During school, I often feel the weight of time on my shoulders. I run from class to class, from activity to activity, desperately trying to get everything done before I collapse into bed at night. It seems like an awful way to live when it's verbalized, but every single day I seem to repeat the cycle. I also continuously watch many of my peers enter into the same rushed lifestyle.

While spending time in the Philippines, the biggest culture shock to me was the relaxed attitude of the Filipino people. I could handle sleeping on the floor, cooking over a fire, having a very small house and bathroom (bathroom and house being a very loose term), even hand washing clothes, but sitting and waiting was awful. We would schedule a Bible study and an hour later, sometimes longer, it would finally start. Nobody seemed to care about the time or doing things in a timely manner. Everyone seemed to be oblivious to the urgency of our schedule. The first week in the Philippines I almost pulled my hair out.

Week two, something clicked. It’s not rude to be late, it's just Filipino time. I accepted this as part of the culture and I slowly learned why. After Bible studies, we would sit around and chat until I looked at the clock and realized we were over an hour late to our next study. When we arrived at our other Bible study, nobody seemed to mind that we were late. They were happy to wait and spend time together and lay in their hammocks. Filipinos are known for being some of the kindest people you will ever meet. The Filipino people are driven more by relationships than by a schedule and I think that is what sets them apart from many other people groups.

Now that I am home, I can’t help but to ask, why do we value our schedule over people? What is so great about prioritizing our own agenda? People have feelings and thoughts while the best thing following a schedule has given me is guilt-free Netflix time, which is pretty awesome, but it doesn't compare to quality time with a friend.

There have been very few times in my life that I felt as cared about as I did just sitting around talking. People were intentionally asking questions and listening to what I said. I did the same in return. What if we did that more? Really listened. What if we thought less about our schedules and thought more about people and their needs? Maybe our relationships would improve. Mine did. I have decided to live a life not dictated by how many activities I can fit into a day but by how many meaningful moments fill my day. What would change in your life if you did the same?