Perception of Time

I know for a fact that there is one statement that everyone in this room has heard multiple times before, “Life goes fast”. And more specifically that these four years that we spent here would be a blink. Freshman year, I personally, heard this many times and I assume everyone else can relate. But I ask you all, how much did you truly believe it? I never did as I never truly took the time to think about it, which is ironic to realise now. I never thought about how quickly time passes even after every milestone, even after each year passing. This is because I always offset it with the thought that there was still more ahead. When junior year came to an end, well there was still senior year, still plenty of time left. But now I am standing here, in front of all of you of which we all have at least one thing in common. We are all moving into another chapter of our lives. 

Every single one of us will go and do entirely different things, whether it be college, trades, or even just a break. But there is one thing that we will all hear again, “Life goes fast”. Because those years you spend in college or as an apprentice, will go even faster than these four. It is a true statement that every year you live feels faster than the last, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Good times go by quicker than bad times, and bad times go by slower than good times everything is just a matter of perspective. Same would go as pushing something aside because there is still a week left to it. But then, magically, time goes by, faster than you initially perceived. Then you’re stuck writing an essay minutes before it’s due. It is all perspective. If I truly believed in the beginning of how fast time moves I wouldn’t have waited until the last minute to complete everything. I would’ve taken more opportunities given to me. I would have applied myself. I would have taken the time to get to know more people. But I didn’t, why? Because there was always next year, but now there isn’t.

From the perspective of a freshman when we all first showed up here. I personally thought it was four years, of course it will feel like forever. That thought stayed with me even up until a month ago. The premise that my time as a student was coming up was a break for me. I am moving on to the next section of my life, which will not last eighteen years, but rather over forty years. Now I wonder how I will perceive time as it goes by from now on. I ask everyone to think about the next few years, how much of it do you have planned. How quickly will you finish those plans and be thrown into planning the next years after that? Do not underestimate how quickly the time you have to accomplish something runs out.

Time is a perspective as everyone perceives it differently, maybe there are a few of you who did not believe that our time here was briefer than your initial thoughts. And what were the results of that? If you can understand the time you have remaining, I mean if you can truly comprehend it. You set yourself up for success. If you realize that time is limited you will take advantage of it. You will take opportunities as they are given to you. You will complete your goals, longterm and shortterm. And you will do it on time, unlike me. 

So what I ask of all of you, is to realize how much time you have, to not underestimate it. Use it to better plan out your paths, use it as a tool. But do not be scared of it. Time is one of the constants in all of our lives. So you have to live with it, make the most of it. I personally wish I did more with the time I had here. One of the only ways to combat it is just to make the most of every moment. Time is everyone’s number one enemy, but try to see it more as a teammate and work with it not against it.

“Clock – career” by flazingo_photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.