Memoir

By: Anonymous submission

Campaign: Anything and Everything

GOAT memoir 🐐

#literature

When I was a boy, the place I lived didn’t have electricity. At night, the world turned into

shadows; black fields, sleeping animals and the quiet hum of insects between the bushes and in

the tree. However, there was always one place that always had electricity when the sun goes

down, which is the electric pole that has always been standing there at the edge of the road.

Every time when an exam was coming, my cousin and I would bring our books there . We would

sit under the weak yellow glow, reading until our eyes are too tired to read another word. To me,

that pole was my first school, first classroom, and that small piece of lighting was the beginning

of everything.

I was born in 1955 in Taichung when it was still a not well developed city where most

people were farming. Life at that time for me was simple but difficult. We grew our own food,

made our own farming tools and counted every penny carefully. My parents were very

hardworking in order to make sure that we didn’t have to go to bed starving, and from a young

age, I learned that survival required effort. Every morning before school, I would help with farm

chores which involves feeding chickens and tending the fields. Then I would run to class with

mud still on my shoes. But despite the struggle, I loved learning. Books were my escape. When I

open a textbook, it felt like the world became larger than the rice paddies and dirt roads around

me. Every good grade was a tiny piece of hope. My teachers praised me for my discipline and

my parents were smiling with quiet pride. Those smiles were enough to make me believe that

maybe, one day, my life would be different.

After finishing junior high, that dream was tested. My family couldn’t afford to send me

to high school. I still remember the day that I found out that I wouldn’t be continuing my road of

studying, it felt like someone had closed a door that I had spent years trying to search. So while

my classmates were talking about new schools and great future, I was on my way to work.

First, I started as an apprentice in a furniture factory. The air was thick with dust and my

hands were always covered in blisters. Everyday was the same: hammering, sanding, lifting and

carrying. I learned a little but it was valuable, and that is patience. I realized that even the

hardest, dirtiest work could teach you something if you paid attention. I also learned to observe

how business ran, how the workers organized themselves and how materials moved around the

factory. Without noticing, I was studying the world of production.

After about a year, my life changed again because of one conversation. A friend that I

met at the furniture factory introduced me to a man who worked in import and export trade. He

was looking for a young assistant, someone who learns fast and willing to put all his effort.

When he asked if I want to go to Taipei, I went home to inform my parents and packed up all my

things. I wanted to provide my parents a better life, so I took the risk. Without hesitation, the

next thing I knew was that I was at the Taipei train station.

Taipei was another universe. The noise, the traffic, the tall buildings all made me felt like

I had stepped into a different era. I began working as a trainee in a trading company that imports

Australian blind rivets. Rivets are small, unremarkable pieces of metal that held machines,

airplanes and public constructions together. Most people wouldn’t even notice them, but I found

them fascinating. They were tiny but extremely important. Then I thought, maybe I could try

starting my own company around this. While working full time, I decided to go back to school. I

entered the night program at Yuda High School. My days started at sunrise and ended at

midnight after that. During the day, I would deliver products and visit clients and then rush to the

class after dinner. I was always tired, but I was finally learning again. In class, I found subjects

that changed my entire life. My Chinese teacher taught me the beauty of words, my maths

teacher taught me logic. I also joined the literature club and the guitar club, trying to get some

joy in my busy life. My four years of night school changed my whole life. They taught me that

hard work can beat talent. Anyone can reach their goal if they are willing to sacrifice their

comfort and put in every effort.

After graduation, I was drafted into the military. Serving gave me discipline and

appreciation for structure. When I returned, I got married. My wife has been very supportive

since the beginning. She’s patient and brave enough to share my dreams. Although I had already

become familiar with the blind rivet market during my years of working and studying, starting

my own company and building a factory is a total different challenge. I needed to rent a place,

buy equipments and find skilled workers. My wife and I used all of our small savings, but the

company still ran at a loss during the early months. I spent nearly everyday running to the bank

before 3:30 in the afternoon, trying to gather enough cash to cover expiring checks. It was a time

full of exhaustion and uncertainty, but also faith. However, thanks to god, I survived the first

storm, and became a stronger, smarter sailor in the ocean of marketing.

To be honest, there was never one dramatic moment that “changed everything”. The

success I’ve learned usually doesn't happen in a flash. Over the years, the company grew to a

level that I could have never imagined. One client became ten and ten became hundreds.

Eventually, our rivets have reached over hundreds of countries. We have open factories in

several Asian countries and people began calling me an entrepreneur, but I have never thought of

myself that way. I have always seen myself as a worker who never stops learning.

If I could meet and talk to my younger self, I would tell him not to be afraid of starting

small. Every challenge and obstacles you face shapes you, it’s also kind of an education.

Looking back now, I see my life as a bridge between two worlds: the humble fields of my

childhood and the global markets my company serves today. The distance between them feels

enormous, but it’s built from thousands of small steps, each one lit by determination and faith.

Sometimes, I imagine that streetlight again, still standing somewhere in Xitun Taichung,

glowing softly against the night. Maybe another child sits beneath it now, reading, dreaming,

believing that life can be unimaginable. If he does, I hope he knows I was once that boy, and that

light will never go out as long as you are still learning.