Time Flies, So Look Up!

I know you’ve all heard this a million and one times, but TIME FLIES, especially here at Stanstead College. If you’re not doing homework, catching up on assignments or studying for a big test, then you’re out at practice, or games or clubs. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by that kind of routine. It gets so busy here all the time that it’s like you’re just trying to survive the days until the next break. That’s the mentality I’ve had at times during my years at Stanstead. When you don’t take the time to look around, breathe and appreciate all that you have, everything just becomes a blur, which is why it seems like it all goes by so fast.

As some of you may remember, last year around this time, I got myself to do a 30-day social media cleanse. For a whole month, all of the social media apps I use, like Snapchat, Instagram, Tiktok, VSCO, were deleted from my phone. In those 30 days, I found myself spending much more time focusing on myself. I used the time that I would have usually spent on social media to be aware and mindful of everything that’s around me. My stress levels went down and I was generally happier on a daily basis. Thirty days doesn’t seem that long, but it really changed my attitude about looking at the world around me. 

What I mean by that is that I see so many people walking around with their eyes glued to their phones, day after day. It may seem normal for some but it actually isn’t. As soon as the bell rings at the end of the last period of the day, so many of us pull out our phones as if there’s nothing more important, and as if we've just been dying to look at it all day. We live in an era where so many people are more concerned with their virtual lives than with their actual lives. For example, some of you have probably seen more of Stanstead College’s scenery on Instagram than in real life. 

Believe me, if you’re feeling stressed about school or your next game or whatever else it may be, just taking a moment to be mindful will help so much. It can take you less than a minute, so if you’re able to watch a 1-minute long TikTok, then you’re able to do this. Once you start to pay attention more, and you start to look around wherever you go, you will see things that you would have never noticed and you will find that there’s so much to be grateful for. 

The old saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun,” but time flies the fastest when you don’t acknowledge and cherish your time. 

A little piece of advice as someone who is currently applying to universities: Look around you. Appreciate all that you have. Because nothing will be the same in a year.