I love to calculate time. My family knows that I like to leave for school at exactly 7:23. My friends know that when I say I’ll pick them up at 6, I’ll really be there at 5:50. And I know that I always will know how many days or months until the next birthday, holiday or vacation. I love to calculate time. I’ve realized that that’s how I’ve been dealing with my homesickness. Right know I would be able to tell anyone that it’s about 69 days until I switch host families, 76 days until my sister returns to Northfield from her term abroad and 87 days until Christmas. I also know that as this week comes to a close I’ll have completed over 1/10th of my exchange year. I think that it’s fascinating how people are able to view the same amount of time in different ways. Sometimes I fee like I’ve been here forever, but then it seems like yesterday that I was eating a poppy-seed muffin in the airport not knowing hoe much my life was about to change. When I’m feeling lonely or homesick it’s comforting to think, okay…I can do this ten more times, but then again ten more times seems absolutely impossible… BASTA! ENOUGH! Enough countdowns! Enough fractions! Just…enough! While making countdowns might make a physics lecture go by faster…it’s not going to change anything. Time happens and you can’t change it. All you can do is keep breathing and time will keep passing. So me and time are going to take a little break. I need to focus on what’s going on right now, and how I can make the present as enjoyable as possible. Right here. Right now.
I do exactly the same thing, at least here. Today marks the 1/4 day. I should stop.
ReplyDeleteI know it's so hard to stop. But I just have to keep reminding myself :/ wow 1/4 that's crazy!! I'm excited for you Ted :)
ReplyDeleteWOOHOO! 87 days till Christmas!!! :) and I think part of the problem is how Rotary completely warps time. The future seems like such a long way away.. yet a month and a half ago today seemed like such a long way away, and now here I am and time just went by without me realizing it! I hope all is well with you stina (and you tedly), I think a tri-continent skype chat is in order one of these days, huh? :)
ReplyDeletebesos a uds
Yo, Stina. It's me, Will. I was thinking about your post about time and remembered this quote from Henry Van Dyke: “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” Hope your day is filled with good things. I miss you at Emmaus!
ReplyDeleteStinaaaaa!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's awsome!!
I love the way you write!!