To...

lynnhupan,

You've addressed this as a letter to multiple audiences--from important individuals like your parents and cousins to broad groups like 'the poor'--and part of what's interesting here is reading across what you're saying to these varied folks about the relationship between class and education.  You use the expressions 'decent job' and 'well-off life' and define these partially in relation to meeting 'basic needs.'  Do you see these 'basic needs' as entirely material, and to what degree does a 'decent job' go beyond income to other dimensions--for 'the poor'?  for 'kids born in a well-off family'?  I'm also struck by the way you describe studying for the Gaokao as both highly pressured and 'worth it,' and I want to hear more about why you chose to come to college in the U.S. instead...