Starting from Sunny Days

Reflections on Youth

In recounting that restless youth, where does the “meaning” we’re accustomed to reside? Naturally, we shouldn’t mention “unity and friendship” or “long live youth”; perhaps it’s the pure friendship, life’s reflections, or a certain loss and pain? It seems like none of the above. If that period is truly worth reminiscing about, it should crystallize into some kind of significance, allowing us to gain something from watching the film. If so, it shouldn’t merely be a display of life’s status and observation; there should be an inner spiritual distillation and connection behind it. However, [阳光灿烂的日子] (Sunny Days) never gave us that expected viewing experience. —Excerpt from [中国电影五十年] (Fifty Years of Chinese Cinema)

Youth is like sunshine, and adolescence is a period of radiant sunshine—constantly burning, releasing life’s vitality… and then everything returns to calm. I think that if we pretend to be worldly and cynical when youth arrives, we’ll truly miss the most glorious and precious time of our lives. This film, adapted from Wang Shuo’s [动物凶猛] (Fierce Animals), truly portrays our original youthful life. Although I’m in this period, watching this film still allows me to feel the passion I lack.

An Email (with modifications)

I just read your blog posts from March and April in your “pigsty.” Almost every post mentions [曲辰].

The first time I visited, the display effect wasn’t great, but the simple, genuine writing and real-life records deeply moved me. Especially the last post’s sentence: “[曲辰] is a place to practice, not to make money.”

I also waver every now and then, wondering if it’s time to retreat. But seeing everyone still working hard for free, the deep [曲辰] feeling is still there, and the heavy tasks still need to be handled. My thoughts retreat again.

Men think logically, while women are emotional animals. The leadership is changing, with [宋大大] and [老牛] retiring… many talented people are leaving my sight. Academics are important, and there are many class tasks and friendships to manage. I also want to experience the things university students must do, like accepting a confession from a boy, but I know I don’t have time for such a luxurious waste of time. I don’t want to leave; no matter how busy, [曲辰]‘s tasks are never neglected, and I don’t give leaders a chance to set a deadline for me.

The current management system is completely different from before. We’ve become pure, free labor. An hour and a half ago, I talked to [老苗], and our feelings are similar. I expressed my frustration. [曲辰] is destined to be the last student organization I participate in. I hope it leaves me with beautiful memories.

I’ve always felt that you’re a very independent, capable person who can guide yourself. Thank you for the half-year D training; it’s not easy to persist. When thinking about self-regulation and QC, I thought of you, and your plan was within my expectations, albeit a bit later than I imagined.

Leaving is a wise choice under current circumstances. I’d like to offer a small suggestion: for future development, be cautious if you don’t want to have the same experience.

It’s late, and I need to turn off the lights. Just a small feeling.

Challenges and Growth

I love challenges, challenging my abilities to the limit. That’s why I enjoy QC’s work; it constantly requires me to surpass myself, with no chance to catch my breath. Since joining QC, I can say I’ve made some achievements in web design. Next, I’ll learn about dynamic web design technologies like AJAX and PHP. However, what truly makes me feel happy and accomplished isn’t the tasks that require writing thousands of lines of code, but rather modifying existing code and porting it to pages or adjusting certain codes. Because they’re simple yet require some clever tricks, I love modifying code, especially when I don’t understand the language but can still modify it successfully through trial and error. Only such tasks can give me a true sense of accomplishment… but now, with constant restructuring, div+css, I’m fed up. It seems that’s what real programmers do—being a docile little sheep under some boss, using their numbed brain to write repetitive code. What’s the point?!

I need to consider my future development direction. I think the Electronic Association will be my correct direction, as it focuses on participating in electronic design competitions, and the knowledge used is similar to our major’s content, but more in-depth. If I join, I’ll be able to learn more professional knowledge and have better prospects (many people are directly admitted to the Chinese Academy of Sciences). Most importantly, I think this is where I’ll find the “sense of accomplishment” I need. To progress, one should constantly throw themselves into unfamiliar fields, struggling and challenging themselves until they stand out.

This semester, since I’m still in QC, I should complete its tasks well. My level is far from being flawless in web design, and I have much to learn. Although this path isn’t what I want to take, I need to challenge myself. Perhaps I’ll try AJAX.

This week, I’m busy preparing for the [箭扣长城] trip. If everything goes as planned, we’ll depart the day after tomorrow. I hope everyone has a good time. I’ve prepared carefully.

Regarding the model design competition, the interesting part is really giving me a headache. I need some time to think, and since I’ve participated, I’ll give it my all.