Despite 10 gaokao tries, I never lost sight of dream

Editor's note: Li Donghua, 32, has taken the gaokao, China's college entrance exam, 10 times. He finally passed this year.

I've been in love with painting since I was a boy. Many art teachers have told me I have talent and have encouraged me to apply to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, one of the best art schools in China.

It's been my dream to be enrolled there, but to do it I have to pass the gaokao.

I took my first test in 2001. I got a score of 49 out of 150 in English and failed. The passing mark is 60.

It wasn't easy to face up to my failure, but I did. I decided to go to a gaokao training school for art students in Beijing to prepare for the next year.

I tried hard, but I failed - again and again and again, from 2002 to 2008. What let me down were my low English scores.

I began to doubt myself, thinking maybe it was destiny that I would never have the chance to go to my dream university. So I gave up. I headed to Guangzhou and got a job as a teacher at an art school.

I spent three years teaching, which was of great importance to me. After some of my students were admitted to CAFA, I began to regain my self-confidence. I started believing I could succeed, too.

So I started preparing for the gaokao once again. I made more of an effort to study English.

Of course, effort does not always mean instant reward, and I failed again in 2012 with another low score in English. But I knew success was not far away. It was so close I could see it. All I had to do was carry on.

So I took the 2013 gaokao in June, my tenth attempt, and I finally made it. I scored 76 in English, just above the passing mark of 70.

Many people, including my parents, couldn't understand why I'd spend more than 10 years taking the gaokao to get into the Central Academy of Fine Arts instead of going to another college. But I believe we should all stick to our dreams.

If you have passion, you should chase your dreams, no matter how far it seems. In the end, you will make it.

I will keep painting - that's why I must attend a good academy - and I will make great progress under the instruction of good teachers.

As a freshman, all I want is to study hard and draw. In the future, I will apply for graduate school or go abroad to improve my techniques.

Some people sit and study great works of art in museums in Paris all day. That's an ideal life for me.

Li Donghua was talking to China Daily reporter Zhao Xinying.