Three weeks in China and I have yet to adapt to the sun rising at 5:00 AM sharp. Hues of yellow, orange, and red burst into my room waking me for my next adventure. This China sunrise is warm and optimistic. Bold and cheerful. Passionate and driven. Every ray, more welcoming than the next. There are an estimated 1.38 billion people in China. No one person is the same, as each encompasses countless colors on the spectrum I am beginning to uncover. Different strokes of their past, present, and future will blend into one matchless painting. Of course, this holds true for every person and every country, but China? Well, China is just a bit different. If I were to place all 1.38 billion paintings side by side, it seems as though something intertwines them.

A stroke of sunrise.

I felt a warm sunrise on the plane. Under the bright lights of the TV screens as the woman next to me shared her story. I felt a cheerful sunrise as I stood exhausted and confused at the front of the Tianjin airport. An FSU logo was seen twenty feet away. Comfort in the colors of my garnet and gold, but also in the sunrise of his face. Leo was his name, and I couldn’t help but cling onto every bit of that sunrise.

The rays grew warmer and brighter over the next three weeks, as I encountered new faces. The servers who prepped and brought us our food at the dining hall were always singing a song. The woman at the campus convenient store never failed to help me count out my money, as I always got my 元 and 觉 confused. When the city bike would refuse to take my payment, an elderly man stepped in to cover the cost. My day was a sunrise on repeat it seemed, and I had nothing but thank you, on repeat, in return.

I can’t even begin to explain how welcomed I felt as I traveled across the country. Each city, a little different in landscape and cuisine, but the people just the same. Watching a tai-chi master demonstrate his most passionate moves, just after he fed twenty mouths from the kitchen of his own home. Or the time I was boldly tracked down in a museum by a school of children, who were just excited to see blonde hair. How about the 80-year-old woman optimistically cheering “you’re my hero” as I reached the top of the Great Wall.

Pay it forward. I just have to. I will return to the USA excited to paint the days with my own sunrise. These friendly faces drive me to change the world, even if that means one smile at a time.