Love Is Worth It by Brittany Ray ft Richie McDonald

This is the exact description of my life. Only the roles are reversed and "he" opened the door.....
"If he says no okay. Love is worth it...Sometimes you gotta take chances to find that someone. Get over your fears, lay it all on the line."

Subways of China: The Ins and Outs of Chinese Culture

       The hustle and bustle of China never stops, or at least with over one billion people, never stops all at once. The people are always going somewhere. Be it to work, home, school, parties, or simply going on up in life, Chinese people have a momentum all their own.

That being said, one of the most essential vehicles to drive many Chinese people's lives, literally, is the subway system. So many Chinese people spend a big portion of their lives on this fascinating, underground spider that takes them almost everywhere they need, for a low and accessible price. And with the rising cost of living and the simultaneous decline of steady jobs, this is the best opt​​ion. 

I choose the word accessible specifically because so much of what “represents” China to the outside world, the glamour, technology, power, and corruption, is not tangible for the common folk of China, every day people trying to make a living under the conditions that the government and society impose. In addition, the government choses to focus its news on protecting its own image as a powerhouse and in order to do that, the government must focus on the very wealthy or very successful people making major progress on the global scene. Unfortunately, that is only the minority of China's population and the majority of working class people are neglected. But closely looking at the subway, a great modern symbol of the working class, can we begin to understand the people of China, despite their government's desperate attempt to hide who they are. Because of its low prices, the appeal to working class people is great. Subways are a big part of their transit and, in turn it becomes a big part of where their lives are spent. And the subway captures most of their sometimes beautiful, sometimes tortuous struggle every single day.

Surprisingly, the subways were not always as expansive as it is today; in fact, it has only recently boomed into such a large system. During the communist regime, there were only a few lines at work to carry out Mao's demands. And then a few more opened under Deng Xiaoping's leadership to accompany the economic opening and development. But the real work began when China won the right to host the 2008 Beijing Olympics. By 2008 Beijing built 5 new lines, and has since opened another eight lines. They are also currently developing a dozen new lines and extensions, all to be ready by 2015. Other cities have also opened their own extensions and lines to connect people of China from all over the place.

With the subways impacted by so many people, it is a good measure of the modern culture of Chinese people. We can easily see the lives of people from all different walks of life and the events that do or don't happen tell us a lot about contemporary Chinese culture. There are so many wild, peculiar, and downright idiotic things that happen on the subways. There have been incidents of violence such as a woman attacking the subway guards for confiscating her bike. This time the woman was in the wrong because the bike clearly defied the rules about “package” dimensions allowed. She screamed that she was a lawyer in America, slapped the guard, and declared that the guards had no right to treat her this way. All the while, a hungry crowd formed to support the guards, for once, and to jeer at the woman. Moreover, another violent incident occurred between a child beggar and a young woman on the subway. This child is notorious for harassing young females, latching onto their legs, and threatening dirty tricks. The blogger who posted this story states that the child even followed the female off the subway onto the platform when she tried to escape from his harassment. There, he began to hit her and she tried to fight back. The blogger expressed her admiration for the female and even encourages her audience to help others in these situations, which is extremely ironic when she herself stood within two feet of the attacked female and did absolutely nothing but film the incident. 

Another strange thing that happened in the subways is a boy defecated in a subway. Apparently his parents stood calmly by and did nothing. The jokes from Chinese netcitizens ranged, but many were extremely angry and disgusted because they immediately linked this child's actions to tarnishing the reputation of his father and the reputation of the nation. Netcitizens were extremely worried this news would leak to Hongkongers and Taiwanese people, shaming their reputation and furthering their ridicule, as if they all were uncultured and simply defecated whenever, wherever.

Most peculiar of them all was the time traveling beggar claiming to be from the past, with none but the latest iPhone. She was dressed in a “traditional” Chinese costume begging for money to send her back to the Qingyuan village 500 years ago. However , she pulls out an iPhone to get the number of a passerby, mostly mockingly questioning how he could donate money, to contact him for later “repayment.” Netcitizens were wondering if this was a desperate cry to be famous, a publicity stint for a product, a mental girl, or performance art, etc. Regardless, it was a great entertainment for the time being.

Other strange things in the subway were when Adidas tried to promote a fitness campaign by installing punching bags on the platforms to help commuters de-stress. They called it “Don't Waste Your Wait” and their slogan on the punching bags read: “ Every year you have to wait on the platform for about 1,824 minutes. Don't waste your time, come and have a punch to relieve some tension!” This is a definitely a reflection of the culture because advertising companies know to target the subways because so many people would be easily exposed to it. There are subway pole dancers, cos-players, and more mysterious people. But every once in a while, there is a story of a hero. For example, the story of the “Female Knight ” is a woman who noticed suspicious behavior and recorded a pickpocket on her iPad. The pickpocket was confronted with the evidence and jailed, but she was eventually released because she was seven months pregnant. However the heroine was applauded by netcitizens and news stations, but even the news anchor covering the story warns viewers of their own personal safety before involving themselves in issues.

And that is just a small taste of what goes on in the subways, a melting pot of tension, and boredom; it has got to be let out somehow right? It seems like the subways are the perfect venues for these people. Most people are apathetic, tired, worried, or somber about the issues that affect them. Maybe these incidents and the people involved are the brave ones representing the frustration of the masses, trying to draw attention to their own struggle, a struggle so similar to so many other people. It could be seen as a form of expression, a cry to be seen for once outside of the masses. The problems of population density, exploitation, survival, technology, stress are so evident in these incidents. But what is most notable about all these events, however it ranks on the level of crazy, there are always lots of commentary by Chinese netcitizens about the events that happen. It is almost as if they are thirsting to break out of their own monotonous lives and by commenting they can instantly be a part of the action and take part of a community as a wittier version of themselves, all within the safety of their own seats!

Whether or not these stories are fabricated, the real thing to remember is that these are actually people. The child beggar, the time-traveling woman, the subway knight are all living their own lives and once the story goes out about them, does anything change for the better for them? Do they have “face” once many people recognize their face wherever they go?

It is funny when I think about it, but whenever I hear or read about people trying to “define” contemporary Chinese culture, it's mostly outsiders, that did not grow up in the system, that do not breathe, eat, and sleep the system , and are trying to study or understand what Chinese citizens have engrained all their lives trying to escape. But trying to explain or describe the culture is simply containing it restricting its growth when all it wants is to defy barriers as a reflection of its people trying to overcome and make something of themselves. Contemporary Chinese culture is constantly redefining itself, changing to match other worlds, countries which seem worlds away, and also trying to keep up with its people, rooting in the old but looking towards the new. Only one thing is for sure, there's no turning back. Chinese people have built up so much resistance; through the 5000 years of history, their ability to withstand so much strife and to innovate what may be to the simple beholder a negative situation into something positive and prosperous is almost unparalleled and deserves to be lauded. This isn't a field that can be studied so simply because what defines China today, I doubt even the leaders of China rea​​lly know. I think Chinese people are all tr​​ying to find a little more meaning in their lives; by doing so, they all have the opportunity to shape China's contemporary culture. But most of them are unaware of the impact they are making in redefining China today.