The most elementary understanding of time is measured in the seconds, minutes and hours that dictate our lives. It’s the elusive framework that keeps the world continuously moving. The clock will forever be ticking, so how do we accept  the fact that every moment that passes is an experience that we will never get back?

This overwhelming feeling of not being in control of time passing by is something that, as high school students, feels ever present in our current lives and is especially magnified during our senior year. We live for the end of the school week, but fear the day we are dismissed from our classrooms for the last time.

I have found that the only way to come to terms with this fear is to give it a purpose within my life. There are three simple principles to live by in order to embrace the inevitable progression of time: reflect on the past, imagine the future and live joyfully in the present.

What is perhaps most difficult about the passage of time, especially as we reflect on the past, is the realization that we are capable of so many mistakes. The only way to give me some peace of mind as I confront these moments is by making a commitment to myself to not repeat my past mistakes. Every situation from our past is an opportunity to better our future. But, this does not just apply to me and you. This is applicable to communities, countries and society as a whole. We cannot consider ourselves a progressive nation if we take steps backward into our past instead of forward toward our future. The only way to ensure that our future is better than our past is if we examine where we came from, the people who came before us and the systems that are evolving in front of us.

Within this edition of Optic, I invite our readers to take a ride with us in a time machine that will visit the past and explore the future. We will examine the ways in which the progression of time intersects with the ways our society operates, reading about the trends, people and decisions that have formulated our current environment.

My hope is that by taking the time to read this magazine, you will gain an expanded appreciation of the past and future. And, most importantly, feel more in control of the time that is currently passing by using the past and future as a roadmap to a more fulfilling present.

To flip through this edition, click HERE