The most memorable experience was the first day to elementary school. I remember my mom went with me, held my hand and looked for the classroom I belong. “Here it is!” said my mom. I lifted my head and saw the plate wrote “1st grade 6th classroom”, I can never forget the excitement and fear. I was excited because it is the first day to school; I was afraid because my mom is leaving me all by myself. I picked a seat in the back row, because I was shy and did not want to be too obvious. More and more students start getting into the classroom; I saw a few of them crying because they didn’t want their parents leave. I wondered, and thought why didn’t I cry and beg my mom to stay? When I saw all the strange faces, I was scared. Then the teacher entered the classroom, and she wrote her name on the blackboard. Those were really hard words that I could not recognize – I could hardly write my name right in Chinese words at that time. She then started introducing how the courses were going to be, and the day was over, but the fear and excitement are still deep in my memory. That day was special for me, because it was the first day I gained a little independence by myself. I have never left my house without my parents until then, and that day is my first step on the road of independence. Now, I am about half of the earth away from home, and I don’t feel afraid anymore, because I have grown, since the first to elementary school.
The first day I entered Culver campus reminded me of the first day to my elementary school, except I didn’t have my mom with me this time. And people are different, I am a foreigner now. I am living in dorm instead of home; eating potatoes instead of rice; talking English instead of Chinese – that was the strangest day ever in my life. I became more independent as the days went on, because I had to live without my parents, and had to take care of myself.
Five years later, when I come back for my first reunion, I will definitely see the people who I’ve never seen before wearing the same uniform as I was. The campus might have slight changes, maybe there’s going to be another riding hall, or a new barrack. But the benches, the classrooms would not change a lot, and of course my old room, which contains a lot of my memory. I will describe my experience that we have much more chance to learn leadership in here than anywhere else. Since we don’t have too many people in the campus, it is not that competitive to get a leadership position. And as you get a leadership position, you want to strive for a higher position, which makes self pride to oneself.
Culver is a place that takes you a couple hours to get to, but you will not regret when you get there. It is so pure and it well preserves your memories until you come back and enjoy them. Even if you are so far away from this place, you can still feel the stress of the tight schedule, still feel the cannon go off in the morning, and still hear the taps bugle call at night.