I made a plan for this National Day holiday almost two month ago that I would to go to Xiamen with my friends to breathe its clean air, enjoy its beautiful scenery and experience the life of petty bourgeoisie. Having worked in Shanghai for over two years, the places I went to were all located in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province. It’s time to visit some place which is a little further from here. Xiamen is a good choice although there will be full of people, but which place won’t be overcrowded during such a long holiday in China? I convinced myself when this problem occurred to me.

So I searched the city Xiamen on the Internet and read a lot of travel tips and made my own travel strategy. I was so excited that I even had a dream about it. Then my friend made the hotel reservation and booked the tickets online. Everything seems perfect!

As the holiday drawing near, my colleagues are all talking about their plans. Some will go to Yunnan, some will visit Jiuzhai Valley in Sichuan province, some will fly to Japan or some other countries. At this moment, my boss came and asked me whether I will go home. I smiled and said, “No, I want to go to Xiamen.” “Why not go home?” He asked further and looked serious. Suddenly I was speechless.

I realized since 2008, I only went home twice a year. I had almost one month to stay with my parents every time when I was still in college, but less than one week when I started work. God knows how many days left for me to accompany my parents. I felt ashamed. I was being too busy enjoying myself and forgot my parents, sisters and brother.

I need to go home! So I started to search the tickets quickly. Oh no! The train tickets were fully booked. Fortunately, when my boss knew about it, he granted me three more days leave, which means I can go home on 27th of September and most importantly there are still tickets available on that day. I was so grateful that I expressed my gratitude to my boss.

Now I am very happy that I made this decision. It’s never too crowded in my hometown. I can still breathe the fresh and clean air, enjoy the natural beauty of countryside, experience its tranquility… And at the same time, I can be there for my parents. What a perfect plan!

So what’s your plan for this national day holiday? Will you go home?