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5/25/2026
Hard Work, Missed Connections, and Fleeting Youth
A Holiday Spent at School: The Battle Against Assignments
Today was a relatively ordinary day. I went to bed at 2 AM and woke up at 9 AM to find that my mom had already prepared breakfast. Normally, I would have been up by 7 AM to get ready for school, but since today was a public holiday, I got to sleep in. I’ve been trying to maintain a structured routine lately, but it's always easier said than done. By 10 AM, I finished eating, washed up, got ready, and headed out, arriving at school around 11 AM.
Some might wonder why on earth I'd go to school on a holiday. Honestly, I didn't absolutely have to, but with a mountain of school assignments and interview prep piling up, I just wanted to get things out of the way as quickly as possible. I caught up on the online lectures due tomorrow and knocked out about half of my assignments. It was exhausting. I could have just typed them out, but since everything covered in these assignments will be on the upcoming exams, I handwrote every single part with a pen. It felt like pure hell—a desperate struggle to force the knowledge into my brain. Honestly, my hand hurt worse than my head. I only managed to push through by stretching and playing with a custom keycap I made at a school festival booth last week.
The Keycap that I made
Finding Inspiration in the Lab and a Mediocre Drink
I'm currently active in a research lab, and majoring in engineering has made me realize just how crucial lab experience really is. There are about ten people in our lab. Today, two of them showed up, and everyone works incredibly hard. I'm a junior now, but during my first two years of college, I had never seen people this dedicated. Being around them is so motivating; it makes me feel like joining this lab was one of the best decisions I've made.
I initially planned to stay in the lab until 6 PM because of an appointment later, but my hand was aching and I just wanted to go home and rest. Around 4 PM, I packed my bag and left, running into another lab member on my way out. She told me she had also come in on the holiday to work on assignments. Truly an impressive friend. On my way home, I felt a bit hungry, so I picked up a drink from a café—Shine Muscat juice. I'd never tried it before, but to be completely honest, a regular ade would have been much better.
A Missed Reunion and Ten Years of Memories
An even bigger disappointment than the juice followed. I was supposed to meet a friend at 6 PM, but unexpected circumstances got in the way, and we couldn't make it happen. This friend, who majors in composition, recently returned from studying abroad in Japan, graduated this year, and has been swamped with personal projects lately. We've known each other for ten years now, which is probably why I get this bittersweet, nostalgic feeling whenever we hang out. Hoping we can definitely meet next time, we promised to catch up later.
The "Old Man" on Discord and Longing for Age 18
Meanwhile, while I was still in lab, a friend born in 2009 invited me to a social Discord server. Everyone else there was born between 2009 and 2011, making me—an '03 liner—the sole outlier. They straight up called me an "old man." It was hilarious, but since it's undeniably true, I couldn't even counter it. I always jokingly tell that '09 friend that I'm 18. I suppose, on some level, it's because I genuinely wish I could go back to being 18. Time never moves backward, yet for some reason, the memories of that era always find a way to return and ache. Why is that? Deciding not to overthink it, I'll wrap up my day here.
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