It’s hard to believe that I’ll be leaving Beijing for Yale in less than two weeks. It’s equally hard to sum up my feelings in this special period.
It has been more than four months since I received my offer, and I have experienced quite a lot of emotions. My first reaction, like that of many others, was disbelief. Even though everyone around me told me that I deserved it, it took me some time to realize and believe that I had actually made it. After receiving letters and packages from Yale, I began to browse the Yale website more often, and started fantasizing what my college life would be like as I picked up bits of rumors and facts about Yale. Still, my limited imagination can only help so much. I pictured myself at my desk studying well into the night, pretending to be nerdy, though I had hardly ever stayed up until midnight. I imagined myself walking on the beautiful campus. Beautiful, that is, what most people say about the Yale campus, but I cannot remember much from my tour of the school two years ago. Aside from these I cannot conjure up a familiar scene or a recognizable face.
Such uncertainty brings about both anticipation and anxiety. Now, only four weeks before the start of classes, I have finally begun reading Yale’s famous “Blue Book”, or Programs of Study. The courses seem pretty difficult. The requirements for the majors seem insurmountable. Am I going to be all right?
In the meantime, I cannot wait to get started. I recall the countless times when I got bored in my classes and complained about the tedium of repetitive course work. Maybe in college I will have it the way I have always wanted.
Before college starts, I should set goals for myself. My goals have nothing to do with GPA; they are just some qualities that I deem necessary.
First of all, I need to be more independent. Living away from parents for the first time, I hope to learn to take care of myself, adapt to my surroundings, and eventually enjoy my independence. Besides independent living, independent thinking is also important. College is full of new things, and it’s up to me to discern what’s for me and what’s not. I will gladly listen to what other people have to offer, but I will also make my own judgments and form my own ideas.
Secondly, I hope to be more active. Only by being active can I possibly take advantage of the abundant resources available in college. I will try to take initiative in whatever I do and even take some risks. As for what risks I am taking, I cannot say for sure, but I am certain that as soon as college kicks start, challenges will be aplenty.
These are the thoughts and goals I have for now. They may seem trivial, but it is interesting to see how my ideas and objectives evolve over time. Regardless of what happens next, one goal will remain: to keep record of what I experience in college!