Focusing on Singapore immigration and Singaporean life: I was very pleased to have had a delightful study experience in Singapore this year. Beyond gaining significant knowledge, the most important takeaway was meeting many wonderful classmates. This was a relatively relaxed period in my life, during which I felt the joy of existing simply as an individual—a time detached from the bustle of daily affairs, and one that feels all the more precious and beautiful.
Every day, I walked 15 minutes from my dormitory to class, passing through a botanical garden. This garden is quite famous in Singapore. The path through it was short, but there happened to be a serene pond nearby, and every time I reached that spot, I couldn't help but linger for a while. One day, as I was passing through the garden on my way to class, I suddenly spotted a large black swan gliding gracefully across the water; its elegance was quite impressive. Over the next few days, I saw it almost every day, and each time I arrived, I would observe it curiously, as if meeting an old friend. One day, after class, I returned to the lake and found the black swan swimming in a certain direction. I followed it behind a cluster of water reeds and discovered another black swan. It turned out that the one roaming outside was likely the father, while the one inside was the mother, who was caring for many eggs; she sat there completely still. Just then, some garden workers nearby were sawing trees and maintaining the grounds, and they reminded me not to disturb the mother swan, so I left. But ever since that day, I kept thinking about it, especially the incubation process. I occasionally came across information stating that the greatest challenge for these oviparous animals during incubation is the inability to move. Because incubation takes a long time and requires a stable temperature, even a slight change in posture—such as getting up to wander around for a while—would make it impossible for the eggs to hatch.
I felt a sense of concern and often thought about this black swan family. Suddenly, for a period, there was no rain, and the water in the pond kept evaporating until it was nearly dry. I began to feel uneasy. For those few days, I didn't see the father swan, and I wondered if the eggs had been "cooked" by the high temperature. Could the mother swan really survive sitting there motionless in such heat? It seemed she should move, or perhaps these were difficulties they were capable of overcoming? Although I remained concerned, I was unable to go check on them due to frequent business travel. After several months passed in this stop-and-go fashion, Singapore suddenly experienced a period of heavy rain—it rained every day, and the water in the lake rose higher and higher, nearly overflowing the banks. Just as I was fretting over the safety of the black swan family and worrying whether the eggs might be washed away, I suddenly saw a group of small gray ducklings paddling out from behind the reeds, following a large black swan. I was stunned and then became incredibly excited—my mood was wonderful. These fluffy little creatures were truly endearing, and before long, they attracted many children who ran over to play with them. Looking at the swan babies, I felt an inexplicable sense of being moved—moved by the process of the black swan parents creating life, which is a process requiring great perseverance. Newborn black swans have light gray feathers; only when they grow up and acquire more colors on their bodies do they truly become black swans, after which they too must keep watch, begin to create new life, and start a new round of resilience, waiting, and creation.
In fact, people are much the same. I have constantly been striving, and in the process of striving, I have added many colors to myself. It is difficult to predict which of these colors will turn you into a pure black swan, which will turn you into a swan of a different color, or which might cause a sudden mutation into something else. Only by adhering to the dreams in your heart and bravely experiencing the tempering of wind and rain can you eventually become a beautiful, pure black swan.