Time flies, especially after entering June. My workplace has been urging me to return with increasing frequency.
I can't hold on any longer. This week, I explained my situation to the school and my advisor. I may have to return to work earlier than planned.
Honestly, I am getting older—already over 30. Having these eight short months for full-time study may be the best memory I will have for a long time. I visited places I had never been to before. Sometimes I lament that when I was young, I had time but not enough money to travel. Now, I'm willing to spend more money if it means I can find the time. It's already a blessing.
There are still regrets, as I haven't completed my plan to visit all of China. But I am satisfied.
I will always remember the sea of Jeju Island, the seafood in Qingdao, the beaches of Qinhuangdao, the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, the wheat fields of Gongyi, the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival in Kaifeng, the Yungang Grottoes in the snow, the estuary in Dongying, driving with a right-hand drive in West Malaysia, and the collective labor across the Yalu River in North Korea... so many places.
Sometimes it feels surreal because it all happened within these brief eight months.
On a few days, I'll be returning to work. Suddenly, I remembered a movie I watched before, "How Do You Live?"
Just like in that movie, everything eventually returns to reality, doesn't it?
Is there helplessness? Yes. Is there reluctance? Yes.
But life must move forward. Not everyone has the courage to be a lone boatman who disregards everything.
When boarding the boat, one does not think of the people on shore.Old acquaintances don't need to know your recent status, and new ones don't need to ask about your past. Each has their own crossing point, each has their own returning boat. Clinging to a single thought brings endless suffering, but letting go means rebirth.
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