The Reality of Our School

As a student at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts, I believe there is no other school like this anywhere else. Recently, certain information has spread on the internet and in the news about my school, but my own perspective on being here is absolutely different.

The Fei Tian campus is very clean, safe, and pure, and it’s the responsibility of every student and teacher to help maintain the environment. For example, after eating, my classmates and I always clean up after ourselves. Additionally, after coming here, I very rarely waste food. In the public schools I attended previously, my classmates would often throw out their food if they didn’t like it, so there was a large amount of food waste. At Fei Tian, however, I feel grateful to the cafeteria staff, who often go out of their way to take care of students. So even if the meal served that day isn’t exactly my favorite, I still try my best to finish everything. The environment here has also helped me concentrate on my studies. We are free from the distractions of social media and video games, so I’m able to focus a lot more than I did in previous schools.

At Fei Tian, I feel very connected with everyone. I have never witnessed any instances of bullying or people excluding others from group activities. To me, everyone feels like one big family, always helping and encouraging each other, really just wanting the best for their peers. There are hard times, but every time I feel kind of down, there is always someone to talk to who is willing to help me through difficulties.

I am especially grateful to my dance teacher. It is hard to find a teacher like her. She is very patient and kind; no matter how many times we fall down, she is always there to offer encouragement and help us up. I’ve learned a lot from her and the way she uses the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance to guide her daily life. Sometimes, I might not do well during dance class, and she will be upfront with me about it, which might make me kind of sad. But after thinking it through, I realize she is honest with me because she thinks I am able to accept her advice and that it will help me improve. Although I often push myself to the limit to reach higher goals, in the end, I always feel very happy and positive. I believe that no matter how hard the path of dance is, as long as I try my best, I can overcome any obstacle.

People driving past the school may see security guards at the gate and misunderstand why they are there. The reason is very simple—they are there to ensure the safety of our school. Fei Tian is a religious school, and students practice the spiritual discipline Falun Gong, which is a practice that benefits the mind and body and is based around the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. As a practitioner myself, I apply these values in my daily life and try to elevate myself by cultivating my morals and always considering others first. However, Falun Gong has faced severe persecution in mainland China since 1999. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tortured and killed countless innocent Falun Gong practitioners for their spiritual beliefs. Even in the U.S., the CCP has tried many times to interfere with Fei Tian and Shen Yun. For example, last year during Shen Yun’s tour, they sent people to try and stop several companies from performing. Bomb threats were sent to theaters where performances were scheduled, and the tires on some of the buses were even slashed.

Ever since I was little, I watched Shen Yun every year and always enjoyed it so much. My greatest dream was to dance with Shen Yun and spread China’s 5000 years of culture, as well as show the world what is happening to Falun Gong practitioners in China today. As a student of Fei Tian, I feel so lucky to be working towards this dream and heading for a bright future—I am truly a fortunate artist.