Snow Dong, G9 董婉儿

Have you ever stayed up night after night, worked through endless workbooks, and still seen no improvement? If so, you’re not alone. I’m Snow from Grade 9, and today I want to talk about something almost every student faces: involution — and how we can break free.

We’ve always been told: “Work hard, and you’ll succeed.” But if effort always led to reward, why are so many students sacrificing weekends and hobbies yet still falling short? The truth is, we’ve fallen into a trap. Involution is a competition where no one wins.

I saw this clearly last semester. I joined a weekend tutoring class, expecting to learn. Instead, I found forty students silently copying notes, while the teacher rushed through GaoKao material — three years ahead. No questions. No discussion. Just fear. I left halfway and never returned. We weren’t there to learn; we were there to avoid falling behind. The weekend had become a cage.

I used to think this only happened in China, until I studied in New Hampshire. There, students greeted each other with “How many APs are you taking?” Creative spaces sat empty. I gave up my passions, drained by constant comparison.

After that year, I made a choice: I would stop blindly following the system. Instead, I would grow through innovation.

Imagine a red door crowded with students all fighting to get through. But just steps away is a blue door, leading to the same place — empty. Which would you choose? Innovation means stepping away from the crowded path and finding your own direction.

For students, innovation is simple: discover what you truly love, then commit to it. For me, that moment came in biology class when I discovered bioengineering. I shifted my energy from perfect grades to real passion — strengthening my foundation, learning Python, leading a team to develop a smart pet helmet. We won gold at the International Exhibition of Geneva. That achievement wasn’t the result of endless grinding. It came from choosing the right path.

Rejecting involution isn’t about avoiding effort. It’s about refusing meaningless exhaustion. Involution drains your youth. But innovation is the key to growth. Find your passion, hold onto it, and move forward with purpose. That’s how we grow freely, stand out, and unleash our full potential.