Opinion     

Happy cab driver contrasts with money-mad masses

Shanghai Daily, June 28, 2013

• A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of taking a taxi ride with a driver who spoke so passionately, so joyously of his driving career that, even today, I can still find myself smiling in appreciation of his outlook.

  As the driver spoke jauntily about how he knew every Shanghai road by heart, I realized how rare it was in Shanghai to meet with someone so content with his circumstances.

  Taxi in the crowded street[File photo]

  The driver was so proud that I couldn't help but feel happy with and for him.

  As we know, whether in Shanghai or elsewhere, it is very difficult to see anyone so proud of his own profession.

  Most people are aspiring to something more expensive, more impressive, or more known.

  I can perfectly imagine some of my peers, at this point, unimpressed, uttering cynically, "What does he even have to be proud of?"

  Heavily influenced by society and the materialistic values, many young people tend to think that the only things worthy of time and effort are things that will bring fame and status.

  From my keen observation, few people - my classmates, siblings, friends - choose to pursue careers that match their interests and take paths that they know will make them happy.

  It's rarely about passion now; the decisions of young people are driven much more by the money behind everything, the reputation, the prestige.

  Pride, along with respect, has become increasingly exclusive to that of grandiose, flamboyant things.

  For this reason, I cherish my memory of that happy taxi ride.

  It is a refreshing reminder of how you really can live happily doing what you love, and that, whatever it is, it doesn't have to be lucrative.

  Through my time at school, I've come to realize exactly how adolescents are forgetting about their passions and have instead begun on a relentless chase to achieve and become someone they believe society would approve of.

  When the word "chairman" is spoken, the eyes of my peers go wide. Or in other cases, the word is "CEO," "CFO," "president," or "director."

  Attention is only sparked when a reputation is concerned.

  All other acts are done with much less enthusiasm.

  Students, like myself, are essentially pressured to do well in school, so that we will be able to later secure a "good" place in the working world, or in other words, a high-paying or prestigious job, even though the likelihood of us being happy working in such positions cannot but be slim.

  I am a young and hopeful individual, and what I want the most right now is to be surrounded by people who are happy, enthusiastic about what they're doing.

  They can encourage and excite others like myself about the life ahead of us.

  Marilyn Tsaih is a student at an international school in Shanghai.

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