I came to the city from the countryside to take the college entrance examination. It has been ten years in the blink of an eye, and the so-called national events I have heard and witnessed during this period are not rare; But in my heart, there is no trace left. If I were to find out the impact of these things, it would only add to my bad habits. To be honest, it would make me lose my original simplicity and thrift, and look down on people, luxury, and waste day by day. But there was a small incident about a piece of metallographic sandpaper that had a significant impact on me, dragging me away from these bad habits, and I still remember it vividly to this day.


That was a day in the winter of 2010. We were attending a class in the metallographic laboratory and conducting metallographic analysis of ductile iron. Throughout the entire sample preparation process, manual grinding was used, with metallographic sandpaper being the most commonly used material. After three stages of metallographic sandpaper grinding, the surface of the sample was smoothed and polished by a polishing machine, and then corroded. After that, we observed it under a microscope, gave a rating according to relevant standards, and filled out a testing report, The entire experiment is considered complete.

    The sample has already been cut, and we will directly start the sample preparation by grinding it with metallographic sandpaper. Several of our classmates lined up and laid the metallographic sandpaper flat on the glass plate of the experimental table. We followed the instructions from the teacher to start grinding. At the beginning, grinding left and right, repeatedly grinding, picking up and observing while grinding. Because the technique is not yet proficient, let alone the feel, it has been polished multiple times but always fails to polish well. The surface is either worn off or burnt, and the scratches are not only not removed but also getting deeper and deeper.


The more you grind it, the more anxious you are. When you see that some students have polished it, you are more anxious. Fortunately, you feel that the metallographic sandpaper is not awesome enough. You can change one before you grind it a few times&hellip& Hellip;, After a while, I replaced the discarded metallographic sandpaper in piles and scattered it on the experimental platform, many times more than other classmates. Before I even noticed it, I kept bowing my head and grinding.


A classmate quietly sorted out all the metallographic sandpaper I had discarded, neatly stacked it in place according to the category and model, walked over to me and whispered to me:" Don't worry, the method is right. It will be grinded out in a moment. I'll help you see how to grind it;. As he spoke, he took the sample from my hand and carefully looked at it. Then he joined me, teaching me hand in hand, correcting my posture of holding the sample, the angle of pushing forward, and the method of exerting force. In a short while, this messy sample that I had ground finally revealed itself; The true face of Lushan”, You can take it to the polishing machine for polishing&hellip& Hellip;. Throughout the entire process, three grades of metallographic sandpaper, P180, P320, and P600, were used. One grade of sandpaper was not used up and the sample was ground.


Seeing the metallographic sandpaper neatly organized and stacked by this classmate, I felt very ashamed in my heart. But my classmate didn't say anything, he used his actions to tell me how to be a person and how to do things!

    In a blink of an eye, although many years have passed and many things and people have become increasingly distant and even blurred, this small matter always floats in front of me, sometimes becoming clearer, teaching me shame, urging me to reform, and constantly increasing my courage and hope.