Time (What I've Learned 4)

Time flies when you're having fun.

Well, at least that's how the old saying always goes. I'm not so sure of it's validity.

Yes, I do agree that time flies. I think think everyone can attest to that fact. But I think that is where the saying should probably end.

This semester has been filled with fun and great memories that I'll cherish for years to come. However, not all of it has been fun. There have been hard nights and panic-driven moments (mostly school related). As I've grown older (I realize that I am not "old." Don't get argumentative just yet!), I've seen the hours and days start to slip away, even if I'm just letting my brain turn to mush on my couch.

I've watched videos on how time passes. As we grow older, each year, month, and day is a smaller fraction of our lives. So, for example, one year when you are two is half of your life as opposed to when you're twenty and it's one-twentieth of your life. One year suddenly seems insignificant when it's one-fiftieth of your life.

So this really seems to support the feeling of time going faster as we age. It's not so much the fun (although there are arguments on both sides as to if life gets funner - yes, now "funner" is actually a word - as we age), but the lengths of time getting smaller comparatively to how much life we've lived.

It seems unfair. I'm older and I can now appreciate the time in a day more than say, a baby. Imagine what life would be like if we didn't count down days. We just counted them. What if each day was the same significance as the other? Just as important, just as precious.

We always say that each day is special, that we never know which day will be our last. But what if we actually acted on that principle? What if we refused to let time fly and make the most out of every day? Seems like a worthy goal, and not too difficult to achieve. I mean, all I have to do is have the time of my life every day!

Easier said than done. There are some days you just can't avoid: days spent studying those math formulas you know for a fact you'll never use again, days when you're sick and spend the whole time watching America's Next Top Model reruns on the couch.

Time does fly, but it's not realistic to think that each day is going to be a thrilling adventure worthy of last-day status. I know. I've had to sit through enough geology lectures to realize not every day is going to be the epitome of high living.

I've had to realize this semester that it's not the amount of life lived, but the way in which you lived it. I'm not going to drop out of college to climb Everest any time soon (but the closer I get to exams, the easier Everest seems... I mean, it's just a big hill, right?), but I will try to make each day worth it. One little moment that I can cherish. This semester, I've had to learn that maybe my life is not going to be the thing that biopics are made of, but dreams are still worth pursuing. I may not be famous or the "best" at whatever I do. I've come to terms that I'll be happy with a job in which I can make a difference in my community and in the lives of the ones I love.

Time flies, and dud days do happen,  but that doesn't mean there isn't something special in each day.

Thank you for a wonderful semester, Dr. Williams, and I hope you enjoy my life-musings!