It's now July 6, 2025, a rare Sunday without a big group meeting. I'm struggling to figure out how to describe this June, so naturally (though not very naturally) I thought to look back at what I did in June over the past four years. Without further ado, let's get started:
In June 2021, I had just finished my final exams in my sophomore year, eagerly awaiting a long summer vacation, participating in a rural social practice, and then playing with old friends for two months without any worries—just a free summer. I wrote, "The heat of July ♨️ and air conditioning ❄️, watermelon 🍉 and drinks 🍹, melting ice cream 🍨, the sweat 💦 and laughter 🤣 of youth, once again, let me feel it for a bit longer." Such a July may not come again for a long time.
In June 2022, it was still a month of finals. After dealing with various exams, I participated in the CuBiC project and achieved a small success. I remember that the end of June used to be filled with anticipation, even though final exam reviews were overwhelming and the hot weather was noisy with cicadas. But the two-month vacation left no doubt about its healing power.
In June 2023, surprisingly, most of the time was spent without exams. I have forgotten the reasons, but this might have been the easiest June since starting college. At that time, my friend also came to visit me, leaving behind many memorable moments. I participated in a heat treatment competition and achieved very good results, which also laid the groundwork for my future academic path.
In June 2024, it was the end of my senior year, with very few exams left. What kept me busy were my graduation project and miscellaneous tasks from joining a group early. Fortunately, I managed to steal some time to explore scenic spots with friends, preventing the "graduation trip" from becoming an empty promise. On June 26, I attended the graduation ceremony in heavy rain and officially graduated. After that, just like now, I was working during the day and returning home at night, and the last moments of my four years in college quietly faded away. Luckily, just as July began, my friend came to rescue me from the mundane, pulling me back to our "Mochou Village" that belonged to us.
Now, back to the present, just like then, while I’m struggling to understand some research that I can’t grasp, my friend is about to come visit me. We have basically agreed on where to go during the summer vacation. However, times have changed; my so-called "summer vacation" will only last two weeks. While it's nice to have any vacation at all, thinking back to the long summer breaks of my student days inevitably brings a sense of nostalgia.
This June, there are still graduates and new students. I find myself caught in between, lacking the relief and freedom of graduation, as well as the anticipation and excitement of starting a new experience. Instead, I’m just going back and forth between the office and the dormitory day after day. Occasionally, on my way to and from work, I see excited new students dragging their suitcases or graduates taking photos around campus—they are all at a turning point in their lives, while I feel stuck in the cracks of time, unable to look back or see the road ahead clearly. I suddenly feel that perhaps "growth" is like this: in the long stretch of mediocrity, occasionally stealing a bit of sweetness from the past or filling up with dreams of the future; standing in the present, which is neither past nor future, the true giants are still pushing that giant stone rolling down from the mountain top, as if they have not tasted any bitterness or sweetness.
Two weeks of vacation is short, but enough for us to create new memories. The summer vacations of student days are indeed gone forever, but life goes on, and summer will always come. So, July, please be gentle with us. 🍉