Carnival Double 11 — Happy Birthday to Me

This year, besides the major e-commerce platforms offering discounts for Singles' Day, today also happens to be my 23rd birthday. So, let's take this opportunity to summarize what I have done in the past few years. This article is quite lengthy and the content is quite fragmented, as it is mostly written from my notes and diary.

A large part of this article is a reminder to myself.

Who am I?

Sometimes, as I grow older, I have a feeling of gradually losing myself. Every time I think I have found a good goal, there are still so many things to delve into. Until now, I'm afraid I still can't clearly explain what I really want to do. But that's probably how life is, always wandering, so the most important thing now should be once I decide what to do, I shouldn't easily change my mind, otherwise it would be a waste of life.

Labor Day Project

This is a project I worked on during Labor Day. I started planning and collecting data in mid-April and worked on it while juggling my studies and job. So, I didn't spend much time on it in reality. In the end, I even pulled all-nighters during the last two days to rush the work.

There are more reasons why it became so extensive. While writing, I discovered more data that I wanted to gather, and it gradually became quite substantial.

I thought I had plenty of time, but there are still many issues that I haven't covered, such as the pension system, occupational accident statistics, and so on.

Why I wanted to do this project

During junior high and high school, maybe because of my vocational education background, I rarely paid attention to social issues and current events, except for reading some news from newspapers and watching TV. With a mix of regret and curiosity, I started collecting information about Taiwan's labor movement and related data. Things like wage increases, average working hours, birth rates, and so on. When I saw these data, I realized how significant these issues were. Taiwan has long working hours, stagnant wage increases for nearly a decade, the lowest birth rate, and is about to enter an aging society.

If I can do something as a small individual in this current situation, it would probably be participating in Labor Day demonstrations, listening to the voices of workers. After all, as a future worker, I will probably encounter similar circumstances soon.

Moreover, even before I enter the workforce, the situation is already so dire.

There are still many areas for improvement in Taiwan's labor environment, and the fruits that future generations can enjoy are by no means guaranteed.

These predecessors fought for better labor conditions with their blood, sweat, life, and even sacrificed their lives.

As an engineer, there is not much I can do. There are many things in society that cannot be addressed by technology alone. But if I can raise awareness and make people realize, "Ah! I didn't know about this," that would be enough.

Actually, while researching, I came across many touching stories.

For example, when factory workers lay down on the railway tracks, the public shouted for the train to run over them. Or when I discovered that the memorial monument of the Taiwan Power Company building had no names and was hidden in the trees. Or when I found out that the memorial monument erected at Taipei 101 for national mourning took so long for people to know the reason behind it.

In our society, there are too many things taken for granted. The smooth operation of the MRT, the high-speed rail running safely from Kaohsiung to Taipei, Taipei 101 standing steadily in the city, garbage being collected from trash bins, clean public toilets, and 24-hour convenience stores. We often forget that these conveniences are built upon the sweat (or even blood) of many people, especially the laborers who had no labor laws protecting them in the past.

Japanese Greengrocer

Learning Japanese

I still vaguely remember when I first started learning Japanese. Every day, after ordering a latte at a café, I would stay there from noon until evening. My learning method was quite old-fashioned. After reading the textbook several times, I would practice the exercises and grammar in the book, and then record the vocabulary and concepts I learned in a notebook. I continued this for about a year, and my notebook was filled to the brim.

During this period, I felt lonely and empty because there was no one to practice with. Before reaching a certain level, others would only mock me with words like "otaku" (a term used to describe someone overly obsessed with a hobby, often used negatively). At that time, using lang-8 was the best way for me.

Sometimes, I would unintentionally fall into the trap of programming and approach my actions with the mindset of "is it related to programming?" This was a good indicator for me at the time. However, it should never be a reason to avoid learning new things.

A few years ago, I wrote an article titled "Novels, My Favorite Drug," which showed the immaturity of my writing style and thoughts at that time. However, I am grateful that I had various ways to record my life back then. Besides my blog, I have written four diaries from junior high school until now.

Although looking back now, I can't help but smile at my past foolishness and ignorance, those experiences have shaped who I am today. I don't want to become someone who is only passionate about programming and has no interest or enthusiasm for other things in the world.

A few months ago, I started preparing for an online course. It was a special experience for me because I had no prior experience in teaching Japanese. I wanted to practice my teaching skills and also consolidate my previous notes and experiences.

The planning phase took me 2-3 weeks, thinking about the difficulties a beginner in learning Japanese would encounter, gradually covering topics such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, honorifics, and so on. I was nervous when submitting it for review, afraid that I wouldn't pass. I secretly thought that if I didn't pass, at least I wouldn't have to prepare anymore XD.

After passing, I entered a busy period of three months. Every day after work, I would sit in front of the computer, record audio, and write lecture notes. Luckily, I had planned the entire course structure beforehand, which made the course launch smoothly.

This made me deeply understand the challenges of online teaching. Although it saved the repetition and venue limitations of physical teaching, video editing took nearly 3-4 hours to produce and fine-tune each time, not to mention adding subtitles, especially when switching between bilingual instructions in language teaching.

But in the end, the course was successfully launched. It was a very fulfilling accomplishment for me, seeing people signing up and asking questions, making everything worthwhile.

Organizing Self-study Japanese Articles

Language Proficiency

In this era, language proficiency is considered a basic requirement. Moreover, there are many people in Taiwan who are exceptionally talented in this regard. Almost every university and college's foreign language department offers English and Japanese as standard courses. Even if you are fluent in these two languages, you are just one data point among many.

Organizing Experiences

Did you ever make a correction notebook when you were young? If we can record the problems we encounter and the solutions at that time, it will be easier to solve similar problems in the future.

When developing, I record the problems I encounter and the concepts that arise during development. At the end of each month, I review and organize these notes, and the concepts that are relatively complete are compiled into an article for publication.

The only thing that can change you is your own actions.

Your Future is Not a Screwdriver Worker

Modern Times is one of Charlie Chaplin's famous silent films. It depicts the exploitation of workers by capitalists during the industrialization and economic depression era. It is a satirical film.

In this era of surplus capital, survival is no longer a big issue.

But if you don't think about life, then you are just like the workers in the film, spending your days tightening screws in a factory.

I would like to help others rather than dominate them. - Charlie Chaplin

Don't Do Jobs You Don't Like

Having passion for something is very empowering. For example, in order to earn money, I used to work at Burger King in the morning, and could only compensate for my programming shortcomings through self-study at night. After starting my internship, I realized that the intensity was completely different compared to before. Everything is magnified under work pressure, and the effects can be terrifying. It was only after my internship that I discovered many things that were not taught in online courses but were gradually being introduced in the industry.

Others spend 10 hours a day doing what they love, while I only have a few minutes squeezed out of my free time to do it. Setting aside talent, just the difference in time already creates a significant gap.

Don't Compare How Many Credits You Have Earned

Under the current university education system, the graduation requirement is usually around 120-140 credits. After deducting major electives and required courses, there are still nearly 30 credits of general education courses.

To be honest, general education courses can be truly educational, or are they just an exchange of credits? In my freshman year, I filled up my schedule with various seemingly good courses. Although it gave me a seemingly fulfilling course list, the essential knowledge gained was only from a few classes, not to mention the general education courses at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, it was a joke.

Instead of promoting XXX education, it is more important to find out what you really want to do. In vocational high school, the academic pressure may not be as great, but in the current national education system, it is almost like being in the workplace, cramming 8 hours a day, and continuing with cram schools in the evening. Exhausted at night, not to mention deep thinking about the essence of what is learned, caring about things around, or even cultivating interests.

Therefore, while pursuing knowledge, it is important to go out and see the world, think, and make choices after careful consideration. This is much more important than comparing credits everywhere.

Don't Be Influenced by Buzzwords

Do you really enjoy what you are currently doing, or is it just a trend? The recent promotion of programming education, multidisciplinary courses, machine learning, and so on, are all false issues. If you don't think about the purpose of your learning, delving into these fields will only lead to a painful quagmire.

No one can decide your future for you.

If it is difficult to decide what you want to do, you can start by deciding what you don't want to do.

Don't Regret Your Choices

Life is a series of choices. Internships are good, studying is good, studying abroad is good, traveling is good, staying in Taiwan is good, as long as it is what you want, then it is good.

But don't regret your life. Once you become tired, you are just wasting your life. Although I am still unsure if pursuing this field is the right path for me.

Don't Be Too Involved in Superficial Relationships

When I first entered university, I often engaged in "social" activities with classmates, such as having lunch together, going to night markets, singing karaoke, and so on. Looking back, maybe I was just afraid of being alone and constantly questioning myself.

This time is usually the most important because no one suddenly becomes a close friend just because you had a meal together or had a few conversations. Not to mention that some people consider this behavior as expanding their network.

So, if you really want to find good friends in college, maybe you can start with joining clubs or taking on leadership roles. When a group of people gathers for a common goal, it is easier to communicate with each other, rather than just engaging in small talk during lunch breaks.

Youth is Not Capital

Many people say that youth is capital. Currently, I am fortunate to work in a team where the average age is below 30.

But in this society, many people don't care about your experience or abilities. For example, even though I have more than two years of work experience, I am still seen as a fresh graduate in society, and they will use various attractive packaging to lower your salary.

They usually don't care about what you have done, but rather your educational background, whether you work in a listed company, or your TOEIC score, which are indicators that cannot truly reflect one's abilities. Of course, capable people usually meet these conditions as well, and they don't care about educational background or age as indicators. After all, seniority sometimes just means having worked longer.

Facebook

Recently, I deleted many distracting Facebook fan pages and content farms from my feed, such as various dashcam videos, Apple Daily, real-time news, and so on. I tried to prevent my news feed from being bombarded with things I don't like.

What's despairing is that responses to YouTube videos going viral, private photos of certain celebrities being leaked, or a list of things to do in one's lifetime, all receive enthusiastic comments.

They may seem harmless, but they silently erode my soul, especially for someone like me who is easily attracted to the next video. Once I click on one, I will continue watching.

In the end, to avoid annoying notifications, I also deleted the Facebook app. Apart from initially feeling a bit uncomfortable, there hasn't been much change. On the contrary, it has freed up more time. I no longer unconsciously open the app, and if I really want to browse, I use the web version, which is less convenient and reduces the time I waste on Facebook.

The Most Important Thing is to Think

In Taiwan, education in high school and above directly leads to different paths: intellectuals, farmers, workers, and merchants. Those with poor grades are usually sent to vocational schools. The curriculum is packed, with 8 hours a day, similar to working hours, plus cram schools. There is no extra time for you to think about life or care about things around you. It just makes people obedient.

For an average person who is not too dull and has the economic means, smoothly reaching university is a normal distribution phenomenon. But what's magical is that after graduation, they end up in dead-end jobs. They think they have worked hard.

But the word "hard work" itself is quite ironic, especially in this era. "Hard work" is basically a basic requirement, not a personality trait to boast about. In university, I worked hard to accumulate credits, took some obscure courses, and gave small favors for subjects that couldn't be won by hard work, while trying to find ways to pass. In the end, I realized that after four years, it was useless when looking for a job. From childhood to adulthood, we didn't think about what we really wanted, resulting in a gradual loss of the ability to think independently after graduating from university, becoming islanders who just go with the flow.

Don't worry too much, just work hard; legislation? It's impossible; wages being squeezed? Even if you're unhappy, you still have to live. Thus, a group of people who have lost their goals in life and complain every day is bred.

They not only despise those in higher positions, but once someone tries to resist and speak up for society, if that person seems to have a better life than them, they will try to stop them, resulting in weak people of the same class fighting against each other. They are afraid that others might accidentally have a better life than them.

These people work hard, but if they receive incorrect education and become lazy in thinking, it may lead to such results.

Therefore, the most important thing is how to think. This goal is a lifelong task. "Life has limits, but knowledge is limitless" is often omitted, "with limitations following the limitless, it is perilous. To have limitations and follow the limitless is perilous indeed." It is dangerous to pursue endless knowledge (not limited to knowledge) with limited life. If you think it's smart to do so, it's even more dangerous.

Insufficient knowledge can be compensated for by thinking, but without thinking, you only have superficial knowledge and can't do anything well. That is the most frightening thing. And the current university students in Taiwan are probably heading in that direction.

As for how to practice thinking, perhaps reading is a good place to start.

Goals for 2018

Time flies, four or five years have passed, and I have taken many detours. Every time on my birthday, I feel anxious about growing older and wonder if I am on the right path. Looking back at what has happened before, I can't help but feel that I have wasted a lot of time. But despite that, it is still a part of me.

There are still many things I want to do, but if I have to state a more complete goal, it would probably be "I want to be a useful person."

Kalan's Blog