Six months ago I asked one of my female cousins about how her best friend is doing. The three of us went to the same elementary school back in Gaozhou, and I had a crush on her best friend. I had my hopes.
I found out that she was studying to become a clinical psychologist. It was an odd choice, my cousin mentioned, because the recognition and treatment of psychological disorders is not widely talked about in Southern China. Reminiscing about her, it didn't seem odd at all. She was quiet, had good grades, and hid a tremendous will. The imagination that one can change things and people around her for the better is a universal dream. Becoming a clinical psychologist is a... romantic way of realizing it. But why not? If a person can be happy in changing society for the better, then they deserve pleasure in their choice of jobs.
"She has a boyfriend", my cousin said. Ok, fair enough, I thought to myself - when you really want to know, then the truth is inevitable.
"Her boyfriend is wealthy too, he comes from a family that is pretty successful in commerce" Right, directly to the business then.
After struggling to word everything carefully, I asked my cousin if she had a picture of her friend. She asks, puzzled, "For what?"
When I said it was for reminiscence, cousin retorted back, "What is there to reminiscence about?"
I had to chide my cousin to get away with it all. Yet... what is there to reminisce about?
