“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
The ruler snapped on my knuckles. "Girls dream of being wives not mathematicians." Another rant from the school teacher in front of my class. But I was busy dreaming... that one day, I would go to America and say:
I will open a school for girls in China...
Girls whose births were not celebrated
Girls who were told they would never be good at math
Girls who had as little significance as the rural towns they grew up in
Girls who never thought they could see the world
Girls who hated the way they looked
Girls who should not believe in God
Girls who were pressured to follow another's path
Girls who were told age defines a woman
I will open a school for girls like me
In this school the girls will learn
To cherish their lives
To appreciate their strengths
To see their significance
To be explorers of the world
To embrace people who see their true beauty
To find God's purpose for them
To take the unconventional paths
To stop counting their years and start counting their blessings
In this school the girls will learn just like me
I will open a school for girls in China...
Girls whose births were not celebrated
Girls who were told they would never be good at math
Girls who had as little significance as the rural towns they grew up in
Girls who never thought they could see the world
Girls who hated the way they looked
Girls who should not believe in God
Girls who were pressured to follow another's path
Girls who were told age defines a woman
I will open a school for girls like me
In this school the girls will learn
To cherish their lives
To appreciate their strengths
To see their significance
To be explorers of the world
To embrace people who see their true beauty
To find God's purpose for them
To take the unconventional paths
To stop counting their years and start counting their blessings
In this school the girls will learn just like me
— Jiao Zhang