深圳外国语学校初中部 林小茵

Lin Xiaoyin, Junior High School of Shenzhen Foreign Languages School

 When I mentioned my plans for Children’s Day to my little sister, her face immediately lightened up and I could easily sense the eagerness in her tone.

    For the last couple of years, I have always celebrated the day by throwing parties or hanging out with my friends. However, this year was an exception. Several days ago, I got an invitation from Shenzhen Children’s Library to be the host and a guest performer of a show at Xinpu Primary School. The event was organized by Southern Metropolis Daily, Tencent Foundation and Shenzhen Children’s Library. It aimed at providing better library facilities for the students at Xinpu Primary School.

    After a long and exhausting six-hour ride to Meizhou, students from Xinpu Primary School greeted us with enthusiasm and excitement. They were all extremely polite, kind and friendly.

    The library has donated more than 4,300 books and many other electronic resources. In addition, more than 600 students at Xinpu Primary School are going to receive special gifts collected from students in Shenzhen.

    When the show finally started, the auditorium was filled with more than 700 students, teachers and guests. I walked onstage with confidence and gave a brief introduction of the event. To my great surprise, everybody’s eyes were glued to me, especially some little kids who were rarely paying attention to what was happening onstage. I was flattered and wasn’t feeling nervous at all.

    I was very fortunate to be a guest performer at this show. The song that I chose for the event was very encouraging and beautiful. My favorite line was, “As long as there’s the sun shining upon me, I will never feel blue again...” I genuinely hope that these children will always seek comfort and happiness through this song.

    According to Xinpu Primary School Principal Xu Yunsong, students at the school are mostly “stay-at-home” children. That is to say their parents have left the kids behind in their hometown while working in big cities in China.

    I am happy to have celebrated Children’s Day in such a meaningful way. Many teenagers like me are very lucky. We were born in relatively well-to-do families, and told to have a great future all planned out for us. But for the kids who live in unfavorable conditions, they can only try their best to study, because that’s probably the only way for them to become successful in such a competitive world.