mei

despite what many feel about the ending, i actually still quite liked it. i admit, it may not be the most satisfying for everyone but with what they had, i still think that the execution and message was still done well.

before i dive into what i love about this show like the crazed fool i am right now, i'll clear my not-so-positive points. well first, if you're seeking a healing, stress-relief romcom, definitely follow everyone's advance and stop at the 33 mins mark of the last episode. secondly, at least personally, i did not care as much for the other couples. i have especially mixed feelings about mingze and shiyun due to the setting, dynamic, and with that ending. to me, while i was definitely not in love with their characters nor the cp, i found their settings interesting with mingze's unconditional love and shiyun's more complex and gray character. in the rewritten timeline, while i am not invested in their story, it was acceptable and i was glad for them after they grew up. BIG FAT HOWEVER, i feel icky with the ending that hints towards their love line in the original timeline...because shiyun in this timeline remains toxic and led xuejiao astray and it really feels off for mingze to love someone who was so terrible to his sister. thirdly, i dearly love the ost but it is quite a limited line up, i wish there was more T-T

NOW, why i loveeee this show. i think many who enjoyed this drama can relate to the desire of wanting to go back in time and right all your wrongs, all the stupid mistakes, all the missed opportunities because of how we were when we were young. the pressure to do good, social class gaps, the desire for excellence yet how easy it is to fall behind, and the relationships that bind us from unstable families, expectations, to toxic friends, and stagnant relationships. for a good half of it, summit of our youth is a feel good show of getting a second chance to start over and acing it all. who wouldn't want to go back in time, do a better job for better achievements, and a good understanding of trends and economy to help your family and friends lead a better life?

gu xuejiao's mid-life crisis may not necessarily apply to everyone but it is not difficult to empathise or understand. she chose love over herself over and over again, making mistakes and feeling like it's almost too late when she realises it and wants to bring her life back on track. she puts in effort to make up for the missed opportunities but it's almost not enough: because she can't change the pages in ink of the chances she's missed and the person she did not become, because her efforts are not enough against the power of connections, wealth and capitalism. on the other hand, lin zhihua is slightly more subtle in his thoughts and perhaps more open to interpretations (this is my opinion of what he may feel). lin zhihua is the model student, the envy and role model of many, he excels in his studies perhaps even easier than others. he flipped and aced all because he chose to. he has the ability, the talent, the effort, the mindset, he knows what to do to get what he wants and needs. that's why in his younger years it almost felt a bore to him. despite all these areas of excellence, he has a pretentious and dysfunctional family, there is money, there is love for him, but there is also arguments and fake harmony. he's not unfeeling, and especially in the latter episodes we can see clearly that he is not stoic. in fact, he smiles a lot, can get clingy, expresses his emotions, and is impacted by the people he cares about such as his best friend, gao rui's passing in the original timeline. xuejiao caught his eye and attention when he sat on the edge of that bridge, perhaps not necessarily contemplating to jump but nevertheless encouraged by her words. yet over the next few times they meet, he sees her potential wasted on a relationship that she's sacrificing her life and career for, it frustrates him yet he can do nothing but watch. i feel where they align is this: they're two people who have experienced so much and yet also feel like they've become stagnant in their life and growth, finding the chance for change when they go back in time.

i know some are unhappy with yi tianyu's development in the later half and i very much understand it. in fact, i even thought at first that he would change and perhaps end up with tiantian (im still very much okay and happy that it didnt happen). while i understand why people disagree with the development, i also had an alternative thought that it may be in character and even purposeful. the reason why tianyu and xuejiao didn't work out (at least imo) was that they were both love-brained people who did not help each other grow, xuejiao chose love and tianyu remained immature and perhaps even spoiled. sometimes just loving each other is not enough in life. in summit of our youth, i find the characters are consistent across timelines especially so for mingze, shiyun and yi tianyu. if shiyun never stood up for herself and left in this timeline, if xuejiao never avoided her, she may still be the same (hence my unhappiness with the ending for her and mingze). in the same way, i feel yi tianyu was the same across both timelines: immature. i do think its unfair that he has to lose his crush because of his actions in another life but despite what he says or thinks, even in this life, he is the same, even with different circumstances he is still the same. which is why even if cliche and a little frustrating, i didn't find his development difficult to accept. in fact, i think the drama does relatively well in character writing, some more subtle than others.

at its core, summit of our youth is about second chances. if we want healing and happiness, it allows us to dream of happy endings and a better written past for ourselves and the people we hold dear. at the same time, for those who acknowledge the ending, it leaves a taste of bittersweetness with the truth of the inability to change the past and yet leaving us with the hope to still rewrite the future. we cannot reverse the chances we lose, we only have the present and the future to try and change it. and maybe it took that trigger of rewriting their past for huahua and jiaojiao to realise that it may never be too late to do what we want, to become a better person, to love ourselves and others better. what is important is us: do we have the courage to change? how far will we go for that change? how many chances will we take or lose? this enables their growth and on top of that is sprinkled with a dash of the love we deserve, one that challenges and grows with us, one that values trust and companionship no matter what happens. the fiery passion of youth that not all of us may have experienced, the regrets that haunt the time and people we've lost, do we have to courage to confront them and move forward? perhaps youth, passion, and chances aren't limited even if time may feel so, so long as we live. and perhaps at the end of the arduous journey of successes and failures towards our dreams and desires, better versions of ourselves and our loved ones await for us at the summit of our youth.