Nation's teenagers gear up for the gaokao

I decided to take the test twice

I am from a county in Panzhihua, Sichuan province. When I was 6 years old, I accidentally touched a high-voltage cable and blacked out. When I regained consciousness, I found that my arms had been amputated. It was a huge blow. I was plunged into darkness.

My world was completely overturned. All I could do every day was shout "Mom, I'm hungry", or "Dad, I need to use the bathroom". I often asked myself if there was any point in living and thought I might as well die.

Months passed, and one day it occurred to me that although I had no hands, I still had two precious things-my feet and my brain. I decided to train my feet to replace my hands.

My parents were happy to see me display willpower. My father taught me to use my toes to hold a pen and pick things up, and he even practiced with me.

I don't know how many blisters I got between my toes or how many times I suffered foot cramps.

After about 17 months, I was able to write neatly. I could also eat, wash my face and brush my teeth with my feet.

My father sent me to normal schools instead of schools for disabled kids, because he wanted me to study like a normal kid.

He said education was especially important for kids like me.

In winter, I could not wear socks while writing, so my feet often cracked due to the cold. I could not hold an umbrella, but I still went to school in the rain.

I lived in a dorm at middle school. It took about 15 minutes to wash my face and brush my teeth, and 10 minutes to make my bed. But I got up 50 minutes earlier than the other students so I could arrive at the classroom before classes started, which gave me time to read. I also used the breaks between classes to do homework. That meant I could study for two hours more than my peers every day.

My academic performance was always excellent. However, when I took the gaokao in June 2014, I scored 543 points, just three above the basic line for key universities. The result was not ideal.

I was unwilling to accept that, because it took me longer to write with my feet than normal students using their hands. As a result, I left many answers to questions unfinished in the exam. I decided to improve my writing speed and try again the next year.

Later, Sichuan media reported about me using my feet to write and deciding to take the exam again.

I never imagined that Zhang Haidi, chairwoman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, would see the story. She did, and in response, she wrote to the Ministry of Education and explained that there were many disabled students like me who faced extra difficulties in the gaokao.

In May 2015, the ministry issued a policy that lengthened the duration of the exam by 30 percent for disabled students like me. I was moved to tears.

How lucky I was! The policy was enacted just a month before my second gaokao.

Finally, I realized my university dream. I got a score of 603 in the 2015 gaokao and was admitted to Sichuan University as a law student.

Now, I am a senior student, preparing to apply for postgraduate study. I want to be a lawyer to help people from vulnerable groups.