‘It’s OK to be a loser’: heartfelt chat between ‘failed’ young Chinese women brings the gift of optimism to millions online
- Two young women who have led a life of failure post hopeful late-night chat which resonates with millions on Chinese social media
- Despite being down at heel financially the pair say losing their ability to dream would be the worst thing of all
A heartfelt chat between two down-at-heel young women about the real meaning of life has touched the hearts of millions on Chinese social media.
Centred around the notion that “it is OK to be a loser”, in a late-night sit down, the pair discuss their optimism despite leading lives “full of failure”.
Wanwan, 28, who only has 5,000 yuan (US$735) to her name five years after graduating from a top Chinese university, and Chaochao, 29, a master’s degree graduate whose last job was cleaner at a hotpot restaurant, opened their hearts in a 17-minute-long video published on the last day of 2022.
Since then the Chinese version of 2 Broke Girls from the country’s southwestern Sichuan province has attracted five million views.
Both pursued their dreams and failed, but instead of feeling anxious, they gained “unprecedented freedom” and “a life full of choices”.
The women both graduated from Central China Normal University in 2017.
Wanwan worked as a short video creator at a Chinese internet giant, while Chaochao became a postgraduate student in Beijing, pursuing her scriptwriting dream.
On the face of it, they had a bright future ahead of them. But then reality hit.
Wanwan said she has had more than a dozen jobs but found all of them meaningless. One job also gave her serious back problems.
She decided to take postgraduate entrance exams, believing upgrading her academic qualifications was the only way out.
She failed the exam after a year of preparation and was left unemployed with only 5,000 yuan in the bank.
After failing several times to find the scriptwriting work she truly enjoyed, Chaochao decided to study painting – something she always wanted to do – despite “not knowing where it is going to lead me to”.
With limited savings, in order to feed herself, she first found a job as a cleaner at a hotpot restaurant.
Soon she quit and worked on a part-time writing job, which earned her 2,000 to 3,000 yuan (US$295-440) a month.
Both women confessed they felt anxious seeing their peers make enough money to afford the down payment on a house, or get married and become parents, but eventually they made peace with themselves.
“As long as we are still physically and mentally healthy, we can still start all over again. Being trapped in failure and losing the courage to go forward is what is really terrible,” Wanwan said.
Chaochao agreed: “We are fine as long as we can feed ourselves. Life is full of different paths, and we won’t hit a dead end no matter which one we choose.”
In the end they decided to “choose the moon over sixpence” for now, citing W. Somerset Maugham’s novel that illustrates the human struggle between dreams and reality.
The young women’s heartfelt confession and optimistic attitude to life have resonated with many.
“I’m still looking up at ‘the moon’, and I feel warm-hearted and spiritually rich. If I give up on my dream one day, that’s when I will be a real loser,” said one commenter.
“You are so positive. As someone going through a tough life at the moment, I feel encouraged,” said another.
“Thank you for sharing your failures. So many people only brag about their success,” commented a third person.
