When I was little, my parents forced me go to Chinese school on the weekends, which I absolutely dreaded. I would always slack off

 in class and only get by by doing the bare minimum. For me, Chinese school was an unnecessary chore, and whenever I came home, 

my parents would lecture me with “You’re going to regret this when you get older.” Back then I just shrugged it off until my parents 

stopped wasting money on Chinese lessons. However throughout high school, I realized how out of touch I was with my heritage and 

how much of an imposter I felt by calling myself Chinese. However by then, no matter how hard I tried to pick up the language as a 

means of understanding the culture more, it was too difficult on my own. So that’s why I’m so grateful for this program and especially 

you and Yang Laoshi for walking me through learning Mandarin. Because of you two, I’ve started my language learning journey with a 

strong foundation! At first, I was a bit hesitant about online classes, but you two have been so patient and caring that I feel closer to 

you guys than I do with any of my in person teachers. I think what I’ll miss most is the weird phrase translations and awkward Zoom 

malfunctions that got whole class laughing! But honestly, thank you so much for making this class so so fun and putting in so much effort

 into us, more than any of my teachers have ever, and for giving me my first push into learning Chinese. I’ll try my best not to get too sad

 about classes ending because I know we’ll keep in contact as I struggle with self studying! 谢谢老师！