Adjusting to college life can be not easy for students transitioning from high schools. Overcoming apprehension, handling a demanding schedule or getting along well with most peers are challenging enough. However, there are always some bumps along the way, about which we may never forget and laugh when it occurred to us years after.
OH MY CARD
It’s completely convenient that we are able to do almost everything, such as having lunch, taking a shower or buying necessities with only one card. But it may not be good news for some careless ones, or for someone who is just unlucky that day. The card can be left anywhere heedlessly, with others picking them up and trying to reach the owner.
However, while the ones who carelessly left the card somewhere can always be hopeful that his or her card will appear someday, Jie feels hopelessly hopeless when she dropped her card in the toilet, which disappeared once and for all down the dark hole with her scream echoing.
A LONG WAY TO GO
With an area of 2 102 000 square metres, Nankai has so many roads, streets and architectures, which are at least confusing for freshmen, especially for foreigners. Cai, who speaks fluent Chinese, is from Thailand. He walked around the school for more than two hours before he found the Student Activity Centre, because he thought it should be a kind of square and consequently missed it again and again.
What’s worse, College of Chinese Linguistic Literature and College of Chinese Language and Culture are merely one word away in Chinese, making it a longer distance for him to cover before his arrival.
AKWARD MOMENT
Life is never easy, especially when you have a tight schedule. Embarrassing moment comes every day when someone misses the bus to the other school zone, when someone finds the card is out of money with shampoo foam on his or her head or when someone hits his head on the counter during a PE test.
I nearly slept off a speech competition once. Without washing my face, I rushed there to sign, rushed back to dress myself properly and rushed there back, as if I were in a racing movie.
Life is of diversity and possibilities, so choose wisely to see the water half empty or half full. Take something seriously and laugh something off. It’s difficult but delighting to be a freshman, isn’t it?
Wang Hanjing
