Nation's teenagers gear up for the gaokao

It's just one step along life's highway

I will take the gaokao this week in my hometown of Wuhan, Hubei province.

I want to become an army doctor, so my goal is to gain admission to the Army Medical University in Chongqing to study medicine.

The imminent arrival of the exam means life is more stressful than usual. I arrive at class at 7:20 am and finish school at 9:30 pm.

Some teachers stay longer in class to give us more coaching, so our night study can last until 10 pm. We can only take Sunday afternoon off.

There are 52 students in my class. We play jokes to encourage each other.

I really like walking, so if I am under pressure, I will walk around the campus playground to relieve the stress.

There are many stray cats in our school, and they are very docile. I always put a bag of cat food in my rucksack to feed them.

Two of my classmates recently set up a running club to relieve the pressure.

During the break in our evening self-study time from 8 pm to 8:10 pm, they organize the students to go running together. The day they started the activity, about 50 of the other students joined in.

There is a "wish corner" in my classroom, where everyone can write down whatever they like, such as advice, puzzles, problems and wishes.

To ease the pressure on us, the school has held a number of activities, including a coming-of-age ceremony during which we exchanged letters with our parents, as well as arts and science festivals.

Life's road is very long and the gaokao is just one step along it.