It is now July 6, 2025, a rare Sunday without a big group meeting. I am 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 and was waiting for a long summer vacation. I participated in a rural social practice and then played with old friends for two months without any worries; it was 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 little 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 the final exam reviews were overwhelming and the weather was hot with the noisy cicadas. However, the two-month vacation left no doubt about its healing power.
In June 2023, surprisingly, most of the time was 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 also participated in a heat treatment competition and achieved very good results, laying the groundwork for my future academic path.
In June 2024, it was the end of my senior year, with very few exams left. What really kept me busy were my graduation project and miscellaneous tasks from joining the 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 spent my days working and my nights returning home, and the last moments of my four years in college quietly became lonely. Thankfully, as July began, my friend came to rescue me from the mundane life, briefly pulling me back to our “Mochou Village.”
Now, back to the present, just like then, while I am struggling to study something I don't understand, my friend is about to come visit me. We have basically agreed on where to go during the summer vacation; however, unlike before, my so-called “summer vacation” will only last two weeks. Although it’s nice to have any vacation at all, thinking back to the long summer vacations 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 ease and relief of graduation and the anticipation and excitement of starting a new experience. Instead, I am just going back and forth between the office and the dormitory day after day. Occasionally, on my way to and from work, I see new students excitedly rushing with 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; when standing in the present, which is neither past nor future, the true giants are still pushing that boulder rolling down from the mountaintop, 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. 🍉