The light of the moon will be like that of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater like the light of seven days. (Isaiah 30:26-28)

You’re crossing the street to get to your first class of the day when you finally notice that it’s getting colder. Your thin sweater doesn’t seem to veil your arms as tightly, and your knees have an animated tremor running through them. That’s because you forgot your coat. When did it get colder, and why didn’t anyone tell you? You start walking faster, speeding through the landscape of fallen leaves, music pumping in your ears through your headphones. You have to get to class, you think to yourself, and you also have that paper to turn in right after that. And between those two tasks, you have to clear your inbox and answer all those pesky emails. Okay, two minutes left until the professor starts speaking, and you are still four minutes and fifteen steps away. Fourteen. Thirteen. Twelve.

Doesn’t it sometimes feel like a time-lapse movie? And by “it,” you mean life here as a college student. You’ve barely batted your eyes to clear the bleariness and you already have about a thousand things running through your mental to-do list. It’s like have eighteen tabs open on your computer, with one playing some kind of music, another with your GCal, and another sixteen with your various assignments and odds and ends. When you finally drop your bag down, it’s eight p.m., and you feel so unproductive. You’ve sped through your entire day – now the sun is setting on you and you didn’t even notice it was getting colder.

Now, you’re living in a weird alternative universe where it gets dark by four and the trees seem to gossip behind your back. You’re starting to notice things. First of all, you’re in a race with time, who is this amazingly fast and tireless Usain Bolt-esque sprinter. There is no way you are going to win, so just admit defeat. Instead, walk leisurely alongside all those who have given up as well and take a breath, or three, or four. Also, the sky is probably laden with lots of burdens too. It’s not just you, so don’t worry about people discovering that you’re a vulnerable human being with problems. Finally, you start to notice that it is indeed Advent season, which must mean Christmas is around the corner. You feel the strong urge to speed through these last three weeks of school, as if Winter Break is the endpoint and as if you can light all the fire inside of you only to burn out at home. Instead, sit outside and begin to welcome the chills dotting your skin. It’s absolutely beautiful right now, even if you did forget your coat.