After three months of drifting, Hsieh discovered that it was possible for a person to "forget the self." With this epiphany he decided that once he had graduated in political science and law from Soochow University, he would move on to study literature. This was also the time when he began to dream of visiting Lhasa.
結束這趟 3 個月的漂流旅程，他發現，「人原來是可以『忘掉』自己的」；彷彿得到莫名的啟示，他決定完成東吳大學政治與法律雙修課程後，轉向文學領域，腦海中也萌起還要重返拉薩的念頭。