Dane Leehman<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
FYS\u2014What is Time?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Experiences with Time<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
9\/16\/2012<\/p>\n
\n
Cherishing the Moment<\/p>\n
Time stood still.\u00a0 Lord Botetourt had just dumbfounded our defense, opening up an uncontested layup with no more difficulty than a can opener has piercing into aluminum. The game was tied at 51-51.\u00a0 Our men were tired, worn from the long, nail-biting battle but 7.6 seconds still remained on the clock.\u00a0 We could not survive through an overtime period\u2014they had all of the momentum after overcoming a 15-point halftime deficit.\u00a0 Coach Day was forced to burn our last timeout.\u00a0 He ripped out the whiteboard and drew up a foolproof strategy designed to get Destiny, our best shooter, wide open for a heart-breaking three pointer. My teammates and I hustled to our respective positions after breaking the huddle.<\/p>\n
Krulich received the ball just behind the half-line.\u00a0 My job was simple\u2014I was the barrier, the screen positioned on the baseline which would block Destiny\u2019s man, opening him up for the dagger.\u00a0 Krulich took two quick dribbles toward my side of the court and waited for Destiny to be abandoned for the baseline three.\u00a0 They saw right through our trickery and both Destiny\u2019s man and my own shifted out to cover our ace shooter, leaving me wide open 12 feet from the basket.\u00a0 Eyes focused directly on Destiny, Krulich bee-lined the ball into my hands.\u00a0 Right foot pivoted and left foot followed as I leaped into my well-practiced rhythm.\u00a0 The ball held the weight of the world, but it lifted off my fingertips lighter than a feather and propelled toward the basket.\u00a0 It hovered in the air, dwindling as it came into its descent, taunting and teasing.\u00a0 The clock was still winding down at a normal pace, but each moment the ball was in the air was longer and denser.\u00a0 It reached the rim and danced a marvelous dance, dazzling the crowd and hypnotizing with each twist and spin around the side of the hoop.\u00a0 All of a sudden, swoosh, whack, REEEHHNNTTTT<\/em>\u2014the clock had reached zero, the moment we had waited 32 minutes for.\u00a0 A rush of heat and emotion, the roar of the home crown, and a gush of brisk air as my team stampeded me.\u00a0 I yelled inconsolably and victoriously, overwhelmed with pride and passion\u2014I was the hero tonight.<\/p>\n Looking back now, I realize that I did not play a particularly amazing game that night.\u00a0 The game winning shot provided the only two points I scored the entire night whereas Destiny had knocked down 24 and Krulich contributed 10 of his own, and yet I was celebrated as winning the game for my team.\u00a0\u00a0 Why did my one shot bear more weight than the 10 shots Destiny had buried?\u00a0 How was it that those last 7.6 seconds, nay the last .8 seconds as the ball traveled through the air seemed infinitely longer than the rest of the game leading up to those points?\u00a0 Why is it that a kid can breeze through seven hours of video games when they are unable to spend five minutes waiting in a shopping line?\u00a0 Time is an impossible riddle, an indefinite trickster.\u00a0 The way we perceive time in one moment can be completely different than any another and that is why it is difficult to answer any of these questions absolutely.<\/p>\n When I was young boy, my mother forced me to play piano.\u00a0 She insisted that it helps open young minds and improves rhythm, balance, and harmony with practice.\u00a0 This hobby held me to a rigid schedule; every Monday and Friday I would meet with my teacher for an hour and a half and every other day I would be expected to practice at least an hour.\u00a0 This was easy to maintain over the summer when free time was so abundant boredom was around every corner, but harder when schoolwork was piling up on top of being a multidimensional athlete.\u00a0 My schedule was compressed and binding.\u00a0 Some weeks would drag on while others seemed be past before they were ever present, over with the snap of a finger.\u00a0 This has always been amazing to me\u2014how any given increment of time can fly like an arrow or stick like a beached whale which is why the standard measurements (or really any constant measurement) of time are impractical to me.\u00a0 How can we say someone has lived for seventy years without knowing whether they lived each moment to its fullest or dismissed chunks of their lives not valuing the time they have?\u00a0 We each dictate how long we live.\u00a0 An hour spent watching television can be infinitesimal and dismissible while a moment spent with a loved one can be immortal.\u00a0 Furthermore, if you barely and painfully manage to get through an hour of work that is subsequently forgotten by the next hour spent with friends that you will remember and relive every day, how can the two hours be considered equal?\u00a0 Time is dictated by the life we squeeze out of it, not by how many times a hand spins around the face of a clock.<\/p>\n This spring I was diagnosed with a minor heart condition.\u00a0 I was told in February that two months later I would have to have a surgery.\u00a0 At the time I thought nothing of it\u2014it was an eternity away and therefore played little impact in my day-to-day life.\u00a0 But as the days drove on, I could feel April 27th<\/sup> knocking louder and louder on the door of fate.\u00a0 I panicked.\u00a0 Although it is an inexcusably overused clich\u00e9, I saw my life flash before my eyes.\u00a0 I remembered skipping school to go fishing with my mom at age 6.\u00a0 I remembered the family trip to Hawaii where I saw true beauty and innovation at age 9.\u00a0 I remembered the moment right before I fell unconscious as I was cleated in the face playing goalie in soccer at age 14.\u00a0 All the events leading up to this life-defining surgery collaborated, meshed, and unified in the blink of an eye.\u00a0 I had condensed my entire life into one pinnacle moment.\u00a0 My heart rushed with anticipation and confusion\u2014lack of understanding, but it only took one long, drawn-out breath to calm myself and regain my composure and the continuum began to race ahead at normal pace.<\/p>\n Although it is necessary for society to function and progress into the future, the definition of time we have grown to accept is grossly oversimplified and unrepresentative.\u00a0 We must construct our own definition of time and accept the fact that any moment we will never forget is immensely longer than a day our mind dismisses.\u00a0 Everyone has experienced an hour which shoots past as well as a moment which seemed like it would never end.\u00a0 To have a valuable and well-lived life we must each strive to value each and every moment within that life.\u00a0 This is why we cannot take any situation for granted.\u00a0 We have the power to make our own lives immortal because any moment can last an eternity.\u00a0 The challenge is finding true inspiration and each remarkable feature within every passing second.\u00a0 Life is what you make of it\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dane Leehman FYS\u2014What is Time? Experiences with Time 9\/16\/2012 Cherishing the Moment Time stood still.\u00a0 Lord Botetourt had just dumbfounded our defense, opening up an uncontested layup with no more difficulty than a can opener has piercing … Continue reading