Ye Zi
Class of 2018, Graduated from University of Oxford
I graduated this summer
The sense of graduation was like an English rain falling on me, intermittently
In the winter of 2017, I came to the UK for my first university interview
It was an early morning of winter, Britain remained unweakened, and the ground, covered with yesterday’s snow
Recalling the moment, I sat alone in a dark booth waiting before the interview.
I took a picture of the big, open window in front of me
In the days of waiting, hope occasionally overcomes fear; however, it loses ground the rest of the time
It was the last and only time that I wanted something, deadly
And later, I got in
The summer of 2018, became my best summer ever
I took so many pictures that turning them over now confirms my happiness
I went to so many places that I can’t remember exactly where I have been
I read books that I have consumed but not yet digested
I’ve been through many farewells, but most of them are not the last
Livehouse
I had my first time seeing livehouses
I had my first time, with my friend in the square, waiting for the sun to rise
I had my first time riding the train
I had my first time taking the film
That summer, I may have briefly believed in my own omnipotence
Second later,
New life was coming without stopping
I love hanging over Tesco;
I love the whole wheat toast with nuts, peanut butter without sugar and dairy milk;
I love ugly yet brave ducklings and fuzzy sun;
I love decisive English showers, and I like to eat a sandwich I just got on the grass
I love pretty libraries; I love the moment before a question is answered; I love the speech given by Hilary or Jude Law; I love listening to God and his Bible; I love questioning whether science can solve all the big problems.
Covid
And then there came the COVID
I spent the whole summer seaside
Those tanned skin told me of a different story, further away
I floated on my surf board and let every wave pass me by
Moon can never get into your basin.
Those I thought were missed from the beginning never belong to me ever.
Third later, I got back to England.
In the room, not spacious, I mostly do is to look at the tree in front of my window.
And the shadow he leaves behind
I was under the impression that trees never grow old
They disappeared one winter
It was not until the following spring that the penny dropped
When the epidemic became better
I started to pre-revise the last summer I had here
I punted
I ran
I Laughed wild
I visited my loves
Thus I can survive the coming farewell
The growth in childhood is a leap in the dark. Hardly ever when you get elder.
I’m like a tree that’s already ran my first bloom.
No one expects differently on me
Or, the grain missing its sowing season
Failed to harvest in the autumn of my story
This is how I came to this day, by pushing and floating
What the 4-years education brought me
It’s I finally take off the rose-coloured filter, at a quarter of the way through my life
Be at peace with your own commonness.
This time he was not a comfort, or a forgiveness, or an excuse
It’s the first deep breath for the whale come to the surface of the ocean
The kitten stretched in the afternoon
It’s soothing yet wakeful
That’s it
