When I was little, all I wanted was to be grown up. I couldn’t wait to be out of elementary school, to drive a car and to have a job. I counted down the days to my next birthday, because I would finally be another year older… another year closer to becoming an adult. I was so focused on growing up that I didn’t realize my childhood was shortening with every passing day.
As I continued to get older, I started to notice time seemed to get shorter. My years as an elementary student felt excruciatingly long. However, once I reached middle school, I began to realize that the years were passing by more quickly. A school year, which had once felt like an eternity, was now beginning to seem like a more manageable period of time. Still, though, they did not seem to pass soon enough, and I still found myself wishing I were at the next stage of life.
It wasn’t until I reached high school that I realized how quickly time truly moves. The years started to move at a much more rapid pace, to the point where I found myself wishing they would slow down. My senior year of high school, which I had been looking forward to for years, flew by in what felt like the blink of an eye. Instead of wishing for time to move faster, I now wanted exactly the opposite. As I walked across the stage at graduation, I realized my entire childhood had come to an end. I would soon be off to college, and taking the first steps of my life as an adult.
I have recently taken the time to reflect upon my 19-years on this earth. I look back at my life when I was young, and cannot begin to understand what it was that made me want to grow up so quickly. Life as an adult is much more stressful than I ever could have anticipated at 7-years-old. Now that I have reached the point where I always wanted to be, I sometimes find myself missing the days of naps, snack time, and worrying about being the first to the swings at recess.
All too often, I find myself counting down to a certain date. I know that I am not alone when I say that I spend far too much time waiting for the future. I find myself anxiously awaiting a special event, or telling myself to just make it through the week. But by doing so, I am forgetting to appreciate the present. The fact of the matter is that tomorrow is not guaranteed and the time we are given passes with the blink of an eye. That is why it is crucial to live for the “right now,” to stop wishing the days away, and to make the most of the moments we are given.
