Kelly Jie, G11, RDF International School Taking action to shoulder one’s social responsibility matters to everyone. Nowadays, people’s awareness of fulfilling social responsibility has been skyrocketing. With a yearning for doing good, more and more citizens begin to donate their money to charities, consume green products, sign up for blood donation and volunteer at local community activities. These people are not only making substantial contributions to the whole society, but are also creating an environment where others feel being loved and cared. The story of Zhang Guimei, the principal of the free high school for girls in Yunnan Province, leaves an incredible impression upon me. Though she suffers from more than 20 kinds of diseases, she has been teaching for four decades. Thus far, she has empowered and transformed the fate of nearly 2,000 rural girls. Zhang understands that rural women have few opportunities to change their fate, so learning is their only way out. Zhang has strict rules for girls, including that they must have short hair; they are not allowed to close the dormitory door; and they only have three hours of leisure time on weekends. Under her guidance, 94.3 percent of the graduates went to college. This graduation rate is astonishing, for even some key high schools are not capable of achieving such a rate. Zhang is a caring and selfless educator and feminist as well as a responsible philanthropist, who strengthens my perception of social responsibility. She loves education, so she has dedicated her life to her passion. She is such an ordinary woman with an extraordinary mission; a respectable woman who is willing to sacrifice everything; a great woman who has made an immeasurable contribution to our society. She is the beacon of hope, burning herself to illuminate her girls’ dreams. For Zhang, feminism does not mean anti-man or anti-marriage. Instead, she has given all she possessed to change women’s situation regarding education. She strives to take actions to improve. Zhang is a well-deserved social elite, whether as a stern teacher who changes destinies of women or as a kind “mother” who takes good care of her children. As a high school student, I admire Zhang as my role model and truly appreciate her sense of social responsibility. | 