Years have passed, and I find myself building websites once again.
It feels like an endless cycle: investing so much effort, yet reaping little reward. The world changes rapidly. A long time ago, writing was a skill, designing was a skill, and creating websites was a skill.
But then AI came along, disrupting everything.
First, it revolutionized the world of words. Then, design followed.
Search engines like Baidu spelled the downfall of many websites. Or perhaps, in such an environment, even without Baidu, some other company would have done the same. Do I resent Baidu? Not really. It’s just a typical, confident Chinese company, excelling in its field. People have predicted Baidu’s decline countless times, but it’s still here, standing strong. I doubt it will ever truly disappear.
The signs were there when Google left China . Maybe I should have realized what was coming back then.
But as an ordinary person caught up in it all, how can one resist the pull of gravity?
Thankfully, in another world, Google still thrives, growing stronger and better.
A New Beginning
This time, I’m starting over. Forgetting everything from the past, I’ll be a beginner again—learning languages, studying every single word, and even exploring Traditional Chinese. I’ll aim higher and build websites for a global audience.
There’s a line from a film review I love called Keep Running, Never Stop:
“How can you be so arrogant? Do you think you can live off your accomplishments at eighteen until you’re eighty-eight?”
At eighteen, I didn’t have much to begin with. And if I had any drive back then, it has long since been dulled by time.
Now, I have no legacy to rely on, no established, high-ranking website.
I know that Baidu is a dying sunset, but somehow, I feel powerless to change things.
Whenever I feel frustrated, I think about how far I’ve come. The path I’ve walked is not the one I imagined, but at the very beginning, I had nothing at all.
This is just another starting point.
Reflection
Life is about cycles, but it’s also about resilience. No matter how many times we start over, the journey itself is what shapes us.
So here I am again, taking my first steps forward.