Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Moment in time

As we get older and older, there are not as many ‘firsts’ anymore.

I’m not sure about this statement.  I tend to disagree.  I had my ‘first’ moment today: I invigilated my first exam.  As someone who just finished teaching her first course, I experienced my first exam today – as an assistant professor.  See, that’s a first.

But the problem is, again, it was a bit anticlimactic.  First, I think it was because I was rushing to the venue like a mad woman.  I left the house an hour early, but couldn’t’ find a taxi anywhere.  Rush hour was a $%$%$# this morning.  So, perhaps, that took a big portion of the significance away.  The significance became getting to the venue on time.  Bummer.

As I walked back to my office with my trusty Starbucks hot chocolate in hand, I couldn’t help but feel that I should have owned that moment.  And that’s, I think, the crux of the issue.

It’s not that we don’t get as many ‘first’ in our lives anymore; it’s that other things get in the way of us recognizing, appreciating, and owning the moment.  When we were kids, these moments were recognized for us by our parents and family.  As we get older, they are not always around anymore and as a result, there may not be anyone around to own that moment for us.  If we don’t own it ourselves, then hardly anyone else will make the effort to do that for us.

So, this post is dedicated to that moment.  It WAS a moment and it deserved recognition.

=)




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