September 29th, 2015, it was a memorable morning. The sun cast its sunshine through the slightly cloudy sky, dispelling the last bits of the morning chill as well as the fatigue of the two-week military training. In rhythm with Following the rhythm of the majestic martial music, thousands of WHU freshmen marched across the Olympic Track Field in arrays. Marching from afar to the rostrum, they saluted with spirited, sonorous slogans like valiant soldiers when spontaneous applause burst out from the audience. For all of them, it was a morning which has been marked with countless unforgettable moments that deserved to be treasured for the rest of their lives.
To many people, the compulsory military training is a brutal reminder of the blazing, sweltering sunshine, the monotonous repetition of movements or the severe, ruthless reprimands from training instructors. Therefore, I had already prepared to hear complaints when I met my first random interviewee---Zhou, a student from the International School of Software.
“The training was unimaginably smooth and pleasant. To be honest, I have nothing to complain, because everything is satisfactory.” After giving this unpredictable answer, she made further explanation. “Our instructors are all very considerate and lovely people, just like our friends. I’ve missed them already.”
Zhou is not the only person who found her training process enjoyable. Li, a freshman from the School of Geodesy and Geomatics also expressed his enjoyment of the training. “I imagined the process to be arduous and exhausting. However, actually, our regular trainings were arranged in an optimum way and were even interweaved with some group games from time to time, such as the tug of war.”“Have you learned anything from your training?” I added a question. “Absolutely. Whether it was to win the games or to accomplish a training session as long as our array is united as one, we could conquer everything.”
His vigorous voice revealed his confidence and optimism, evoking my personal experience of the military training, reminding me of the reemphasized ideas of determination, team spirit, unity and above all, patriotism.When the dim, faded memory started to revive, all at once, I realized what profound influences the training had exerted on me: those dull and dry words had long been embedded in my nature.
Standing on the playground, I watched crowds of students in their military uniforms, gathering around their instructors, hugging and cheering. From their bright smiles, I saw expectations to be fulfilled and dreams to be achieved; I saw a flame kindled by their vitality and liveliness, escorting them through hardships and difficulties they may encounter in the future.
(Edited by Editing Group & Sijia Hu)
