In 3 days, I'll be turning 16.
Wow. Those words impact me a lot more than they should, if I'm honest. This year, I've failed to notice how quickly the time has been passing. I've lost track of time in general, if I'm honest- starting last summer, everything has mushed together into a giant glob of memories that makes it feel as though things that happened a year ago could've happened yesterday. I don't quite know what to call this effect, other than the side effects of growing up. I always remember that when I was little, I was always told to appreciate being young while I could. I remember being told that time moves faster when you get older, and I also remember never quite believing that statement. I remember sitting in the back seat of a stuffy car for 6-7 hours on the way to New Jersey, wondering how anything could possibly make that go any faster. Oddly enough, 8 years later I'm wondering how I ever made such a big deal over such a simple trip. The last time I traveled to NJ, the states seemed to fly by outside the window of the car and the entire visit seemed to end before it even began. It was surreal. The conclusion I've come to is this: when you're little, you don't have any true responsibilities. Sure, you have concerns and MINOR responsibilities- i.e. keeping your room clean and your homework done, but as you get older, you tend to realize that there's far more you need to take care of. You begin to have realizations about your mental and physical health, just how much effort is required to maintain your schoolwork, a job if you have one, a relationship, friendships... everything just builds up until suddenly, you're so focused with trying to balance your life that you don't notice how fast the world is moving around you. I can't imagine this whirlwind slowing down as you get older. I'm only a high school student, and already I feel as though my world has been turned around completely as I arrange my life. When you get to college, I imagine stress builds further as you try your hardest to stay on top of hard classes while balancing out social life and work issues. Throw a relationship into that mix as well, and you've got a recipe for 5 years going by in a flash. Fast forward to having kids and a family to look after... I can hardly imagine how time must fly then. I hear my dad talk about it, but much like my 7 year old self, I don't think I'll quite understand what he means until I finally have a family of my own. I can only hope that I can be even half the parent my dad is, if I'm honest- because despite how fast it may seem that his clock is spinning, he does an excellent job of balancing his time between my sister and I, our schooling, his own work, karate, and everything else. As I near the end of this post, I don't think I have a point... if anything, enjoy the time you have. Never lose sight of what's important to you. Make sure you balance out your sacrifices... is the activity you do worth the time spent doing it.... and so on and so forth. You get the idea. Don't waste your time on things that aren't important to you. You'll find life is a lot more rewarding. - Maddie
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