What is your dream? Is your dream really what you want to do for the rest of your life? Do you enjoy doing it? Those are some of the questions asked during a special lecture held on May 22 presented by Diego Dati, actor, singer, and a Fudan University alumnus graduated in 2014.
Diego first came to China in 2005, but officially moved here in 2009. He first studied the Chinese language, before obtaining a master’s degree in International Relations at Fudan University in 2014. During his time in Fudan, he was once the captain of the international students dragon boat team. After graduating, Diego worked at an office for three years before establishing his career as an actor. He appeared in movies such as Vanguard （《急先锋》）, and Hidden Strike（《反击》, working with the likes of Jackie Chan, John Cena, and more notable actors. Living in China, he was mostly casted in Chinese movies.
Diego made the most of every opportunity during his campus life. He said Fudan allowed him to pursue his creative endeavors, such as martial arts training, music, and most notably, participating in talent shows. His performance went on to appear in a China Exploration TV Show on CCTV5. By continuing his creative work while studying, he was able to expand and develop his experiences which helped shape the career he has today.
“It is wonderful to have a dream and dedicate our lives to it, but do we often take the time to think ‘Is my dream really what I want to do?’” At the beginning of the lecture, Diego asked the current students to break down dreams by asking themselves “why do I have this dream”, then asking deeper after every answer. He believed that once we decide that “Yes, this is what I want to do in my life”, it is necessary to cut down time being spent on things that we don’t like, and expand our experience based on what we want to do. “With the experience gained, invest it in more activities based on what you want to do,” said Diego.
He stressed the importance of incorporating skills obtained through other activities or experiences with what we like doing, which he called “mutation”. Diego used his martial arts skills as an example. As he incorporated martial arts into his acting, his career received a boost since many action or fighting scenes require a certain level of martial arts mastery.“You can transfer skills from other activities and combine them with what you enjoy doing,” said Diego.
To give an important piece of advice to current students, Diego said, “Make a plan is the key to achieving goals and realizing dreams.” However, he believes that whatever we aspire to achieve, it is never the ultimate goal, meaning there is always something to work towards. After achieving a goal, there will always be another goal to accomplish. “This cycle never stops, and should not stop.” Diego encouraged students to always be determined to achieve their goals and keep going even after that.
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Presented by Fudan University Media Center
Writer: Christian Lie
Editor: LI Yijie, WANG Mengqi
