Patience is a virtue

I recently read a short Chinese article which I liked. If you can read Chinese, you can view it here.
It made enough of an impression on me that I decided to translate it into English. So here is the piece, entitled "I think I'll love you later".

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Just wait until that day, when I am outstanding enough, and we are mature enough. Wait until that day when I know how to love someone. Only on that day do I wish to meet you.

Love is a responsibility. My choosing to be single does not mean that I renounce love - instead, I want to prove that I am wholeheartedly committed to the future you.

When that time comes, I will have enough intellect and knowledge; I will be able to stand firmly on my own two feet and have the courage to profess my love to you.

When that day comes, let us be together!

If, in the future, you are still the same person I know now, and I dare to hope that we can be together, then let me tell you again that I like you.

A wise person once said that understanding and love alone doesn't guarantee success in a relationship. Young people often need to suffer even more pain than adults. Well, if I can't bear that pain, then don't worry, I won't bother you.

I once heard this story:

There was a 22 year old uni student who was asked why he didn't date.
He said: "At university, everyone around you is a similar age, so students' values are largely the same - everyone wants a good job and a good partner. It is precisely because everyone has similar ideals that young couples find each other so easily and remain happy together. Regarding the effect of a relationship on study, it can have either a positive or a negative impact and so this differs between people.
But after graduating, couples must necessarily drift apart due to the demands of work or research. Even if each lover makes solemn promises to the other, opportunities to see each other in the future become more and more sparse. Don't say that you will continue to love him, because in your career, the reality is that divided attention is equivalent to giving up the chance to excel.
Then one day, when your life reaches its lowest point, that one person who offers you an arm up will make you grateful beyond words, and you will discover that it was actually this person who was the most important to you all along. Whereas in your former partner, hate emerges from love, and you lose a great friend.

In some sense, it is your parents pressuring you into dating, not you using your abilities to make your own choices.

In a normal relationship, if you are eager to improve yourself, then it will do you good to break up sooner or later; if you are not so eager to improve yourself, then it will do her good to break up with you. In a ruthlessly competitive society, being unambitious implies being eliminated by natural selection.

Falling in love does not come from actively looking for the right person. Because before you completely understand someone, he can change himself to appear more attractive to you, but when you finally understand his true character, you can be assured that a break-up is just around the corner.

In real love, familiarity breeds fondness, and when two people understand each other well enough they will come together naturally - even without needing to declare feelings for one another.

Don't settle easily just because you think the other person has a good character - love needs more than just a good personality. You must consider whether the romance has a future.

Most people, if they met someone they loved deeply, and felt that the other person loved them back, would be happy to enter a relationship immediately. For most people, the consequence is as discussed above: the eventual loss of someone very dear to them.

Instead, you should look after her like a friend, and keep in contact with her after graduation, and work hard to improve yourself for her.

Wait until you have some career accomplishments and then approach her - if she is still waiting for you, then you did not set your eyes on the wrong person.

Girls, if a guy falls in love with you very quickly, then it means he can also fall in love with someone else quickly.

If love arrives late, then it won't depart early. We do not have to rely on lost love to grow more mature; we should instead use other people's experiences to build ourselves up.

Schoolyard romances are naive, and relationships in society might have hidden motives. Only the romances that continue strong through adverse circumstances are enduring.

Love isn't about being with the person who is the most suitable for you; it's about being able to keep your promises to the person you love even when someone seemingly more suitable appears.

Love isn't when two people's eyes meet, it's when two people's gazes are directed at the same horizon.

The "I do this for you because I love you" gestures that you see online seem very moving precisely because most people don't possess this kind of love.

Love isn't a trend; you need your own interpretation of it. Before your ideal person appears, you need the willpower to remain by yourself, and not to find a cheap subsitute. When you are able to do this, the romantic gestures you hear about online will no longer be of interest to you, because they are the most basic indication of respect.

Being single is not bad. You can still take care of people you appreciate, and this will show others that you are a good friend. Doing the same thing in a relationship will lead to jealousy, and from the perspective of your partnership it can be said that you are not committed enough; on the other hand, neglecting those around you will lead to the loss of many friendships, and can turn out to be a double loss if your relationship also ends badly.

So being single now doesn't mean you renounce love - rather, it is proving that you are wholeheartedly committed to the future her.

If an accomplished person is single it means that he has excellent morals, but if someone commits early, regardless of how outstanding he is, it means that his virtues are only superficial, for use in attracting a partner. A person who truly wanted the best for his counterpart, would silently care for her behind her back. The best promise isn't "I will love you forever" - it is not needing to make any promises.

So understand that you should not lightly commit to someone just because you are lonely - you have to take responsibility for the other person's heart, and first make sure that your own heart is worthy of her kindness.

Also understand, that a male confidant is the most virtuous type of friend.

Further understand, that there is a kind of happiness which is simple and pure...

Remember this: it may not have started yet, but that means you don't have to worry about it ending. Everything remains the same as before.