Let’s we understand some concepts first, a “utopia” is a fictional, idealized place of perfect harmony, equality, and prosperity. A dystopia basically means anti-utopia or fake-utopia, it is an imagined society that appears to be a perfect world but is secretly a nightmare of oppression and control, often used as a warning.

What moved me the most was reading “Fahrenheit 451” (assigned) and “1984” (I read that by myself). It suddenly makes me realize that the methods of control depicted in these books already have some early signs in our own lives. In today’s world, many people willingly give up questioning and thinking to avoid trouble. Aren’t the book-burning firefighters and the ordinary people who report their neighbors in 451 just versions of many people in real world? (Like the book banning in us, ICE) Moreover, with the increasingly authoritarian in U.S. politics under President Trump, we are seeing more and more elements that resemble those described in dystopian stories. “Dystopia” was never far away from us, it might be hiding in every instance of our silence.

While writing my own dystopian story, I didn’t want to just write about overt, brutal evil government. Instead, I wanted to depict a “beautiful world” that people willingly walk into. My story “Big Fish”, is about where people live in a comfort zone created by a mysterious force, they only see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. The main character are fighting against villains, but also against a society where everyone is indifferent and numb, and the fear of realizing they’ve lost the ability to think. Halfway through writing, it kind make a connection: isn’t this just like the short videos and personalized news feeds people scroll through every day? It isn’t being forced, it’s that we willingly surrender our freedom to think. 

This project truly changed the way I see the world, my worldview. It’s like I’m now wearing “dystopian glasses” I am always noticing these early warning signs: big data feels like the embryo of a surveillance society, and the pursuit of fitting in quietly erodes our independent thinking. The critical thinking skills I learned in my last project have become even more important—they’re practically survival skills. I constantly ask myself: Who wants me to believe this? What am I missing? What have I given up for comfort?

What made me most proud while writing my short story was discovering that I’m actually quite good at and really enjoy writing stories. I like writing those “good systems” that make people unconsciously sink in are truly terrifying. The real villain is comfort itself. In the end, writing stories isn’t just for interest, it’s really a way of thinking. I come up with a lot of new ideas while writing stories, and this really feels amazing

Of course, the whole process wasn’t all smooth sailing. Sometimes, reading these dark story felt really sad, as if individuals are powerless against the system. But later, I understood: writing dystopian stories is itself an act of resistance. Even if it’s just creating a different possibility on paper, it’s still saying, that the future isn’t set in stone, we still have choices.

I remember the night before the deadline, I was revising until very late. When I finally closed the document, dawn was almost breaking outside. A friend who read it asked me why I used such a cute background to discuss such heavy topics. I said, “Maybe because only by clearly seeing the darkness can we truly cherish the light.”

And here is my short story “Big Fish”

Story 2.0