An aspiring artist bound in body but not in spirit (4)

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He says a job as chief engineer is probably out of the question since it requires a higher degree of education.

However, Ye hasn’t severed all ties with basketball. His best friends are all players, and he works part-time as a basketball coach for children at a private educational institution.

“I don’t regret the time I spent on basketball.” Ye says. “But the reality is so different from the dream. Sometimes you can make big efforts, and it all comes to naught.”

He fondly remembers his childhood, when dreams were simply delicious food and new toys.

“Dreams are best when they are pure,” he says.

He Mengyao, 17

“I hope I can become a protector of the environment, which is vital to ... give people a good place to live.”

He Mengyao, 17, fits the traditional mold of a Chinese model student.

She is sweet, in the style of the girl next-door, and highly disciplined. She chairs the student union at the Shanghai No. 3 Girls High School, excels in her studies and has developed a particular interest in promoting environmental protection.

“My dream is to be admitted to a good university next year,” He says. “Like many others, I want to get a good job in the future and live a quality life.”

She moved to Shanghai from Beijing about four years ago when her parents relocated because of work. Her school in Shanghai is famous for turning out accomplished ladies.

“The Chinese Dream to me means that every one of us should bear the responsibility of contributing to the country’s prosperity,” He says. “I hope I can become a protector of the environment, which is vital to sustain our development and give people a good place to live.”

Her interest in the environmental stems, in part, from the transformation Beijing underwent for the 2008 Olympic Games.

“It was amazing to see how a city could be transformed in such a short time,” she says. “Really, nothing is impossible if we all make the effort.”

Last year, He participated in an international conference in the US, where young people gathered to discuss the environmental future of the world.

Chen Bofan, 19

“I am still exploring my dream (of attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) as I ponder what subject to major in.”

Chen Bofan, 19, will start his studies at the Berkeley campus of the University of California this autumn.

His dream is to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology because MIT, famous for its high standards, poses the kind of challenge he likes.

“I am still exploring my dream as I ponder what subject to major in,” Chen says, adding that it’s likely to be related to mathematics or science.

Chen is not a person without ideas. Rather, like many people born in the 1990s, he has many choices, which make decisions difficult.

At the age of 17, Chen quit his studies at the Shanghai Foreign Language School, an elite middle school specializing in grooming future diplomats, and went to the United States. Although it is not uncommon for young Chinese students to go abroad, Chen went beyond the usual realm of short-term exchange students.

“I made the decision for a longer-term commitment because I found the US attractive during a trip there to attend a science competition,” he says. “Education in the US offers more freedom and pays more attention to individual strengths.”

Chen enrolled at the Phillips Exeter Academy, a prestigious private college preparatory school in New Hampshire, and has spent the past two years there.

Chen looks at his future and sees promise, not only because he has talent but also because he is not afraid to be assertive in pursuing opportunities.

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