"The test-taking time is now over, please stop writing and set down your pencils as the proctor comes around to collect your exams." We had just finished the PSAT and as I waited silently in my seat, I happened to notice a few curious middle schoolers peering in through the gym door. That's when it came to me that just a few years ago I had been the middle schooler watching as high schoolers took their exams. I remember spying through the crack in the door and feeling shocked when seeing the hundreds of desks packed inside the gym and thought about how much of a big deal and how scary those tests seemed to me. When I was in the 6th grade I would look at the high schoolers and especially the seniors in awe, as if they were part of another world; constantly walking around with their big backpacks, carrying books, laptops and coffee. It came to me that I was now the person that middle school me used to observe. Currently, having friends who are seniors and graduates makes me feel like I'm not as far away anymore. And it was in that moment sitting at the desk, when I had the realization of how fast time had gone by. The worst part of this was that I had barely noticed.
As a child, it's usually your mother or someone else who realizes that you're growing up, once you start outgrowing your clothes and you get your height measured every few months. Yet it's much harder for ourselves to realize when we are growing up. The same thing happens mentally; we go through life day by day and fail to notice the subtle yet very meaningful changes we undergo through the years. It's only when we notice very evident changes, such as what I noticed in the PSAT, when we realize how quickly life passes by. You start realizing your change in mentality, in style, friends, and interests. You realize you have more responsibilities and that you have different interests. You start caring about things that seemed so far away; such as colleges, summer programs, and the many decisions you have to make. This was especially evident to me once I started to attend college visits and fairs in my freshman year. I realized how every day I was one step closer to the day I would be ending my school experience and having to make a choice on what major to study and university to attend. This planning ahead was something that really put time into perspective. If it seemed like yesterday that I was in 6th grade four years ago, imagine how fast the next three years until graduation would go by! It's not only the future which leads you to such sudden realizations, but also memories from our past. It was the morning after the PSAT when getting into the bus that I happened to notice one of the little girls sitting towards the front was holding a stuffed animal penguin which she was bringing to school. It just so happens that I owned one exactly the same one when I was little. Seeing such thing didn't only make me connect to the little girl but it brought me memories from kindergarten of when I would bring my own stuffed animals to school. I recalled how colorful the classrooms were, how we would all sit in a big circle on the rug, how the greatest thing ever was getting a box of new crayons to yourself, and how simple life was back then. I remembered all my best friends who remain my best friends up to the present day; I realized how they were then vs. how different they are all now when I visited them this past July. I also noticed that included me. If they had changed so much then that means I must have changed just as much, both physically and mentally. It was crazy to think that those times I recalled were actually so far away. I had been just beginning my journey in school and now I was so close to finishing it all. That's when I had the realization: there's so little time left. Everything goes by so fast without us noticing. Life is something so precious, so short and so very beautiful. Don't waste any of the time you have.
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