Emelia Richling
When someone asks you what the date is, it is a common response to say you don’t know. Whether it is the 27th or the 29th, the days all seem to blend together, moving so quickly that it is often a surprise to hear it is a few days more or less than what we often believe.
If someone asked me what the date was, I would have to honestly respond that I don’t know. However, I could tell you that the science worksheet is due on Friday and the math homework is due on Wednesday, but I couldn’t tell you the date; I have become so hyper-focused on getting through each week of school that I forget how to live each day.
Time is a concept that is entirely familiar to us in the sense that we are always using it, but it is entirely foreign in the sense that we are unsure of what to do with it. We look forward to a certain event or a certain day, skipping through the time like a jump rope until we land on the day we have waited for.
At the beginning of the year, my dad gives us a new quote to guide the direction of the year. This year, he said, “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.”
And I have tried to listen, but I have also failed. At the beginning of the year, I was doing well. However, when we returned to school, it became hard to make the days count. I felt as if I was thinking about the test in a few days or the assignment due tomorrow. I never thought about today.
Since school started nearly two months ago, I haven’t made the days count because I honestly don’t even remember them. I only remember the tests and assignments because they seem to matter more than these few minutes. I spend every second getting ready for something that will happen in the future because I don’t want to be unprepared for the day that moment comes.
Realizing this, I also came to understand that, if I am letting the days slip out of my grasp and blend into assignments or tests, I am not really remembering my high school experience.
This doesn’t just apply to high school. This applies to life, jobs, vacations and every other moment we want to remember, but we don’t. In our jobs, we are preparing for a meeting, a presentation or a deadline. With our vacations, we are preparing for the day we go back to work or school because we don’t want to fall behind just because we needed a break.
At first, I associated the idea of skipping through days with negativity. I must not be really living in the present if I am thinking about the future, right? Once I associated my thoughts with a problem, I immediately began looking for a solution. How do I prepare for my tests or complete my assignments that will be due in the future while still living in the present? It was a paradox because I didn’t want to be unprepared for the future, but how do I prepare for it without wasting my time in the present?
I was sitting in class, thinking about a quiz, when the solution came to me.
There was no problem.
Living in the present is a term we are taught when we feel as if we are wasting our time by thinking about the future or dwelling on the past. However, if the future or past come to mind, don’t they come to mind for a reason? They are either teaching us how to live in the present, so we have a flashback. Or they are reminding us that the future version will succeed if we make better use of our time in the present.
For instance, the test I am stressed about three days before the testing date is only a reminder that I can prepare now. Thinking about the future guides the direction I take in the present. I am studying for the future, and, therefore, my mind travels to the future dreams I have for myself, which isn’t a bad thing.
We don’t have to always live in the present because past memories can be the sweetness we need to brighten our day or future dreams can be the motivation we need to keep us going during the day. Sometimes, when reality becomes too harsh of an existence, we can escape to our own minds, reminding ourselves of the beautiful moments we have lived and the beautiful moments we can live. Preparing for the future or remembering the joy of the past is still making today count.
Emelia Richling is a junior at Northwest High School.
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October 05, 2020 at 12:00PM
https://theindependent.com/life/youth/don-t-forget-looking-back-or-ahead-can-be-time-well-spent-too/article_55d8797e-06a0-11eb-9758-ef492e44a86d.html
Don’t forget: Looking back or ahead can be time well spent, too - Grand Island Independent
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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