I’m really not the first to comment on how fast time passes. Still, let it be known that I, for one, blinked twice and the semester was over. Between the blur of assignments, the mundanity of going to lectures every day, and the humbleness of everyday student life, this semester just happened so quickly.
And you know what? That’s not necessarily a bad thing.
A quote by Douglas Harding I think about often is, “It’s the very last thing, isn’t it: we feel grateful for having happened. You know, you needn’t have happened! But you did happen.”
Familiarity makes time speed up — in our perceptions, at least. Neuroscientist David Eagleman explains, “The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain writes down, and the more quickly time seems to pass.”
Though we are constantly learning new things as students, it’s startlingly easy to fall into a routine. We adapt to our schedules, and sometimes it may feel like we’re stuck in the mundane routine of academia while our friends are off on new adventures.
As this semester draws to a close, some of us may already be preparing for courses in the summer, while others have different plans. Regardless, it’s a time as good as any to remember that our ordinary, monotonous lives are inherently remarkable, that our very existence is miraculous.
