One thing that I have learned in my three years of attending college, is that it goes by way too fast. I’m 21 years old and apparently I’m supposed to have the whole world figured out by now. Everything seems to be so rushed; a rush to the weekend, or even to summer vacation. Nobody just sits down at the green and ponders the beauty of the university attended. There is no “appreciating the moment.” Instead, it has already been three years and the race to the weekend will eventually be a race that we’ll be running for the rest of our lives. Now, I’m not saying the weekend isn’t something to look forward to, because looking forward to the future is a very positive thing. My point is, being miserable in the moment only to hope that time goes faster so you can sleep in on Saturday morning is not the right way to live, and here’s why:
1. You’re missing out on the simple things.
Constantly wishing for time to go by faster so that you no longer have to deal with the boring drone of class is unnecessary. Not only will wishing for time to go by faster actually make time feel slower, but you’re not even appreciating the opportunities that you’re experiencing. Class can be boring, but being in college means you have to endure classes. Make it easier by living out your day with every possible minute, because that day only has 24 hours, and those hours will tick by before you know it. Be a morning person. Wake up early and take your time getting ready for the day. Make a healthy breakfast, brew some coffee, sit on your porch and meditate your mind to the events of the day ahead of you. The stress you feel for the upcoming hours may just slip away and you’ll feel excited to take on the day and learn new things.
2. Appreciation for youth slips away.
We’re all young, and at this point in our lives, it seems being young is going to last forever. Being in your 20s is the prime of life. It may even be considered the best years of anyone’s life. But ten years fades away just as fast as childhood. Do you remember when you would be woken up by your parents to get ready for your first day of elementary school? Then middle school? Then high school? All these chapters seemed like they would last forever, like we would never grow up. All we wanted was to be a grown up, being able to drive yourself to your friend’s house or wear high heels to dinner. Well, now we’re grown-ups. We’re studying full time while working part time just to make some money to pay for a crappy meal that we hardly know how to cook. Despite not knowing how to make a decent meal, these 20's need to be savored, because as quick as childhood passed by, so will the best years of our youth.
3. One day you’ll look back at the best years of your life and you’ll be so happy that you got to experience the things that you did.
The good times and the bad times are what shaped you into the wonderful human being that you are and will be. Our experiences shape us, and the way that we handle those experiences is what defines us. Take in every experience you have in your youth, because everything you go through is something that molds you into a more powerful person. If you blow through your experiences pining for something different, your identity will be shattered. It is difficult to not wish for time to slip away when going through something aching. But those aching experiences provide strength in ones persona. For example, going through a break up can and will force a person to look forward for better days, but if you let the experience of a break up strengthen you as you look forward, the time will not be wasted, and the experience will be worth it.
4. Eventually you’ll be graduating.
School is definitely difficult, and sometimes finals week will literally cause students to lose hair, but college is the easy life. Once graduation approaches, the real-world latches on and doesn’t let go. College gives you a taste of adult freedom while also giving you the sense that life is still breezy. Getting an adult job is an amazing part of life, especially if you’re doing something that you love. Looking forward to the future is positive. But don’t look forward to the future if you’re not enjoying the present, because the present will always seem hard until it becomes the past.
I can definitely say that I am victim to wishing for better days, but as I have passed through some of my experiences, I have realized that wishing for the weekend only brings me to wishing for the weekend after that, and then after that. Being a third year college student, I have looked back on how quickly my past years have diminished, and one year left at my beautiful university is just not enough time. As much as I’m looking forward to the future, I’m not clicking fast-forward on my invisible life remote. The future will come eventually, but there is not one fifty-minute class that will force me to wish that the present is over for good.
