A Kham Aid sponsored student writes about the Sichuan earthquake

Dear [Sponsor],

I have completed my three years of study in senior middle school thanks to your care and my dream. Many thanks to my dear aunt and the people who have given me their help and concern. It’s been a pleasure to study in a different place and to learn from new teachers and books, to exchange ideas with new classmates, and to experience all different tastes of life.

When I recall my past, I feel I have really grown up. I used to be so childish, with simple ideas but a curious mind. Although I have lost my innocence, I have improved my understanding and witnessed some immutable truths. There, in my mind, has passed sorrow, helplessness, events that moved me, touched by tears.  

Sometimes human beings must obey, for we are too negligible in the universe. When we encounter natural disasters sometimes there is nothing we can do.  Many people's souls have been shaken by Sichuan's serious earthquake. It has brought us, strangely, many gains even while causing enormous loss and suffering. The moving stories and brave heroes coming from the earthquake have become interwoven with hearts from all over the world.

Probably, even when we lose something, we also obtain some other gains. Gain and loss are transient, not eternal. Now I have learned to let go. Sometimes, when the loss is very great, we only have the option of relinquishment. We can’t change the environment, but we can adapt ourselves to it. I like the maxim that says, “we can't choose our birthplace, but we can locate our soul.”  Even if we can do nothing about our surroundings, we can open our pure spirit to the universe.

Dear friends, I am very grateful for your care and help! Thank God for such a gift! May you be blessed! May all the world be blessed!

Yours

Note: Liu Dongqing has been studying at the Chengdu Traffic and Communication School.