抓啊抓啊抓不住的大学时光

上大學时，常有人说：大学时光过得飞快，一定要好好珍惜。可我们总是不以为然，觉得未来才更加美好，更值得期待。于是我们忙着长大，忙着追逐梦想，急于逃离象牙塔，摆脱那些折磨人的考试和论文。然而若干年后，当我们步入社会，在现实中经历一番摔打才发现，原来那四年才是我们一生中最应紧紧抓住的金色华年……

I went back to my college today to talk to soon-to-be graduates and a wave of nostalgia slammed into my chest. Looking at the main entrance where， eleven years ago， I stood for the first time， entranced1） by the possibilities it represented， I smiled a little. I thought of that 18-year-old walking through those doors for the first time， her backpack strapped securely in place with at least 10 highlighters inside， ready to take on her first college class and start the path to her life.

Walking through campus today as a grown woman， memories came flooding back. Good memories， hard memories， and memories we made together.

Even though Im happy where I am in life， it made me a little sad to think those days are long gone and life has moved on.

It made me sad that all those moments slipped away so fast.

It made me sad that I didnt even realize what Id be missing.

Its been seven years since we took that graduation day picture in front of the main entrance， two twenty-somethings ready to take on the world. Wed met during the formative years of our lives， two small-town girls who happened to sit near each other in our first college class. We grew inseparable over laughter and stories about boys， over classes that put us to sleep and classes that made us want to cry.

For four years， we laughed， cried， and trudged2） through the exhaustion that is college life.

At the time， all we could think about was getting out and moving on. We talked about dreams and how we couldnt wait to start life. Those four years seemed like a stopping point or like a purgatory3） before we could get to the real parts of life， the good parts.

Everyone told us college goes fast and wed miss it， but we didnt listen. We were in such a hurry to grow up and move on. We complained and moaned and whined about our exhaustion. We couldnt wait to take the last exams， write the last papers， and say goodbye to those years.

Now those inside jokes we made and those moments we had are faded memories. Weve grown up. Weve traded our weekly frozen mocha runs for the doldrums4） of adult life. We traded meticulous study sessions of characters weve long forgotten for 40-hour work weeks， bills， and grocery shopping.

We still talk， and we still share our laughs. But the laughs are fewer and farther between5） because were busy now， busier than we ever thought was possible during our college years. Were busy living life， and we dont have time to laugh about smoothies6） or go on crazy field trips or make up ridiculous dances for a project.endprint

Standing there today where we used to walk to get snacks and talk about tomorrow， I wish wed held those moments a little tighter， grasped the moments a little harder. I wish we hadnt let go so easily. I wish Id known when we said goodbye on graduation day， wed miss that time more than words could explain. I wish wed taken a little longer to soak it all in.

I wish wed realized that those days of dancing with clay in the front lawn with our crazy pottery teacher or getting locked in a bathroom at a convent7） were days wed talk about forever. I wish wed known the time we felt rebellious for swiping a salt shaker from the cafeteria for dorm room mashed potatoes would be something wed laugh about later. I wish wed known that those moments of laughing until we cried on our crazy field trips would be things that would make us smile and miss who we used to be.

I wish wed known it would all go too fast， and those moments were good moments to cling to， even if they were in the midst of sleep deprivation and uncertainty.

But we didnt know. How could we have known？

They werent great years because of a lack of responsibility or because of an excess of freedom. They were the best years because they were the years of dreams， the years when life had so much potential and yet such simplicity， too. They were the years that we bonded over crazy hopes and uncertainties for the future. They were the years we decided who we wanted to be—and none of it felt out of reach. Reality hadnt tainted our perfect views， and working hard made everything feel within reach. We felt like the world could be ours， and we were energized by that thought.

So today， standing on campus， I took a picture to remember. I took a picture in honor of all the memories we made， so that I had something tangible to attach to those moments.

It took a picture to remember， but maybe I didnt need to. We didnt hold those moments tightly when they were happening because we didnt know they would be important. We didnt know they would shape us and move us into the adults we became.

But now we know. Now we hold those moments tightly and appreciate a friendship， a segment of life， and the part of our journey that turned out to be more than just exhaustion and cramming8） for tests.

It turned out to be the foundation for who we would become and for the good moments we will laugh about for years to come.

今天，在我重返大學校园，同即将毕业的校友交谈时，一股怀旧之情涌上心头。望着学校大门，这个11年前用无限可能吸引着我的入口，我的嘴角扬起了微笑。我想起当年18岁的我第一次穿行于那一扇扇门，身后稳当背着的双肩包里整齐地放着至少十支荧光笔，准备上大学的第一堂课，开启人生的旅程。endprint