almost eat a horse. So it is not hard to see that the military training
was extremely demanding physically.
I remember that one of the
parts of that training was standing on the field for one hour without any
movement. I was doing very well in the first thirty minutes, but I was sweating
because of the heat of the sun; I even felt that a drop of sweat was sliding
down from my forehead, and it felt itchy. I couldn't bear it and I found that
the instructor was standing far away with his back to me. I thought that he
couldn't notice me, and then I started scratching my face. However, just when I
put my left hand on my face, the instructor turned around and looked at me
angrily. What's worse, I didn't realize this until a girl who was next to me
poked me slightly. I looked at the instructor and found that he was very angry
and he was walking towards me quickly.
I felt that I couldn't even
breathe and my heart would almost pop out of my mouth as he approached me. The
instructor stood right in front of my face, and he growled, "Come
out." I stepped reluctantly out of the line and I felt my face turned red
like an apple. The instructor commanded me to turn around to face everyone.
Almost five hundred students were standing there; I faced them and I heard
someone giggle; I just kept my head down and looked at my feet. It made me feel
better, for at least I couldn't see anyone's eyes. I couldn't remember clearly
how many hours I stood there because the shame occupied all of my mind; maybe
it was two or three hours, or even more. All I wanted was to finish that
training as soon as possible so that I could dash to the dorm and digest what
had happened the whole day. I would never forget that day when I got the first
punishment of my life, and it has proved to be the most serious punishment so
far: I will never forget the feeling of being stared at by five hundred
students. "What a lucky girl! How glorious I was!"
After that training, I
learned that we need to think more about the result before we risk doing
something. I needed to think of what would happen if the instructor found that
“I moved.” If I noticed that, I guess I could bear the itch no matter how itchy
my face was. What's more, the duty of a solider is to obey his or her commander
no matter how difficult the task is. My fault was that I never imagined myself
as a real soldier, so I didn't give my one hundred percent for that training.
I felt great and relaxed
when I arrived at Loyola University New Orleans and found that the welcoming
program of Loyola University for new students didn’t have this kind of military
training but instead offered a thoughtful orientation!
* * *
Thank you, Meng, for sharing your painfully learned lesson with us!
Our next post will present an essay about a life-changing experience of helping poor but eager children in a developing country.
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