Time is an enemy stealing details and memories from the mind. Now that I’m back on US soil, I find that time has whisked away details and memories of my last weeks in China and stored them in an unknown box. Fortunately the lessons learned are Sharpied on my heart. As the school year ended, I distributed a letter to my 11th grade students which contained the following excerpt from The Great Gatsby; I believe it sums up my last few weeks overseas.
“The track curved and now it was going away from the sun, which, as it sank lower, seemed to spread itself in benediction over the vanishing city where she had drawn her breath. He stretched out his hand desperately as if to snatch only a wisp of air, to save a fragment of the spot that she had made lovely for him. But it was all going by too fast now for his blurred eyes and he knew that he had lost that part of it, the freshest and the best, forever.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Dates on the calendar flew by, and as Fitzgerald wrote, “it was all going by too fast now”. Despite this, my 11th grade students and close friends truly made my remaining days in Tianjin one of the freshest and best seasons of my life. While those final weeks of spring trip, exams, graduation, and packing were exhausting and jam packed with “to-do” list items, those same moments were chock full of laughter, deep and meaningful conversations, and moments of joy that truly were unique and special.
People are amazing. Embrace the moments you have with them, even the smallest of moments. Be genuine, share a spot of laughter or shed a few tears. You won’t regret it.
Thanks to all those who made Tianjin a lovely place for me.
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