The Big is the Little

Nothing can be done except little by little, the French poet Baudelaire Charles once said. Most people, however, often ignore such a truth. So does the little boy shown in the picture. He expresses his worries to his father about disposing of nuclear waste, but is told that he can achieve nothing if he doesn’t empty the dustbin first.

Every single little thing you can do today matters. The truth has been tested for ages, and thousands of great people have set good examples for us. For instance, Leonardo da Vinci, the world-renowned master in painting, starts his career with repeated egg-drawing. Lu Xun, the great man of letters, reminded himself to get up early by inscribing the character “morning” on his desk.

As university students, in my opinion, we should aim high, but at the same time, we shall never measure a task by its size. All in all, only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.