I know what your thinking, "what on Earth is Confucianism?" or "How on Earth did you even come up with that?" The answer is simple. I had to give a 20-minute presentation on a figure I thought made an impact on the World and I randomly chose Confucius and it really changed how I looked at everything.

"When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps."

Confucius believed in individual happiness through peace with the world and one's self. Well, I want to teach education in China and have found peace with myself by discovering that Education is a way I am able to reach peace.

"Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace." - The Analects, Confucius

Movie: Kill Bill W(hat I image Confucius would do... the beard sweep~)media.rbl.ms

Why China?

Well, it's not because of Confucius, if that's what you're assuming. Honestly, China is one of the most beautiful countries that I have ever seen. It is filled with mystery, beauty, culture, language, tradition, and food.

The Mystery comes from the little information we get from China. The censorship in China makes it difficult for information to spread outside of China. The most known censorship in China is the censor on gay content. The LGBTQ community is making active progress in China as we speak. But because of this censorship, the rate of suicides among gay individuals in China has increased. Young people are not taking it well and some are even persecuted by their community and in school until they harm or kill themselves. I want to be a teacher as well as an activist in China to help fight the censorship as well as help the young people in High School who struggle with mental illness and identity struggles because of the repressive traditions.

"The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance." - The Analects, Confucius

The beauty comes from their clothing like the Hanfu and Cheongsam to the traditional structures (seen in the photo below), and their cities like Qufu, the hometown of Confucius.

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - The Analects, Confucius

media.rbl.ms

Language is a source of communication and I feel that teaching English would help those who want to travel or immigrate over to the US for any reason. Because of that, I would love to be able to help them. English is my mother tongue and is the hardest language in the world to learn. Education plays a big part in this because Confucius was considered the first person "to educate all despite their social status" which led to popularity in public teaching and by mixing public teaching with Confucianism, it is the set up for an ideal study environment and might contribute Confucius as being one of the reasons China has one of the leading educational systems.

My Chinese name 潘韵琪 (Pān Yùn Qí) was given to me by my Chinese Teacher (中文老师 / Zhōng wén Lǎoshī). She is the sweetest and kindest woman I have ever met. She is way too nice for her own good. She teaches Chinese and it is a language I desperately want to be able to speak but she teaches us very fast and I have trouble keeping up but I finally learned how I could learn a few days ago. Phew!

"Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others." - The Analects, Confucius