Having been asked the same question for thousands of times, I can’t help questioning myself: who do I admire the most? Who has influenced me the most? Not until last year did I figure it out.
I encountered him by chance in a normal idle afternoon. Same kind of browsing, I spent my time shuttling between book shelves that I can’t know better in my favourite book store. Then I saw him, inside a thick book, along with his cunning but sincere tone. From that afternoon I started to know him, at first superficially as an interesting and intelligent special column writer.
His column is filled with love. Readers send him their doubts, most of which concern the most bizarre human emotional problems one can imagine, and he replies. He is known for his smart irony and sharp answers that are always too direct to the point, at the same time revealing truth perhaps no one had seen. He says, some readers write assuming they are noble,but indeed they are not; some write under the illusion that they are humble, but indeed they are not, either. And we say, although most senders’ stories are too desperate to read, his reply illuminates readers’ faith for love. What a happy paradox.
Dissatisfied with his books, I searched for more about him on the internet. There I found him a diligent blogger, freely writing about far more penetrating topics than he does in his column. He says, the worst thing is not that someone is beaten by authority, but after that, he or she longs to become authority. I had to admit with shock that I had gained more from his blog than I did from his column. Compared with the master of love, which are elementary to human, his critical thinking has led me another path generating painstaking thoughts. Nonetheless, I never regret, I felt fortunate to agree or disagree and follow. From then on, I began to view things from varied angles and to seek for the truth rather than follow blindly.
I always feel ashamed while reading his work, dreading to see myself reflected in those supposed-to-be-ridiculous stories or thoughts on which he critisizes so severely. However, I cannot cease doing so. More often I see myself mirrored, more capable I become to refine myself. That’s how he is changing me and how I feel grateful to have known him.