I'm the kind that walks up an escalator. The kind that continuously pushes the 'up' button on elevators, willing the button to accelerate the door's opening. I speed-walk to class, anxiously await crossing off days on my calendar, and spend an awful lot of my time trying to pass time. More often than not, I think about what I'm going to do instead of focusing on this minute of today.
When I was six, I wanted to be seven. When I was in junior high, I could not wait to be in high school. As a senior in high school, all I could think about was moving away to college and being on my own. And now, I anticipate graduating college and starting my long-term career more than anything. To some, these may seem like goals, and yes they were and are in retrospect. However, at each stage of my life, I've let the future be the first and sometimes only thing on my mind.
These days, with so much pressure and high expectations, we overlook all the floors we have to pass in order to get to the top. As little kids, your favorite question to answer is what you want to be when you grow up. A unicorn, firefighter, dinosaur, my mommy, a teacher or a doctor came out of our innocent mouths. We didn't know what it took to get there. We just knew where we wanted to end up.
At this age, I can look back at my life and see how far I've already come, but I never really appreciated each step as I was taking it. People can't help but anticipate what is to come. The future is ever so promising and the unknown of what our lives will become is the most exciting thing.
But we shouldn't rush our timelines. Sure being older and having a career, a family is something I've always looked forward to. All this time, I just wanted to fast-forward and "start my life," but all the while I forgot that I already have.
Really, this goes for any age, but especially now for college students. At one point we dreamed about getting into college and turning spoken goals into our realities. Now that we're here, we have to respect the teachers that challenge us and the opportunities that help us get where we're going. Amidst each credit hour, college isn't solely about building a resume. We have to do things for the experience to make days worthwhile instead of another date to cross off.
Lots of people adopt a 'life is too short' mindset and try to cram in as much as they can before the clock runs out. While efficient, hurrying through a bucket list leaves little time to enjoy what comes your way. Though only one semester deep, if I've learned anything it's to slow down and embrace all it takes to get where you want to be. Instead of preoccupying our minds with what's up next, let's look around and enjoy the ride. After all, what's the rush?
