By Garrett Cecere
Managing Editor
I’ve spent a lot of my life focusing on either the past or the future, but not much about the present.
When I was a freshman in high school and my parents told me that we would be moving from Connecticut to New Jersey the following summer, I didn’t know what to think. As a matter of fact, the move was all I could think about.
What would my new town be like? What about my school? What about the friends I’ve grown up with? All these questions inundated my mind for several months.
Yet, when a moment came up that I enjoyed, I found myself laughing briefly before realizing again that I would move soon, which made me unhappy. I realize now that my flaw was that I had been thinking too much about what had already happened or things that might happen, but not about the present moment.
I think a lot of people have similar thoughts. “I wish I could go back and live that moment again.” “Oh no, what’s it going to be like five or 10 years down the road?” “If only I could go back and do this thing differently.”
We need to enjoy our opportunities and moments as they come up. Especially the little things.
In one of my favorite comedies, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Ferris reminds us at the beginning and at the end of the film -- “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I see it as an interesting metaphor that the movie is kind of like a fun little moment in our lives that we would regret missing. We’re reminded that we should enjoy the moment and be glad it happened, instead of dwelling on it.
It’s important not to dwell on the past or worry about the future because then we can enjoy the new people we meet and the experiences we have. I’ve tried to do that at my jobs, my community college and here at the College. What I’ve learned is that there are always going to be new moments to enjoy and we have to pass through them one step at a time.
As one of The Signal’s new managing editors, I’ve learned that production night is stressful, but I can’t dwell on the fact that we have 14 of them or that we might have to pull an all-nighter. I just have to focus on each one as it happens and enjoy all the fun moments that come along with it.
Keep your eyes open for those little moments you enjoy so much. You never know when you’ll see them.
