I am fascinated with time. Time is relative, yet constant. You can’t rewind, pause or fast forward it. The clock doesn’t stop for anyone.

“Time is a gift that most of us take for granted. We get so caught up in the busyness of our daily lives that we rarely stop and take a serious look at how we’re spending this gift,” said author Cheryl Richardson.

It’s funny how one class can drag on forever, and the semester seems like it will never end, but in the blink of an eye four years have passed. Somehow, through all the seemingly long days, time lapses quicker in the overall scheme of things.

We were raised to be time oriented. Everyone races to the next event in their day, never stopping to appreciate the moment, the potential memories being created. There’s nothing wrong with looking forward to something, but when we’re always counting down the days until the next thing, we forget to be consumed in the now. We focus on the end result, not the process.

In today’s society, we’re programmed to always have something to do. Somehow this is to give us a purpose for being here. Being busy sends a vibe to the world saying you must be more important, valuable or wanted. Your life must be so much more exciting.

Time is precious, and discerning what you should devote your time to can be challenging. As students, we prioritize homework, social lives and jobs over our own health. When I say we, I mean me.

I am currently taking 17 credit hours, have four part-time jobs, and am active in two social clubs. Days are normally jam-packed with classes and work, and nights are spent drowning in homework. I have to pull all-nighters frequently just to keep up. I skip chicken nugget day in the cafeteria to study or work on projects. I valued spending time on everything else over my own physical, mental and emotional health.

Seniors presenting their senior speeches in chapel tell you to take every opportunity, to always say yes, to get out of your dorm room. While these things are valid, I realized it is also important to take time to treat yourself. Taking time for self-care possesses the hidden stigma of being selfish, but the truth is you have to be selfish to a certain extent in order to be selfless. You have to be stable before you try to help others.

So here’s my challenge to you: use your time wisely. Make time for what and who you genuinely care about. We can never get time back, and that’s terrifying to me. So learn to love the times you have in whatever circumstances you are in. Before you know it, it will be over. Each person is given limited days on this Earth. Every day is a new blessing, and you get to choose what you’ll do with it. What a time to be alive.