Hello, everyone! Do you have any fresh feelings after the Spring Festival? Coming back to our school, we also finished the busy first half of the semester. Our holiday was too short, wasn’t it? Haw-haw. Well, actually, there is an appointment between Qu Yuan and me that I want to tell you.
On September 17, 2021, I went to Qu Yuan in advance because my hometown isn’t located in Shandong province. With the help of a senior, I made the bed and went out to have supper. I used my cellphone when I returned to the dorm again, waiting for the visit of night. Not surprisingly, I failed to sleep because of the strange smell, the excited heart and the opposite light... It seemed that I’ve drunk some cups of coffee which played a crucial role in my insomnia.
“Just write something if you couldn’t sleep.” My best friend in high school told me. So I clicked on the notepad but didn’t turn on the lights. A bright light on the phone screen irradiated the still childish face of a girl who lay on the bed. Through the image in her eyes, I saw the words on the screen.
Qu Yuan, I’m awfully fond of you. Lying in Confucius’s hometown, Qufu, you are the firm promoter and inheritor of Confucian culture; being acknowledged as “ the famous college cultivating large amounts of graduate students”, you are the concentration camp of fighters who are reluctant to be mediocre; having the picturesque campus surroundings, you are the heaven of those who like Chinese traditional culture... You have so many reputations and such a strong cultural atmosphere that I insisted on choosing you when I saw your admissions video for the first time. Fortunately, I was admitted to you. Fate is so ingenious, but in fact, it has been premeditated for a long time. Let us make an appointment that I will study hard!
On September 20, 2021, although I came to Rizhao campus without appreciating the traditional buildings in Qufu campus, I still found that my heart beat fiercely and excitedly. That is probably because the true appeal of Qu Yuan is the study style, teacher morality and teacher style. Even if campuses are different, the spiritual core is inherited generation after generation between Qufu and Rizhao.
Our counsellor Mr. Sun made opening speeches in turns during our first evening self-study and there was one word he said I would never forget. That is, “You guys almost all plan to become a graduate student? Certainly, our school has lots of excellent graduate students. However, you will be defeated by yourself if you don’t study hard. It doesn’t mean that you’re bound to make it as long as you are admitted to the school. All in all, you guys must put learning first.”
On January 9, 2022, I finished the final exam of the first half of the semester and came back to my hometown. Instead of relaxation, regret was full of my mind. I regretted I hadn’t gone to the classroom to review seriously and that I was too conceited. I regretted I had been a man who lost the way forward in the desert.
In the dream, I walked through the hallway in school which was crowded with undergraduates. I opened the classroom doors and every seat was occupied. I came to the playground and saw people running, dancing and playing basketball. Youth is much precious. But what are you doing?
Out of the dream, I meet Qu Yuan once again. She remains her special attraction just like the first time I encountered her. Time doesn’t take anything away but my appointment with her.
Whereas, Qu Yuan, I still remember our appointment. I am back.
