Time starts counting down. It will
be my last week in UCONN after this weekend.I can’t figure out how many times
it has been when I stepped on the fallen leaves of those maple trees, heading
towards the classroom with the cute squirrels staring alertly at me on the
branch. I don’t know how many times it has been when I stood by the window of
analytical laboratory waiting for the readout of a spectrometer, looking at the
Swan Lake beside the chemistry building and appreciating the beautiful sunshine
outside. I can’t figure out how many times I walked into the North Dinning Hall
waiting in a line for the delicious omelet or chicken stir fry, and how many
afternoons I have spent in the study lounge looking up the words in my
biochemistry book. Time flies, bringing away the pages of calendar, and leaving
me the best memories of the past days.
Yet I still remember those earliest
emails I received from UCONN Education Abroad eleven months ago, which instructed
me how to finish a syllabus substitution form. Since then Sara’s name has
become a symbol of UCONN to me. I still remember during those days my best effort
to translate the syllabi provided by my teachers into English, and my worrying
whether there would be any grammatical mistakes in the emails I sent to UCONN. Something
went wrong with my MyHousing account just half a day before the deadline of
housing application, but it got fixed just some hours after I sent the email to
Residential Life. I took the interview of visa application on a hot summer day,
and was surprised at the high processing efficiency which enabled me to get my
visa just four days later. Everything happened just like it took place one day
before.
Never will I forget the feeling of
swinging back and forth by Mirror Lake, the small rainbows beside the fountain
under sunshine, and the reflection of trees on that small island on the glinting
surface of water. Leaves turned from green to red and bright yellow in autumn.
I took photos for them, keeping them in my memory card, and in my memory. Once
upon a time I went to UCONN official website and saw a photo of the whole
campus taken from high in the sky. It was in the beginning of this year, and I
was attracted by a spherical building which I found so unique. Eight months
later when standing at the entrance of Gampel Pavilion I could hardly believe
how fast time passes.
If only I could have one more
minute, I would walk to every corner of the campus, reading the stories of each
old building, and looking for the small squirrels in the maple trees.
If only I could have one more
minute, I would sit on that swing again, back and forth letting the breeze
bring away all my worries and sadness.
If only I could have one more
minute, I would go up to the small hill behind North Campus, sitting on the
grass, doing nothing but to see the beautiful sunset, and the colors changing
at the very border of the sky.
Yet I know that minute may never
come after this month. Hardly can I figure out when I will be here next time. I
would come back, if I could have that chance, to see the appearance of new
Student Recreation Center, to buy a post card in bookstore, to pick a maple
leaf as my bookmark, and to walk into the ball room of Student Union, recalling
that day in summer with delicious ice-creams, hugs with Sara and Katrina on that
Wednesday, and my best memories in University of Connecticut.
Written by: Xingyu Zhou
