Hello, my name is Lei Ju. I was born on April 15, 1910, along the outskirts of Yunfu, China. I am a female college student in the city of Guangzhou who has just turned twenty. In my hometown of Yunfu, I live with my father, who is an economically stable merchant, my two younger sisters, both of whom are studying at home, my older sister, my older sister’s husband, who has entered into the same profession as my father, and my nephew. My mother passed away not long after the birth of my youngest sister. My grandfather was a tailor, but he passed away a few years ago, and my grandmother passed away not long afterwards – my father claimed it was of a broken heart. I have never met my mother’s parents, because they live very far away. I know that my father feels disappointment that he never had any biological sons, but we are lucky that he is financially well-off, because that meant that we could arrange a matrilocal marriage for my elder sister, and my father could gain the son that he always wanted and even needed. Her husband was the youngest son in his family, and his parents were impoverished peasants, so ultimately becoming a part of our family was a good choice for him, although I know it brings him shame that his last name, and his son’s last name, is that of his wife’s family. Personally, I am very grateful that my older sister has married, because it has taken the pressure off of me to do so, and it has opened up more opportunities for me, like studying at college. My father supports my studies, because I have always been one of the brightest youth in Yunfu, but he also warns me not to get my hopes up for a high-paying job, being all too aware of the realities of opportunities for women in our society. I am most interested in becoming a teacher for young girls after I finish school. Since arriving at college, I have met a lot of people with very new and exciting ideas. They tell me that society will soon be turned upon its head; the college will be filled with women, instead of us being few and far between. The young people, and the working people, will have power for the first time. I hope to keep learning more and more about these new ideas that have been swirling around. I decided to take this job as a reporter, even though it is quite a dangerous job, because I want to be on the front lines of making a change in our society. I never had to pay very much attention to politics or economic issues throughout my life thus far, because my father was always on top of our family’s finances, and I always knew we didn’t have anything to worry about, but I no longer want to turn a blind eye to all of the issues that are going on in our country right now. I want to do my part to improve our society for everyone, the girls who are lucky enough to go to college, and the vast majority of girls, who are certainly not. Thank you for reading!
