Unexpected Youth

 Some say youth is the most wonderful part of our lives, yet fate is unfair, often leaving us confused. They always say that fleeting years are like a bright bonfire, or as fleeting as fireworks. Fireworks, though beautiful, are but a fleeting moment; youth, though pure, is only remembered for a few years.

They say unexpected encounters leave our hearts restless. University life is full of variables; perhaps you won't find long-lost friends until six months later; perhaps you'll have a heart-fluttering encounter on your very second day. In the bloom of youth, we enter the free classroom, and many thoughts gradually sprout. Curiosity makes us dare to try and touch anything. They say that the people we meet in university are all people who have others in their hearts, so everyone is eager to try yet also guarded. Love, unrequited love, long-distance relationships—some dream of starting a business, others contemplate suicide. Every university is a microcosm of society, and we, in our ignorance, are surrounded by countless unknowns. Occasionally we travel, occasionally we try something new; so many temptations catch us off guard. In those brief moments of relaxation, we suddenly contemplate life and reminisce about the past.

Facing the computer every day, our blank minds often leave us unsure of what to do. In this environment, some forge new paths, while others fall into confusion. Stubborn people harbor a past experience, clinging to that experience to live on. Time flows like a song, an elusive melody leaving behind countless emotions. Some anger has no outlet, some longing has no release, and some ideas have no way to be realized. So many things leave us stagnant. Picking up fallen petals at dusk, we find only withered remnants. We often like to hide our thoughts in Lin Huiyin's poems, in the April days of our dreams, fading away with the fleeting beauty of youth.