"A lingering feeling of sunshine and breeze."

The early summer sun began to cast its long rays across the schoolyard as the last winds of spring carried them away…

Sunlight clings to the still-green leaves of the banyan trees, the old flame tree is about to bloom again… days chase each other, sliding down the slope, and in a flash, that early autumn of yesteryear seems so far away, when we, freshmen, with hesitant and bewildered steps, walked through the gates of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Like all other freshmen, I – someone whose feet still bore the dirt of my hometown – embarked on this journey to the university lecture halls.

In the long shadows cast as the sun set this afternoon, a memory of that first day suddenly lingered in my clear eyes. It wasn't the "first day of school" with tears streaming down my face in my mother's shoulder, a look of fear in my eyes… Instead, a joy arose within me, a joy I can't quite name, only that it was strange, indescribable, and… unforgettable. A touch of bewilderment, a hint of excitement, hope… all rolled into question marks in my mind. Through autumn, through winter, and the final days of spring, my schoolyard is now bathed in the summer sun. The memory of that first day is now just a nostalgic recollection of yesterday, in the pages of my diary.

The question mark that had been swirling in my mind back then was finally unraveled by the days I spent in my beloved Me Tri dormitory. The friendly glances I received every day, the care in the smallest things – a book, a stack of documents, a textbook for class, a bowl of hot onion porridge when I was curled up in bed, a packet of instant noodles when I was reading late at night… all of it transcended the boundaries of hometown camaraderie to become an invisible glue, binding the people, teachers, and students under this roof. Thus, I gained a second home to love, to remember during the Tet holiday or the upcoming summer break; a home I cherish and feel a deep sense of nostalgia for as this is the last summer I will be able to attend lectures with my teachers and friends, sharing the joys and sorrows, the private and distant corners of my life. The pressures and obstacles gradually lessened and stopped at the "boundless" side. I spent wonderful student years with my teachers, friends, and the people I met every day on campus, in the heart of Hanoi.

The last rays of sunlight have fallen asleep on the banyan leaves. Ending a day filled with books and the anxieties of the lecture halls, I sit on a stone bench in the dormitory courtyard, silently counting the passing steps, letting my thoughts drift along with the spinning of a ball someone tossed across the field. Those days in university were filled with both joy and sorrow, and also so much worry and anxiety—how could I possibly hide it all behind the giggling sounds every time school ended?!

A little sunlight still lingers, a gentle breeze in the fading afternoon… trying to hold on… to the passing day…