A young man from Guizhou started his travels as soon as he encountered the word “hiking” at the age of 17. He gave up the college entrance exam for the sake of traveling, and he has an even bigger dream: to hike around the world.
Hobbies can sometimes be a person’s spiritual anchor. It’s commendable for young people to cultivate personal interests, but they should know where to draw the line. A hobby is not an obsession, and a liking is not fanaticism. Giving up the college entrance exam—or even one’s life—as the price of travel is “a bit too extreme.”
A hobby is just a hobby, only a part of one’s leisure life, and it cannot completely replace one’s life and work. If it becomes a profession, then it’s no longer a hobby. A reasonable hobby should be able to embellish our lives, enrich the meaning of life, and enhance the value and taste of life. But if it affects one’s life, then such a hobby is unreasonable. The young man is 17 years old, a stage when he should be acquiring knowledge and honing his abilities. If he becomes so infatuated with hiking that he gives up the college entrance exam, forgets his future, and falls into an obsessive state, then it’s an excessive fixation that sacrifices the essential for the trivial.
A hobby is a lifelong matter, and there’s no need to seek quick success. Hobbies require perseverance, and they can’t be achieved overnight. There’s no need to set rigid goals, as that would only bring pressure and rob the hobby of its true meaning. As a young person, having one’s own life goals is commendable, but those goals should be built on a realistic foundation. Without a source of income or survival skills, relying solely on belief to take action is simply reckless. For young people, acquiring knowledge and developing abilities should be the top priority. Hobbies can be set aside temporarily, and when one has the ability and conditions, there will still be opportunities to pursue them.
Giving up the college entrance exam for a love of hiking is an impulsive journey. I hope the young man wakes up soon, otherwise it may become the punishment of impulsiveness.