A Thousand Miles Away, The Story Concludes - An Online Graduation

Topic

2021.09.13

Journalist | Kua Yee Shuen, Lee Jia Rong

Cover Photo｜Tiu Ann Kei

Photo｜Chan Jin Wen, Kerk Yi Jing, Chew Yi Kang, Wong Lap Hou

Layout by｜Sherlyn Chin Meijiun

Translator | Chan Zi Qing

In a flash, another graduation season has approached. From the moment the letter of admission arrived, it seemed every day we inched closer to graduating, during which all our imaginations and plans about it surreptitiously came into fruition. However, the sudden emergence of a pandemic has disrupted the tempo of daily life as the world came to know it, and the turning point in life known as “university graduation” was not exempted. Malaysian students unable to return to Beijing have once again welcomed an online graduation.

As online graduation creeps near, how are this year’s graduates receiving it? The Voice of Beijing team has invited four Malaysian students studying in Beijing who have been through an online graduation ceremony, Chan Jin Wen from Peking University, Kerk Yi Jing from Tsinghua University, Chew Yi Kang from Beijing Normal University and Wong Lap Hou from Beijing Film Academy, to share their unique, possibly even perplexing experience.

Overcoming Barriers to Graduation

An online graduation implies not only a graduation ceremony, it also includes your final year project, design, exhibition, thesis and oral defense, various administrative procedures and moving out from your dorm. To Malaysian final year students currently unable to leave the country, the journey to graduation was one of trials and tribulations.

Wong Lap Hou, a student in Music Recording from Beijing Film Academy who graduated in July this year, went through the whirlwind of incidents that is online graduation. In the last semester of senior year, Lap Hou was informed that he needed to head to the China National Concert Hall under his supervisor’s guidance and finish his final project there. Being in Malaysia, Lap Hou not only lost the opportunity to expand his horizons at the National Concert Hall, the rising cases in Malaysia made it so he could not complete his recording project here as well. Cornered, he had to ask for help from his classmates. This was not easy, because pieces recorded at the National Concert Hall are protected by copyright laws. He had to gain full trust from his classmates to successfully obtain the recording material needed to complete his project. Luckily with the help from his classmates, he managed to finish his last project at Beijing Film Academy on time.

Kerk Yi Jing, a Chemical Engineering and Industrial Biological Engineering student from Tsinghua University, shares this experience and has faced her own set of troubles graduating online. As their final year design assignment, chemical engineering students are required to complete a lab project, but Yi Jing was stuck at home with insufficient equipment to carry out her experiments and research. After negotiating with her supervisor, Yi Jing chose to complete her thesis by combining literature review and software simulations. However, this to her was a stolen chance to learn.

“To conduct in-depth research about a topic, hands-on experimenting is crucial. This is the only way to optimize the learning process, after all, solving the unexpected variables you’ll face during experiments is the best way to gain experience. Having to complete my final year design online, did indeed make me lose plenty of opportunities to learn.”

This pandemic has not only impacted people’s lives, to final year students, it was more of a ticking time bomb. They had to be mindful of each step they took, to reach that seemingly close finish line. But looking back, they will be proud of the barriers they overcame in this last mile to graduation.

A Hair's Breadth between Expectations and Reality

People tend to carry fantasies and expectations about graduation day, like throwing your hats up under a clear blue sky, shouting at the top of your lungs: “We graduated!”; Or lying on the lush green grass with your friends, reminiscing about university days and committing these last moments to memory with a photograph; But most importantly, it should be walking up that stage in a bachelor’s robe and mortarboard hat, and finally receiving that hard-earned certificate while your family spectates in the audience. However, seeing the pandemic sweep the world, graduates were left with no choice but to accept their fate, and lower any hopes they had towards a physical graduation.

Recalling how he had once pictured graduation, Chew Yi Kang from Beijing Normal University could not help but give a slightly forced laugh. The scenario he had imagined countless times at last did not happen – walking down the red carpet of graduation night with his boyfriend, witnessing each other’s most dashing stride. He opened up regarding his experience as part of the LGBTQ+ community. To them, every stage of life shared with your partner does not come easy. Walking the red carpet together was but a memory he wished to cherish in this short course of life, yet that opportunity was mercilessly stripped away by the pandemic.

In the face of the pandemic, any fantasies about graduation ultimately turned to dust. But although expectations crumble away when met with reality, please do believe, life will compensate in the most unexpected of ways.

The Most Unforgettable Graduation Present

Although she could not attend the physical graduation ceremony, on this special day, Yi Jing received a surprise graduation present. On the night before graduation, Yi Jing’s father revealed his grand plan – making their own gate of Tsinghua University, to make up for being unable to take a family photo at her school.

On graduation day, Yi Jing’s father, who works in the arts, recreated Tsinghua’s iconic school gate in his workshop. During which, Yi Jing and her friends attended the graduation ceremony livestream together. Around 6 pm that day, her father brought a nearly 2m model of Tsinghua’s school gate back home. With the collective effort of the entire family, a lifelike “Tsinghua Gate” was finally born.

The huge school gate was made out of cardboard, but the painted-on texture of the building was convincing and beautiful. Yi Jing’s father who is rather well versed in Chairman Mao’s calligraphy even wrote “Tsinghua University” (清华大学) himself on the arched gate. The handmade greenery by Yi Jing and her family adorned the front of the gate, simulating the scenery of Tsinghua school grounds, more importantly representing everlasting love. To show their respect to the beautiful scenery, Yi Jing and her family put on their best clothes after assembling the model and took picture after picture in this unique and warm setting.

Presently, the school gate replica has been taken down, but the fatherly love will always stand in Yi Jing’s heart, never to be forgotten.

Remember to Give Yourself a Sense of Ceremony

Even with only online graduation, Chan Jin Wen from the Peking University School of Journalism and Communication believes that it is still important to give yourself a sense of ceremony. “When my cousins graduated earlier on, me and my family would always prepare bouquets, that’s why the graduation ceremony I hoped for was one surrounded by bouquets.” Way before the graduation ceremony, Jin Wen and her best friends made a promise that by drawing lots, they would send each other bouquets on graduation day, to deliver the sincerest of congratulations to one another. The flowers will inevitably wither, but that genuine sense of ceremony will forever blossom in Jin Wen’s memory.

To Lap Hou who majored in Music Recording, composing a graduation song for his school was the graduation present that gave him the greatest sense of ceremony. He specially chose his birthday to release the Beijing Film Academy 2017 batch graduation song “Already Starting to Miss”, on YouTube and NetEase Cloud Music. Coincidentally, his graduation certificate came in the mail on the same day, which makes one wonder about the intriguing workings of fate.

Even when things don’t go your way, remember to give yourself a sense of ceremony. Regardless of whether it’s flowers or songs, in the end, it will become a highlight in the movie we call life.

Your Life, You Call the Shots

The end of every journey in life signifies the start of another, but due to the sudden pandemic, the plans of fresh graduates have been completely disrupted, the same goes for Jin Wen who graduated online. Jin Wen’s original plan was to intern in Beijing after ending her exchange semester and pursue a career in Beijing after graduating. Fortunately, although destiny had closed one door for her, it also opened another window. After returning to Malaysia, Jin Wen decided to co-found a business with her university friends and is currently operating a social media platform, WeirdKaya, which focuses on sharing content revolving around the Malaysian community.

“About starting a new business, at first I was quite hesitant. But after some rethinking, my original plans have been disrupted anyway, so I thought why not utilise the time now to do something meaningful?”

Looking back on her initial indecision, Jin Wen faced the unknown challenges coming her way with calmness and resilience and ultimately broke through the shadow of the pandemic, to find her own path.

Perhaps it was the lack of closure from online graduation, Jin Wen started to consider furthering her studies. As a matter of fact, she had received a letter of admission from the Peking University School of New Media a few months back. “I’m currently contemplating whether to retain my student status because I really don’t want to go through online classes again.” Although delaying her masters’ program was a circumstantial decision, Jin Wen’s resolve towards her business stands unwavering. She has decided to give herself one year to run her current business.

Jin Wen and her co-founders of their social media platform, WeirdKaya

Undoubtedly, the pandemic was like a flood washing away all the chess pieces on the board of life, but if you are willing to dive in and ride the waves, one day those lost chess pieces will certainly be found again. It will not be too late to checkmate then.

Nothing Cures Regret

As the gates of China remain tightly shut, the day we return to school seems far beyond reach. To Lap Hou, who had lived in Beijing for two and a half years, those memories resemble old newspapers turned yellowish, frozen in a time long past. However, he firmly expressed that, even if he had the ability to predict the future, he would have still chosen to study at Beijing Film Academy.

“At Beijing Film Academy, my music producing abilities have significantly improved, it was a fruitful process. Although I only studied at school for two and a half years, the knowledge passed down by the teachers was enough for me to put in practice, and strive to improve further. Even if I knew I would have to come back to Malaysia two and a half years later, this time of studying abroad undeniably spurred my personal growth, that’s why I don’t regret it.”

“Never regret”, Jin Wen said this before too. In the second semester of her third year, she joined an international exchange program, and headed to Amsterdam, Netherlands to study. Nearing the end of her exchange, the pandemic erupted. Consequently, she lost her last chance to study with her friends in Beijing.

Nevertheless, Jin Wen has never regretted embarking on this journey. “I didn’t travel overseas often when I was younger, which made me long to experience life abroad as I grew older. On top of giving me a chance to study in Europe, this exchange program also allowed me to visit the surrounding cities, meet new people and experience different cultures.” Doing an exchange program was a goal Jin Wen set from the start. Despite having to make some sacrifices along the way, like being unable to study and spend time with her friends in Beijing during the 2019 autumn semester, this exchange experience still is a blissful memory in her life. Now as the pandemic worsens, many university exchange programs have been brought to a halt. To Jin Wen who managed to catch the last train, this was definitely a streak of luck.

Just like American poet Robert Frost expressed in “The Road Not Taken”, we can never discover the view of the road not taken. As long as you tread the path chosen with care, your heart will not be clouded by needless worries.

Check out the full interview

Saving “Regret”in Your Heart

If he were to summarise his feelings towards an online graduation, Yi Kang would say “que será, será”(it means whatever will be, will be). Perhaps it’s because the batch before them also had to graduate online, moreover, the pandemic situation worldwide was not showing positive signs, Yi Kang had already prepared himself mentally, to let go of any lingering hopes and imaginations of a physical graduation ceremony. With the world in the throes of a pandemic, he chose to view online graduation with a “que será, será” attitude. After all, there’s nothing more valuable than good health.

Jin Wen used the word “feel” (感) to depict her sentiments regarding online graduation. “They say graduating gives you complex feelings. Even more so for graduating online, because many things can only be felt, like ceremony, separation, honour, closure, friendship, maybe even certain choices. Occasionally when you put a bit more ‘heart’ (心) into it, some unmendable regrets will resurface, ‘feelings’ (感) then become ‘regret’ (憾).”

Embrace the “regret” of online graduation, and with a heart of gratitude and anticipation for yourself, let’s walk towards the future.

Fearlessly Advancing Youth

With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, any hopes of returning to Beijing for school seem like a luxury. Considering the uncertainty of the pandemic, Jin Wen has fitting advice for the next batch of graduates, that is to start preparing for your thesis as soon as possible, to avoid sacrificing quality due to shortage of time. She always told herself not to leave any regrets, albeit certain outcomes of inexorable factors are unavoidable, she will always do her best to end things on a good note. “Believe in yourself! Everyone, whether in your first, second or third year, should believe in yourself. I used to constantly doubt myself, always unsure of whether I could reach my goals, but in my final year, I realised taking the risk and trying your best is the right thing to do. Especially when I look at the Chinese students, many of them are younger than me yet very brave in their ventures, it inspires me to do the same.”

On the long road of life, only by courageously chasing your own light, can you become the person you wish to be. May your youth be spent fearlessly advancing towards your goals, and let all the wishes meld into a resonant – good luck!

Final Remarks

Through this interview, we were able to look at the topic “online graduation” from different perspectives. During the interview, we witnessed memories intertwined with reality, the overlapping of timelines, which converge at the moments of greatest excitement and regret in the interviewees’ hearts. Faced with an online graduation, some are sodden with regret, while some have let go and found serenity; Some are fearless, while some anticipate the future. However one thing remains certain, whatever sky you’re under, the four years of your university is a memorable milestone in your journey of life. It is the best answer you can give your no longer young and reckless self. The certificate is a medal of your hard work, while the mortarboard hat represents transition into adults who can stand on their own two feet. Through the murky haze of the pandemic, as long as we follow the tracks, we will definitely find our way to our destinations.

Sincerest gratitude to Chan Jin Wen, Wong Lap Hou, Chew Yi Kang and Kerk Yi Jing, who squeezed time out of their busy schedules to accept our interview. We would like to wish a belated congratulations on your graduation. May you all boldly chase your dreams, and be successful in all your future endeavours. Thank you to the reader who has made it to the end, we’ll meet again in the next article!

Lembaga Pengarang Suara-suara Beijing, 2021

Disunting dan diterbitkan oleh | AMSIB

Penasihat | Phuah Chi Ching, Choong Chi Jiong, Lim Yu

Penyelaras | Sherlyn Chin Meijiun

Ketua Editor | Ng Sie Unn, Koo Jing Tang

Wartawan | Jaslyn Tan Boon Bin, Aden Tan Shen Yeh, Ho Ching Ling, Hoo Zi Ning, Ng Zi Wei, Kua Yee Shuen, Lee Jia Rong, Lim Qin Xuan, Song Yee Ting, Gan Jing Wen

Juru Gambar | Sharyl Chow Khye Shien, Chew Chen Yee

Editor Filem | Neoh Ke Wei, Ong Xiang Ying, Song Yee Ting

Editor Seni | Ong Xiang Ying, Tiu Ann Kei

Penterjemah | Chan Zi Qing, Tiu Ann Kei

Tuan Rumah | Aden Tan Shen Yeh, Kua Yee Shuen