Time Gone By

Yesterday, at lunch, we weren't sitting with our usual classes. A girl who was one of my best friends last year in 6th grade sat across from me, by coincidence. It was kind of awkward, because we're not so much friends right know, just acquaintances. Nothing happened between us, just a simple separation. Not even that. We just didn't see each other once during the summer, the daily texting slowed down, and we didn't have ONE class together this year. So, there we went. Off our separate ways. It was kind of weird because just a year ago, we would have been laughing and screaming, but now, it was more like a silence across the table. She was talking to the people sitting next to her, as was I. I know we both felt how different it was. But then, something she said got me thinking.

She was talking to the girl sitting next to her, and they started listing all the people who hung out with them a lot last year. As they reached the end of this list, she said, "That was a year ago. It doesn't feel that long."

Something else happened today also. We were taking the STAAR Reading test today, and our teacher was giving us directions, as the test administrators usually have to. As I was looking at the clock to check the time, I realized—fully realized—that we were taking the test. Today. I wasn't scared. I was prepared. I've always been great at English, especially reading. I make 96s and 98s in English on my report card every six weeks. It wasn't a big deal. What struck me was the sudden use of present tense. How suddenly, the STAAR test "was happening", when all year long, we were waiting for it "to happen". And in a short matter of hours, when I turned in my test and answer sheet, it would "have happened". How suddenly, within a day, we could have all different tenses, future, past, and present, about one thing. It amazed me. It shocked me that a few months since the beginning of the school year had already passed, and here we are, at the end.

Just hearing and realizing all this had backed up and supported what I already new; life is short, and the time in which you have to live it is even shorter. (Yes, that was my own personal quote, thank you.) Last year I was sitting at a table with two other people, both of which had little friends and were shy. I would have had no plans for the afternoon or weekend. Now, I'm sitting at a table with a good 9 others, all fighting to be the most heard, everyone outspoken, with rehearsal tonight, and plans to see a show with two friends this weekend. Everything's changed, and for the better, but I can distinctly remember what it was like a year ago. It wasn't that long ago. If life is a day, a year is about 15 minutes. So savor what you have now, enjoy it, if it's something good. You may not have it in a short amount of time. And if you don't like what you have, then just know it will eventually be gone, and maybe within a year also.

Life is short, but the time in which you have to live it is even shorter.