Time works in interesting ways. Sometimes you’re amazed by how quickly it flies by and don’t realize it until after the fact, but sometimes you’re stuck in a never-ending week and just keep praying that Friday will come sooner. Whether we’re having our patience tested or being swept up in the moment, we can all relate to these “fast vs. slow” moments in our regular lives.
Fast: When you wake up an hour earlier and tell yourself, “Oh, I still have a whole hour of sleep left!”
We’ve all been there. You shut your eyes for what feels like five minutes, and you open them only to realize that you’ve now overslept and have fifteen minutes to get from wherever you live to Dwinelle Hall.
Slow: The last 10 minutes of your Friday class
On the curve of how productive you are and how much you’re actively paying attention, we’re willing to bet that Friday is the lowest point. You’re too occupied thinking about your weekend plans and how hungry you are to be paying attention in lecture, and in those last minutes you just can’t stop checking the time.
Fast: How quickly you eat through all your groceries
So you’ve stocked up on groceries for the week on Sunday, and you think that it’ll last you all the way until next weekend. Spoiler alert: it won’t. By the time it’s Tuesday, your fridge and cabinets will once again be mostly bare and it’s between making a mid-week trip or denting your budget more with eating out.
Slow: Waiting outside for something/someone by yourself
Even if it’s just 10 minutes, this one feels like 10 years. You don’t want to just awkwardly stand there, so surely your phone will keep you entertained. Fast-forward to when you’ve actually read all your texts and emails and gone through all of your friends’ Instagram and Snapchat stories, and you’re still waiting.
Fast: Weekends
Even if you do absolutely nothing, it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever say, “this weekend was adequately long.” The time just flies by too quickly, and before you know it you’re back to getting up early and walking up that inconveniently large hill to class.
Slow: The minutes leading up to when your favorite band or artist takes the stage at a concert
You spend all day being too pumped to focus on regular life tasks, you’ve looked up the set times, and you feel so incredibly excited when you arrive at the venue. The experience is worth it, but the time leading up to the performance when you’re checking your phone on the minute, every minute sure is brutal.
Fast and slow: A semester at UC Berkeley
A semester at UC Berkeley is full of ups and downs. Sometimes you’re swamped with essays to write and midterms to study for, you regularly question if this is really worth getting up at 7 or 8 a.m., and you ask yourself if it’ll ever end. Other times, you’re participating in spirit day, making weekend trips to San Francisco, and having late-night meals on Southside with your friends. While some moments are exhausting and infuriatingly slow, others breeze by before you know it, so be sure to value your Bear time while you have it.
