Back to the Future

I’m a sophomore in college, and I cannot tell you how many times I get asked what I’m going to do with my degree, what I want to do after college, where I want to live, etc. I swear, it’s like every person I’ve ever talked to made a pact with all the other people I interact with, and they all decided to ask me a question that I don’t know the answer to. Why can’t we just stick to questions like “What classes are you taking this semester?” or “How are you liking SMU?” Seriously, when did everyone become so obsessed with what’s next? I get more questions about what I’m going to do than what I’m actually doing.

            I think our obsession with the future stems from our never-ending lifestyles. Like that one time the Starbucks barista told me to calm down. When your life is scheduled down to the hour, how are you actually supposed to care about anything that is not immediately ahead of you? How are you even supposed to focus on the present, and what you’re doing right then?

            Here’s the simple answer: you don’t. You can’t focus in your last class of the day when you have a huge exam the next day. Heaven forbid you make the mistake of going to class hungry and then all you can think about is where your next meal is coming from and how glorious it’s going to be.

            So how do we change this? How do we reverse a cultural trend that is barreling out of control? It’s not going to be simple, and it’s going to take more than just one person, even more than just me, to figure out what’s happening. And then there is going to have to be a conscious effort made to change it, and do something about it.

            Personally, I’ve always recognized when my mind begins to wander to my to-do list, and when I start thinking about something totally irrelevant to what my professor’s lecturing about. The goal is to be present in the moment, and that’s tough to do when you’re constantly attached to your phone. Phones put us in contact with people who aren’t present, and they make us focus on the future. Who are you talking to? When are you going to see them next? You should grab lunch with them. Tuesday is no good, but you should ask them what have on Thursday.

            Why are you even thinking about that person? Because their name popped up on a bright little screen. That’s why. Here’s a very minor goal to help you stay focused and present in the present: Put down the phone. I know we hear that forty-seven times a day, but just try it for like a week. If your life doesn’t feel less hectic, then I recommend having a Starbucks barista tell you to calm down and see if that doesn’t have a profound impact on your attitude.