As humans, we constantly want what we don’t have. In our human nature, we think that the future is always going to be better than the present and the past. As a society, we should stop wasting time dwelling on the past and the future, and we should focus on the present.

As a freshman, you wish you were a sophomore so you are not the youngest in the school. As a sophomore, you want to be a junior because they are getting their rings. As a junior, you want to be a senior because senior year is supposedly the best year. The problem is, as teenagers, we focus on what has happened and we dwell on what may happen.
This act of dwelling on the past and future doesn’t really hit you until it’s too late. At the time we realize it, it is likely that we feel like the time has flown by, and that we wish we could go back in the past.
Instead of focusing on the past and dwelling on the future, as a society we should put more emphasis on living in the moment. Because at the end of the day, we have a limited amount of time in this world, and we are all going to die. However, while we are here, we should make the most out of our time.
There is so much to dwell on in the past. Why did I say that? Why didn’t I do more for that person? Why didn’t I stick with that sport? It is easy to get wrapped up in all of the should’ve, could’ve, would’ve, but in reality, the past is in the past, and we can’t change it.
Also, a lot of students have anxiety regarding the future. Will I get into college? Will I meet that special person? Will I have the life I have envisioned for myself? It is easy to have anxiety regarding the future, but we can’t worry about it as much as we want since it will only hurt us. Instead of focusing on the future, we should focus on the present.
Also, when we focus too much on the past and the future, we miss the major global events happening around us. We lose perspective on just how precious life is.
For example, the events unfolding in Ukraine show us (as citizens of the United States) how lucky we are that we live in a protected and free country. It is important that as a society we focus on the present, and on not losing perspective on what is happening in the world around us.
It is easy for us to focus on our future, due the long-lasting effects from the attack against Ukraine, but we should be living in the moment, and we should be helping out the people there now.
We can’t have a fulfilling future unless we have a present and realistic worldview.
In our JC reality, it is important for everyone to enjoy being a kid. We only get four years of high school, and then it is on to adulthood. We should take advantage of the few years we have left as children because we will never get those lost years back.
For freshmen, enjoy the rest of your time at JC; live in the moment, and don’t take any time for granted. For sophomores, you still have a lot of time left at JC, so make the most of it. Juniors, live in the moment, celebrate receiving your ring, and remember it’s an honor receiving that JC ring. For seniors, make the most out of the few months you have left at JC, enjoy prom, and good luck in your future endeavors.