Picture this: a crisp breeze that hangs in the air and clings to your cheeks, free from the cumbersome worries of class, fallen leaves of all hues, orange, red, and yellow, and sharing this time with the individual you cherish most. Iāve more or less just condensed a simplified version of my own Fall Break spent back home with my best friend. As I write this in the Charlotte airport, waiting to catch my flight back to Hartford, Connecticut, I find that Iām completely astonished by just how rapidly the 5 days Iāve spent in Oklahoma seemed to have passed.Ā
After exploring, shopping, relaxing, and enjoying the best seasonal eats one can only find in Oklahoma City during October, I find myself mulling over ways I couldāve further maximized my best friend and Iās time together. It is this immoderate sense of guilt (however implacable) one is overcome with while sitting in their Great Auntās living room, thinking of timeās deceptive passage. Weāve already reached (and passed!) the point of midterms, are in full-fledged autumn, and my first year of college is evidently more fleeting than any year Iāve yet to experience. Still, letting the oppression of time overtake oneās thoughts is objectively worse than wishing a moment away. As someone who has historically found time more daunting than most all other facets of life, there are ways to stay grounded in a singular momentā to absolve oneself of most all time-induced anxieties.Ā
Due to the uncertainties married to time passing, I make it a personal priority in my day-to-day life to cherish the most lovely moments (and often most imperceptible) through whatever means I find most suitable. The majority of the time, this translates in my daily life to constantly taking photos, whether it be a quick flick from my phoneās camera or a more deliberate shoot with one of my digital cameras. It doesnāt take having a skilled hand in photography to implement this single method of more closely embracing each moment as it comes in the grander plight of experience.
Your photos donāt need to be aesthetically pleasing, but merely emblematic of a moment as you experienced it. Deemphasizing perfection and instead iterating creation is at times the most foolproof method to effectively and fully capture a moment through oneās own worldview. Some other methods of seizing your time I find most favorable (and utilize most often) include daily journaling and using social media as a public archiveā yearsā worth of moments memorable enough to perpetuate through photography, thoughtfully curated into my own platform. The idea of time fleeting can seem looming and ever-present in our lives, especially as college studentsā when time is notoriously both the sweetest and most elusive.Ā
Considering the magnitude of time, more specifically time passing, holds within our lives, one would see pressing against its march as the most effective act of defiance. However, Iāve found that moving with time rather than against it has alleviated most of my time-based anxieties and has significantly aided in my own ability to consider and embrace life in totality. The ābadā must come with the good in order for lifeās better moments to even be recognized. When facing the inevitable negative bouts of time, I make self-care my foremost priority. Extra time spent journaling, a long, tranquil walk around campus, or even a sweet treat as a quick pick-me-up are all means of defying timeās ruthlessness; you are allowing yourself an adequate amount of time and grace.Ā
Even implementing seemingly minute acts of practicing whimsy in your daily life contributes greatly to this grand scheme of evading time-induced anxieties. This can be something as small as assigning personalities to the campus squirrels to something larger like prioritizing offering compliments to others daily ā whatever fills your cup! Treat yourself as thoughtfully as you consider time and its passage; there is a certain art to caring adequately for yourself. Let yourself acknowledge the fact that there is enough time and recognize that you do have it.