AKOMISMO

Now playing: “100 Years” by Five for Fighting

Time is a slippery thing. It’s easy to imagine the future, and the past is something we can grasp. But the present? We all say that we should live in the here and now, but where and when are those exactly? There are many ways to define it but personally, I’ve always seen the present as that moment when we move away from the past and towards the future. Imagine a zipper that only goes one way. The past is that part zipped and the future are those that will be zipped; the slider which does all the zipping, is the present.

In about four hours, another year will be slid into that long zipper chain. Everything that happened in the past year, whether good or bad, will be part of that link. Now think of your favorite pair of jeans. Don’t you notice that the longer the chain goes, the firmer the pants become? I suppose the years do the same to us. With the growth we gather through time, we become more mature and stable individuals. That is of course, if we learn. And only those who live completely in the present allow themselves to learn from the past.

To everyone, I wish the best in the coming year! A lot of my batch mates in Political Science are graduating from law school. The first batch I’ve handled for a full year is about to leave Pisay. My folks are facing their first full year together in retirement Renaissance. And I? I have big choices to make as well.

I feel that the milestones in my life occur every 4 years. 1996 was when I graduated from Don Bosco Makati and moved to Ateneo. 2000 was when I moved to college. Then 2004 was when I moved into Pisay. What could 2008 bring? I’m excited to find out.

True, time is a slippery thing. It is the one thing we all wish we had more of though in reality we have too much of. We just have to spend it right so let’s all start the year on that note. I may not believe in New Year’s Resolutions (every day is a chance to make it better), but if I should recommend one to myself and to others let it be this: if time is a zipper, let’s all keep our pants up!

Always move forward, never back. The future may be uncertain but the past gives us confidence. I hope 2007 has been well. Happy New Year!