Not everyone has the inclination to develop connections, nor should they.
Not everyone is motivated by more "practical" careers.
The truth is if she had a chance to repeat her life, she'd probably still choose to pursue her literary dreams.
She made the decision multiple times in her life to focus on other things besides connections or going for some "practical" career. She knew there would be different opportunities/costs regardless of the direction she chose.
It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to suddenly feel bitter regret about this. That's just hypocritical.
Her closing remarks indicate it doesn't matter what choice she makes, she will have regrets. The end of the piece indicates it is systemic, a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation that shouldn't exist. It also describes a situation where the system sets you up for failure, then blames you when you fail.
They disappear people in China for criticizing the government. This strikes me as a left-handed critique of China, hopefully one that won't come back to bite the author.
Not everyone has the inclination to develop connections, nor should they.
Not everyone is motivated by more "practical" careers.
The truth is if she had a chance to repeat her life, she'd probably still choose to pursue her literary dreams.
She made the decision multiple times in her life to focus on other things besides connections or going for some "practical" career. She knew there would be different opportunities/costs regardless of the direction she chose.
It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to suddenly feel bitter regret about this. That's just hypocritical.