Why Time Flies

written by Rachel W.

Time: the driving force behind everything we have done, are doing, and will do in the future.

What makes time so dynamic, and what even is time? I was lucky enough to have the chance to study this at a program I attended this past summer. In a class appropriately titled “Why Time Flies,” my peers and I were able to understand just how unique our own experiences are in terms of time passing.

How we define time is not so essential to our experiences as much as understanding the concept. Whether you think of time as how fast a clock moves or the position of the sun in the sky doesn’t matter. The common thread through how most people process time? Change.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” – J.R.R. Tolkien

From the earliest humans to now, we survive based on our perceptions of change and how we can adapt to those changes. Though the processes taking place in the world right now are infinitely more complicated, our subconscious process still focus on differences in our surroundings to keep us going. There will never be an instance in our world where something is not going on, not on the move, remaining static. Therefore, despite our tricks to measuring time, we process time as change.

This makes it much easier to see why “time flies when you’re having fun.” From a technical standpoint, the brain is more highly stimulated when we partake in activities that fulfill our interests; we are so caught up in our surroundings that we do not pick up on all of the change that our brains are processing.

The idea of time passing quickly does not only apply to when you’re having fun. Have you ever sat down to study, and all of a sudden three hours have passed without your knowledge? This just shows that when you are extremely focused on something, the background seems to melt away until you break your focus.

So, why is this idea of time passing so important? We live in a society where time is essential to how we operate. Our school bells ring precisely every 50 minutes. Sports games start at 7:30 but you need to be there at least 30 minutes early. If you show up to an interview even a minute late, you probably won’t get the job. Time is important for us to keep in mind because how we use our time affects many others in our community.

“The greatest gift you can give someone is your time because when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back.” – Anonymous

But this doesn’t have to be a burden. In an experiment my class took part in, we stayed in a windowless room for six hours straight; we took our lunches in coolers, set up a couple lamps, and brought activities to keep us occupied. The catch? We weren’t allowed to know the time and had to determine when the six hours were complete. At first, we were all a little apprehensive about the experiment, but soon we grew extremely close. By hour three we cared less about the amount of time that had passed and increasingly more about our interactions with each other – teaching someone to play guitar, making friendship bracelets (seriously), etc.

“There’s only one thing more precious than our time and that’s who we spend it on.” – Leo Christopher

Now that I have said goodbye to the friends I made through this experience (as we are all from different parts of the state), it has struck me just how meaningful this one experiment was for me. I’ve realized that the most memorable experiences I’ve had are the ones where I lost track of time. Applying this principle to everyday life holds so much power! Imagine the strength of the relationships we would form if we were not concerned with time constraints. Although it is difficult – more for some than for others – learning to just lose yourself in the moment is how time begins to fly. And maybe it’s not such a bad thing after all.