Despite the on-and-off drizzles between 18th and 19th of June, Xiamen University’s Commencement of 2017 proceeded as scheduled, which betokened the end of the countdown to graduation. Before the commencement, they were graduates; after the commencement, they are alumni. At this critical moment of “transition”, they have something to say about the past, present and future. Let’s listen up!

  Ratings? Not so high

“On a scale of 1-10, how do you rate your life and study at Xiamen University upon graduation?” The answers from the grads went like: “Around 6, because I kinda slacked off in college. ” “I will give it 7 or 8, 'cause campus life is but a span.”  “Nearly 10! The only thing I feel regretful is I spent way much time studying instead of dating.” Here the grads' ratings are not that high most probably because they thought they hadn’t really worked hard in college. Anyway. ratings are just ratings,  you have already survived and graduated smoothly.

If you could start all over……

“If you could live your college life all over again, what would you do?” Here we hear answers that do vary: for those self-proclaimed “underachievers”, they wished they could spend more time studying in the library; for the bookworms, they wished they could go out on a date, or hang out with friends more often, or hit the cyber bar, staying up late and playing a perfect video game. But there is one thing in common, they all agreed that If they could turn the clock back, they would definitely cherish their college time more than ever, carpe diem and let their hearts soar and leave no regrets.

The best thing

“What was the best thing that ever happened to you in Xiada?” Well, for those early birds, nothing is more gratifying than doing Tai Chi beside the Lotus Lake or at the Lover’s Vale; for those who prize friendship, nothing is more enjoyable than getting acquainted with a couple of kindred spirits, with whom life is always so much fun; for chowhounds, nothing is more delicious than chowing down on the gourmet food at XMU canteens; for those dudes who studied in “Xiang’an Royal Institute of Science and Technology”, nothing is more pleasurable than visiting the “Palace Library” in Xiang’an campus.  All in all,  for all the grads, nothing is more memorable than the four years' life in XMU.

nuggets of advice

“Anything you like to say to those undergrads?” Here below are a few pearls of wisdom from the grads who have been there and done that, whether they will start a new job or further study: “For those stay-at-home freshers, you should go outdoors more often and get more physical exercises; for the onlookers, you’d better take study and extracurricular activities more seriously and get involved. As for the slackers, you ought to make most of your time and hit the libraries more often; and for the quitters, you need to know that though there is no royal road to anything in life, your time and efforts won't come to no avail."

Here below are a few our good wishes to this year’s newly-minted grads:

Your eyes filled with tears, you forge ahead despite steep climb,

Like flamboyant flowers in full bloom, you are forever in your prime.

Grads of 2017, do come back home more often in the days to come.

Edited by: Guo Yanfu, Han Zhixing

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