A Rush to the End
December 12th, 2025
Photo: Zoe Romeu
Writer: Anbini Ganesh
Editor: Noa Chorowshy
The next test, the next date, the next party, the next project. Our lives are marked by the events we look forward to, whether we dread or can’t wait for them. These milestones keep life moving, propelling us forward. When we’re in long-distance relationships or enduring stressful stretches of time, they can help us pass the time, giving us something concrete to count down to.
However, what happens when this constant countdown is looming? Each semester, I’ve felt time speeding up, quickly slipping out of my control. Each week is marked by an event, whether a club meeting, an exam, or a deadline, and my focus lasers in on that commitment: I just need to make it past this BA exam. Once it's over, the next event immediately replaces it.
Last week, I paused and counted the weeks left in the semester. Four? I only have four EECS lectures left. How is that even possible? I realized that I had pushed through each week, over and over again, until I reached a point in the semester where there were no weeks left. I realized that I failed to soak in the beauty of the chaos of my sophomore year. I failed to ask myself what I really wanted to be doing in these months: What could I do now in my free time that I might never get the chance to do after college? I failed to internalize how truly special and unique this time in college is.
Since the day I panicked after realizing how little time I had left, I have made a conscious choice to simply live. Yes, the next event will come, the next exam will require studying, and the next party will be exciting. But I can choose to slow time down by being present. I can check in with myself and ask: What do I really want to do today? Maybe I’ll try a new coffee shop, or reach out to that friend that I haven’t seen in three weeks. Maybe I’ll take the bus to the mall or make spontaneous plans for next week. Don’t get me wrong, my days are still packed, and free moments are rare.
However, what we choose to do in these free moments defines our college experience. Exams come and go, but the opportunities to create life-long memories aren’t ubiquitous. For this reason, I’ve made a new commitment. For the last few weeks of the semester, I’m letting my workaholic brain take a break and turning my adventurous brain on. I plan to see the friends I’ve been postponing, take the trips I keep saying I’ll do later, and eat at the restaurants I’ve always wanted to. Because when I look back, I don’t want to remember college as a rush to the end—I want to remember it as the time in my life I truly lived.
