5 . An artwork in the graduation exhibition of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in Guangdong’s provincial capital has spread on the Internet. A number of domestic media organizations have reported on Huang Jianyi’s life and his artwork, a giant construction worker made of more than 700 kilograms of steel bars and iron plates.

He named his 194cm-by-113cm-by-230cm sculpture The Soul of Construction Workers. He said he made the sculpture in honor of his father and all Chinese construction workers who have contributed to the country’s urban development.

To build it, he bought 750 kg of steel bars and iron plates from online platforms and nearby recycling centers for about 4 yuan per kg. Apart from eating and sleeping, Huang Jianyi devoted all his time to his work: “Sometimes, I even stayed up from midnight to 5 or 6 am, and when the sun rose. I would sleep in: my chair for a few hours,” Huang. said. “I think all the hard work was worth it, especially now that the sculpture is being recognized by the public.”

“Born into a poor family in Leizhou city, under the administration of Zhanjiang city in western Guangdong, Huang said he deeply understood how hard life was for builders. As construction workers, my parents frequently traveled for work, sometimes as far as Hainan province when I was a child, and they used to return home once every few months,” he said.

And after he arrived in Guangzhou to go to university, he discovered that many builders have to work in the scorching sun or in the pouring rain. “My father, who’ is the pillar of my family, is not very good at expressing his feelings, but I know he was very delighted when he saw my sculpture,” Huang said.

6 . It was a week after my mom had passed away and I didn’t know how to go on with life. So when I received an email from a friend about a race benefiting cancer research, I ignored it. It seemed to prick my heart, as cancer was the disease that had taken my mother away from me.

But something about my friend’s words—“I can help organize the whole thing”—stuck with me. I felt obliged（有义务的）to agree. In the weeks to come, I managed to re-enter the world of the living. I checked our team’s website daily, feeling proud each time a donation ticked up our total. I knew my mom would have wanted it that way. She was the type who never got defeated. It was this very spirit that helped me get by.

When the race ended, I noticed the runners all had one thing in common: There were big smiles on their faces. They made it look so rewarding and effortless. I wanted in.

So I enrolled in another race two months later. Considering I could barely run a mile, it was ambitious. But my friend and I made a training plan so I wouldn’t come in last. I followed it religiously and didn’t let anything get in my way.

Running up and down the city’s hills, I was flooded with memories. I had lived there after college and my mother had visited often. I passed Bloomingdale’s, recalling the time she and I had gotten into a screaming argument there.

I was about to beat myself up when I remembered what Mom had said after her diagnosis of cancer. “I don’t want you to feel guilty about anything.” Her paper-thin hands had held me tightly. A weight lifted from my shoulders.

When the race day arrived, I gave it my all for my mom and for all she had taught me and continued to teach me. As I ran, whenever I felt like slowing down, I pictured her cheering me on.

8 . In 2014, I was in ballet class when I got a call from the hospital that my dad had experienced a stroke. I rushed to the hospital to join him, and found him buried in a nest of cables, surrounded by a variety of monochromatic, rapidly beeping (making a short, loud sound) assistive machines. They seemed to form a single, massive enclosure around him. Every few moments he would peer up at one of the machines with wide, confused eyes. I became clear that many of the technologies that were meant to be helping and supporting him were scary and inaccessible. During the most difficult moments of his life, the machines multiplied his fear.

I wondered how I could make him feel reassured, safe, and dignified around these devices. At the time, I was a professional dancer and choreographer (编舞者). Dancers, performers and theater artists are all masters at evoking emotions, so I began to think how I might improve machines to help him feel empowered and hopeful rather than afraid. My dad is now in his early 70s and fully recovered. But his story led me to start combining my passions for dance and technology.

I’ve danced with different robots all around the world, in installations (就职) and live performances. I’m now a Ph. D. candidate in mechanical engineering at Stanford University, where I work on models and interfaces that allow robots to learn new tasks from humans.

As the number of robots in society continues to increase, more people need to be capable of using them. I think of other commonly used technologies like laptops and phones and reflect that a user like my dad actively direct the robot with natural human motions.

I believe the intersection (交叉点) between robotics and human will continue to expand as robots move out of the factory and into the public. I am not sure how soon my dad will have a robot in his house, but I do believe that when it arrives, it will be filled with dance knowledge.