7/28/2026
This year, a new expression has become popular on the Chinese internet: "奥德赛时期" (Àodésài shíqī), or "the Odyssey Years."
It refers to the period from the early twenties to the early or mid-thirties, when many young adults have left school but have not yet settled into a stable career, family life, or even a clear sense of identity. It is a time of uncertainty, exploration, trial and error, and self-discovery.
The popularity of the term reflects the reality in China that many young people face today. They spend nearly twenty years moving from one classroom to another, acquiring knowledge and preparing for examinations, having no time for self-discovery and exploration. Yet after graduation they suddenly enter a world where there are no standard answers. Traditional paths to success seem less certain, new opportunities emerge constantly, and the future feels increasingly unpredictable.
One reason the idea resonates is that many young people are trying to discover not only the world but also themselves—what genuinely interests them, where their strengths lie, and what kind of life they want to build.
More than two thousand years ago, Laozi wrote:
知人者智，自知者明。
Zhī rén zhě zhì, zì zhī zhě míng.
Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Perhaps education should aim at both. It should help students understand the world while also helping them understand themselves.
The term "Odyssey Years" comes from Homer's epic The Odyssey. After the Trojan War, the Greek hero Odysseus spent ten years wandering before finally returning home. His long journey became a metaphor for exploration, uncertainty, and personal growth.
The concept made me think of two questions.
The first concerns when the odyssey begins.
The popular definition suggests that self-discovery starts after college. No!
The journey should begin much earlier, during adolescence. Those years should already be a time for exploring interests, discovering strengths and weaknesses, trying different sports, music, art, volunteering, and developing values.
If students graduate without knowing much about themselves, perhaps education has accomplished only part of its mission.
The second question is when the odyssey ends.
The popular definition suggests that it ends sometime in our thirties. No!
Today's world changes too quickly for self-discovery ever to be complete. New technologies emerge. Industries rise and disappear. Careers change. Our priorities evolve with age. The person we are at twenty-five is not the same person we become at forty-five or sixty-five.
Charles Darwin continued refining his ideas throughout his life. Millions of immigrants began entirely new lives after their thirties. Many retirees discover new passions by learning a language, painting, writing, or volunteering.
Each is still on an odyssey on its own.
Perhaps the real value of the concept lies not in its age range but in its mindset.
Life itself is an odyssey.
Some stages involve more exploration than others, but exploration never truly ends. The more we learn about ourselves and the world, the more we realize how much remains to be discovered.
The Odyssey is not a decade of life. It is a way of living.
