Learning Chinese could be one of the most important decisions you ever made. Chinese is becoming the language to learn in the 21st century. With the world’s largest population and a rapidly growing middle class, China stands to become the engine of the world’s economy in the coming years. This will make learning Chinese very important to people in many industries, or to those of us who wish to visit China or learn about its culture and history.

There is an ongoing effort to modernize the writing system and standardize(使标准化) the language. An increasing number of people learning Chinese are learning Mandarin, so unless you absolutely need to learn another dialect (such as Cantonese), be sure to study Mandarin.

For native English speakers Chinese is one of the most difficult and most different languages to learn. The vocabulary is wholly unfamiliar and unlike anything we know. In addition, in the Chinese tone system, words are said in rising or falling tones, which helps to distinguish them. Furthermore, there is the Chinese writing system—a collection of thousands of individual ideograms (表意文字), or symbols, which represent a word or an idea. These ideograms have no phonetic value—that is to say, we can’t tell how the word is pronounced by how it is written. There is a way to present written Chinese in a phonetic script called pinyin. If you are learning Chinese, you'll be working with this pinyin system, but the beauty of the traditional writing system shouldn’t be passed up(放弃). All these factors make learning Chinese difficult for us. Yet, for a determined learner, there’s always a way to overcome them.

Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 55million people in the U. S. are “gig workers” which are more than 35 percent of the U. S. workforce. That number is projected to jump to 43 percent by 2020.

People are drawn to gig work(零工)because it brings in a little extra income without a major time commitment. And recent technologies like Skype, Slack, and Dropbox have made the gig life a reality, giving you maximum freedom, an ideal work­life balance, and the chance to pursue your passions.

If you’re thinking of joining the gig economy it’s never been easier. One of the great things about the gig economy(经济)is that you don’t have a boss breathing down your neck. As a freelancer (自由职业者), you no longer have to cater to a company culture or work schedule that might cause physical or emotional stress. Instead,you get to choose the type of work you do and who you work with. But this degree of freedom requires a corresponding amount of discipline. With no boss to make sure you’re on task, it’s all on you.

A lot of gig workers start their careers by hopping on a project because the employer is desperate and in need of help. On the employer’s end, it’s tough to take on people for higher management positions when the pool of talent is full of gig workers who haven’t been given an opportunity to improve their skills. Businesses have to evolve to learn how to account for an influx(涌入)of temporary workers. It is harder for gig workers to become skilled and get promoted.

The workforce is becoming more advanced and educated by the day. You have to keep learning and keep up with industry trends to maintain a competitive edge. This is true even for people in traditional office settings, but it’s critical if you’re your own boss.

Meeting at a church on a Friday night is not usual for most college students, but it is for the members of an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) women’s group in my hometown, which is an organization for alcoholics who want to stop drinking alcohol.

AA is based upon a number of principles，including twelve steps and twelve traditions. The traditions state that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Members read aloud these steps and traditions, as well as a promise.

The AA meeting we attended was a speaker week, which meant that the majority of the time was spent listening to a particular member talk about her journey with alcohol. The speaker recounted her story with addiction. The group processed the story in a positive way. I noticed several times when members laughed, smiled, and made brief supporting comments while she spoke. Later, a member shared with me that “this is the kind of place where you can talk about things, and everyone just laughs...no judgment but support.” Being able to talk about her emotions and experiences, receiving support, and the lack of judgment was a large part of her decision to keep coming to meetings.

Years later, I look back on the meeting with fond memories. It changed the way I looked at addiction. It was no longer an evil faceless monster. I think it’s essential to have support when you’re struggling with addiction, as with any lifestyle change. AA is a prime example of how groups follow a program and commit (致力于) to changing their habits.

And it doesn’t hurt that sometimes after the meeting, everyone has a piece of cake.