Since the very beginning of my JCU career, I’ve been thinking about time and how I spend it. It’s a surreal experience to sit down and think about the amount of time you devote to certain things. I have probably spent hundreds of hours sitting in the Pacelli lounge hanging out with friends and working on homework. This time does not even take into consideration the countless phone calls to my sister, parents and friends back home. After all this, factor in the amount of time in class, working and extra activities. 24 hours often does not feel like enough time to do all of these and be mentally present for them. 

For some reason, everytime I do these activities, I picture this invisible clock that is counting down my time at JCU. Two semesters down, only six more to go. As a freshman, I do have a lot of time left but this glass half empty attitude is not something I would recommend. I can not and do not want to think about what it feels like to be a senior during this time of the semester. 

With time being on the forefront of my mind, the music playing on my Spotify has reflected this theme. Let’s be real, there are so many great songs about time. I love “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” by Harry James and “As Time Goes By” by Rudy Vallee, not to mention more popular songs like “Time of Your Life” by Green Day and “Where’d All the Time Go?” by Dr. Dog. The one song that has been playing on repeat in my mind is Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle.” 

One day, the song randomly popped into my head and as I listened to it, one line stopped me in my tracks. During the chorus, Croce sings, “But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them.” I’ve been listening to this song since I was a kid so hearing that line now just felt so relevant to my experiences recently. 

I wish I could spend more time sitting on the quad on a nice day, but I know that there is an expiration date in doing so. After discovering a new organization or group on campus, it feels “too late” to participate in their activities because too much time has passed since the beginning of the semester. Croce’s words just continue to echo in my head because of this feeling of not having enough time to do the things you enjoy. 

Instead of this negative interpretation, I started to think that the time given to us is not too little but just the right amount. We are given the necessary time to “…do the things we want to do once we find them,” if we make the choice to think about time in this way. After making this realization, I stopped picturing this invisible clock and it allowed me to live in the moment. 

Personally, it seemed fitting to write about time in my first column as the assistant arts and life editor because I can’t wait to spend more time with The Carroll News. I’m so excited to see where my time leads me in the next few years and the different opportunities that time grants me. So, my advice to anyone reading this is to be grateful for the time that you have now to do the things you love and look forward to the things you do with your time in the future.