[Editor’s Note]Charting a Course through Life

Around the 20th of every month, just before the magazine goes to press, we decide what to do for the cover. This month, we were discussing which of our two designs was more to the point. One showed a group of young people on a beach in Hualien, facing the ocean and stretching an arm skyward, very much like one of the classic poses from the Japanese manga One Piece. The other was simpler, just a black t-shirt emblazoned with a few words.

If you’re unfamiliar with One Piece, it tells the story of a boy from a fishing village who resolves to become a pirate and has adventures around the world with a group of unlikely companions. I had thought the group gesture had some deep significance, but later learned it was simply the characters making a fist of their left hands. Funnily enough, many of the young people we’d run into raised the wrong fist for the photo. But that didn’t stop my younger colleagues from instantly recognizing the gesture as coming from One Piece. Given that the idea of the boundless sea nicely complemented this month’s theme—that aspirations help chart your course into the future—we went with the group photo.

Discussions about topics for the current issue led the editors into a debate about differences between “aspirations” and “dreams.” The question ended up providing insight into the thinking of several interviewees. For example, author Tom Wang argued that “aspirations” delineate a general direction, whereas dreams reflect a tangible goal. Social activist Jou Yi-cheng felt that “aspirations” necessarily benefit others, while “dreams” are for oneself.

Dreams, aspirations, and “chosen profession” clearly address similar ideas. “Chosen profession,” for example, suggests both aspirations and an area of expertise. Expertise is crucial in today’s knowledge economy because it is a virtual requirement for steady work. But working in the profession one has chosen in accordance with one’s own aspirations can be a constant source of pleasure.

Many of today’s young people have no clue about their futures. According to the Ministry of Education, a record 54,000 university students went so far as to delay graduation in the 2011 academic year, an increase of 15% over five years ago. With the labor market in poor shape, hiding out in academia might be a good strategy. But if those students end up fooling around rather than taking a full course load, it could be nothing more than a giant waste of time. Why are ever more young people reluctant to face the real world? The problem seems to be that they don’t know what they want to do with their lives. The problem is hardly unique to this generation. In fact, Taiwan’s educational system has never done much to encourage the exploration of dreams and aspirations.

Looking at my own generation (born in the 1960s), fewer than 10 of my 70-odd university classmates are still working in journalism. Though many of them had made our journalism program their first choice when taking the university entrance exam, that choice was likely determined by the field’s relative popularity rather than by their love of journalism. Given the profession’s stresses, frustrations, and relatively low pay, they may well have decided that staying in the field just wasn’t worth it.

On the other hand, journalists enjoy opportunities that most people don’t have. We get to hear strangers share their experiences of success and failure, and we are typically treated with great hospitality when we go out into the countryside to do interviews. We are also entrusted with the responsibility to faithfully share what we learn. It truly can be inspiring work.

Taiwan’s high-school teachers often like to paraphrase Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha when talking to their students about dreams or careers: “Most people are like fallen leaves,” they say, “drifting and fluttering on the breeze before finally alighting on the ground. A few are like the stars, following a fixed path across the sky. Untouched by the wind, the latter are guided by their hearts.”

These few sentences aptly describe the spirit animating this month’s cover story. Discovering your aspirations isn’t easy, but it’s worth the time and effort it requires. After all, your aspirations are a bit like your rudder, steering your course into the future.