Evan Fox
Editor
With homecoming on campus this week, everyone looks back on their time at the W, be they students, faculty, staff or alumni. The myriad events planned for the occasion allow multiple generations of the Long Blue Line to converse and share their stories.
As students, our schedules tend to fill up very quickly. Classes, events, friends and Netflix binges make the hours speed by every day. Time only moves forward for us, and it seems to go faster every year. We are beginning to realize what our elders mean when they claim time disappears ever so quickly.
This semester has been no different, especially with just a little over a month left. For seniors, graduation is fast approaching. For juniors, their final year looms, and the future with it. We become so focused on what comes next, that we forget to enjoy the time we have.
These past few weeks have been busy due to the snow days we gladly enjoyed and trying to catch up and get back on schedule. Everything seemed to stop for a while and it was nice to relax during the extended spring break, like when the water flows out for a wave at the beach. Then that wave hit the Monday we came back. The hustle and bustle resumed at an increased pace.
For me, that spring break was basically a pause button on life, with the exception of a small assignment and a shift or two at work. It gave perspective on how much had occurred in January and February and how quickly it passed. It also showed how much I noticed the time, as I was reminded of events that I had forgotten.
These next few weeks are going to get busier with exams coming up and preparing for what’s next, but we have to remember that time inevitably marches on. Allow me to geek out for a moment. At the beginning of “Star Wars: Episode 1,” Obi-Wan is constantly worrying about everything that could possibly happen, while Qui-Gon reminds him to be aware of the present. Things happen in real-time and if you do not realize what is going on, it will shape your future.
People talk about taking things one day at a time and working for a future of comfort. Commercials about preparing for retirement are flooding television channels. News stations seem to have the same amount of people trying to predict where everything is going than relaying present information. We’re so worried about what’s next while what’s going on now is what should be on our mind.
It’s fine to prepare for something that could possible happen, just don’t let it rule your life. There is a reason that work is referred to as a grind, but it should not numb your senses. Put in the time and the effort to build that better future, but do not become blind to the now.
The world we currently live in will change, it will disappear. The only remnants of the present will be locked away in our memories. One of the things that always amazes me is how previous generations remember little things with such clarity, while I sometimes can’t remember what I did a month ago. The past lives on through their stories, their memories.
The world is changing at an ever-accelerating rate. Until the 1900s, the world did not change very much, except for leaps like the Scientific Revolution. With the advent of technology and industry, the world began to evolve on an exponential level. The world seventy years ago was completely different from today. We live in an age where science fiction is becoming fact. Seventy years from now, we will not recognize the world that we once grew up in.
Just remember to look up from that grindstone and enjoy what’s around you. You might be surprised at the stories you’ll be able to tell to the coming generations.