I had the wonderful opportunity this semester to do an independent study on neuroscience with a University professor. Unfortunately, I was unable to accept the chance to study under her wing because I simply do not have the time.

This summer, I was lucky enough to have a job working 40 hours a week and be able to balance a full-time summer semester at the same time. My plate was full. When I could not manage to do something, though, my excuse was “Sorry. I don’t have time.”

Time is one of the most prominent things in life. It surrounds everything and everyone all the time: There is no escaping it.

However, the emphasis placed on it seems skewed.

All of our time clocks are ticking down— no morbidity intended.

We all have to be to class at X a.m. or p.m. Some of us clock in and out of work. Clocks are constantly sought after while phones are whipped out and scanned for time. Pregnant women count the days until they give birth. Alarms blare for us to wake up.

Time is an obsession. Everything you and I do is centered on time. But why?

Human beings are the only species concerned with time. Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, etc. do not focus or even appear to notice the passage of time.

Yet, human nature tries to slow it down, grab hold of it and never let it go.

Because we understand our own mortality, we focus on living cautiously, knowing time will run out. The fear of time running out may be the very reason to give up current fixations on the clock.

Understanding time is impossible. Sometimes it slips by and we don’t notice how readily it is willing to escape us. Then, in other instances, we see it drag over itself, folding and creating crevices and cracks for the seconds to hide in.

This insane, unyielding, always present phantom is one thing we should all be willing to let go of, even just a little.

There are a few easy ways to try and lose the concept of time, merely for a while.

First, do not reach for your phone or crane your neck to see the timepiece in a classroom. Embrace the speed at which the course is going by and try to enjoy the fact that you have no concept of how much time is gone or how much is left.

Second, go to sleep when you are tired. It doesn’t matter what time it is. If you sense your eyes getting heavy and your body growing weary, close up shop and hit the hay. The time is irrelevant.

One last simple way to ignore time for a tidbit is to take a day when you have nothing to do and get lost in whatever you want. Do homework, read, go for a walk, or eat whenever your body tells you it wants food. But, do not check your phone or computer for the time every ten seconds. Allow your world to go by at its own pace. Don’t fill the seconds and minutes with needless time-checking.

Time is not something we cannot completely lose in this day and age. Technology and the business in a schedule will not allow for it. It is ingrained in the center of our lives and we are programmed to know it exists. No qualm can be raised about this.

However, to forget about it for a few hours is exhilarating without a doubt.