A clock ticking away is one of the scariest sounds that could ever haunt my existence… and it does every minute of every day. I am frequently worried about the time I have left. Morbid, I know. I am a chronic asker of “What time is it?” or the usual “Does anyone have a watch?”. Maybe this is a symptom of something much larger, and I have yet to delve into that realm, but I do have a method to sometimes pull myself out of this existentialist loop.
I know the phrase “good things take time” exists for a reason. It is quite a famous phrase. But it does present itself at mysterious places and times throughout my life.
Note: things can be good without taking time. True. But for good things to grow and change into something marvelous, in most cases, they do need time.
Many of the best things in my life have taken me years to develop, and sometimes it was even unintentional. Telling myself that those relationships, those friendships, those academic connections, those achievements are all things that took time, but they are also things I’m proud of.
Maybe I feel this way as the minutes of my time here at St. Bonaventure feel like they’re ticking down into seconds.
Maybe I feel this way because the years, hours, minutes, and memories of my childhood are dangerously close to all being in the rearview mirror forever.
Maybe I feel this way just because I fear the past, present, and future.
But the things that have taken me time to develop, to become great, are the things and people that have pulled me back down to earth to ground me in my past, present, and future.
A friend who I did a group project with.
A group of girls I admired from my Ethics course.
A kid who lived below me whom I was supposed to trade numbers with for my English class.
The kid who was always with the kid directly above.
The people in my year who sat in different corners of the Butler basement.
Getting to know them was the best use of my time playing the long game because they are now who I spend all of my time with.
Back to the quotes, I have an amendment for “good things come to those who wait”. If you sit around waiting for good things to happen to you, you’ll be hearing the clock tick for a long while. If you ARE good WHILE you wait (and live), good things will find you too.