"I have grown up since that day"

Humanity in me

When I was a senior…

For every student like me at that time, university was their own dream, the expectation of their teachers and the pride of their parents. So, from the class superstar, the average or the “scandalous” one, everyone dreamed of entering the lofty gate of university. Another big thing for us at that time was: university was a world both near and far and importantly, there we had freedom. In that fierce race, each of us chose our own path. Some chose according to their learning ability, some chose according to their family’s advice and some chose according to their interests… like me. It was not easy to fight for that because I had to “steadfastly” fight against a series of “prejudices” to put pen to paper with the name of UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES. Actually, no one would object if I hadn’t been a student of the natural sciences for 7 years. I used to eat and sleep with math, physics, chemistry, and biology; I used to “swore to myself” that I would become the most outstanding young physicist in the future; I also passed the “tough recruitment” rounds of the physics and biology teams, even though I never won a high prize. How sad! That’s why when I said “I want to become a writer, a literary researcher”, everyone found it hard to accept. I had to try very hard, really very hard to prove to everyone that: I can do it. To “rationalize” the fact that I had studied the natural sciences for many years, I also had to make an additional A-block profile, and that was really hard. That was how I chose my university. At that time, I, an 18-year-old student, was excited about the new world called “Social Sciences and Humanities” which I still affectionately call “Humanities”.

When I was a freshman…

The days after the exam were the most stressful and pressured days for me, each day that passed, my spirit dropped a little more. I used to sit for hours in front of the computer screen just to do one thing: Refresh the school website as continuously as possible. So I was proud to "brag" that I was among the top people who saw the scores as soon as they appeared. And of course, I pretended to be happy, picked up the phone without knowing who to call first. Happiness sometimes makes people become funny like that...! The days of eagerly packing things, preparing documents, and then the day of school... everything to me was like a dream. But when salty tears rolled down my cheeks when I saw my parents' silhouettes disappearing from the school gate, I "woke up" from the dream, I realized that it was time to start a new life - a life that was not like the 18 years I had lived! Humanities started to introduce me to new friends, new situations and new ways. There were many first events starting from this new life. It was the first time I was away from home; the first time I met many friends from many different regions, each with their own interesting characteristics; it was also the first time I learned about dormitory life - the life that I was most curious about since I learned about it and many more first times! The first lessons, the first teachers, all were so strange. Humanities to me at that time had so many things to discover and also so many difficulties. Each teacher, new friend was a world, each new lesson was a space, I wanted to explore everything because simply, that was Humanities in me! Humanities made me forget the times when I was homesick, made me realize that it was time for me to grow up and think more about life...!

When I was a sophomore,…

As a second-year student, I can proudly say “I know every corner of the yard, every tree root of the Humanities”. My ancient Humanities is neatly located next to a bustling and busy street, yet I always feel that the Humanities is so peaceful! In my second year, everything began to form into a habit, the awkwardness also changed a lot, new teachers now became familiar people, new friends now became confidants, the lessons were no longer strange as before. I started to be bolder when participating in union activities, started to be more confident in the role of a “leader”. For me at that time, the Humanities was like a challenge! That challenge made me more mature, more active and more loving. But… until now, for me, second year is the most beautiful time in the Humanities that I have ever had. I love the feeling of going to school every morning, breathing in the familiar air, being excited with friends, life is so carefree…! Humanities gives me lessons about life, my friends are always by my side, to me they are like a second family. Around me there are always people who are willing to listen to my endless stories, rambling on about everything under the sun. My friends and I put all our first feelings of love into Humanities.…

And now I am a third year student.…

In the third year, everything began to change, some things changed a lot. Studying became much more difficult and arduous. We began to get used to theses and scientific reports. At this time, Humanities began to require us to be more conscious of what we were studying and what we had accumulated over the past time. Each friend began to have their own world, things like work and family began to intrude into the carefree lives of first and second year friends. The awareness of life made them more mature. And of course, in life, when you gain something, it also means you are losing something. My friends, they lost something in Humanities! I often look for tree roots and stone benches where I used to have carefree moments to find a bit of light space. But I know that my Humanity would be sad if we were to remain carefree boys and girls forever, because He wants us to be strong and mature people. Suddenly one day, I realized something, how long has it been since I went to school early, not lingered at school a little when the sun was setting. Maybe I was in a hurry! We were in a hurry with our own plans and projects, closing ourselves in our own worlds and "afraid" to talk about life. And suddenly one day, when my friends stopped in a hurry to look at each other, they realized that perhaps friendship could not keep up with the hurry. They began to realize in surprise that there was not much time left to be together! Humanity is what bound us together, brought us together like a fate...

Then in just a few months, I will become a senior student again and will start to rush into the cycle of internships and thesis. Humanities, that friend has been with me throughout the first years I stepped out into life, the years of confusion and immaturity. Humanities is simple and genuine. It is my teacher, my siblings, my friends, the lecture halls, the trees and hidden corners,…all of that is Humanities in me.