East Coast Time
New York Minute #3
I run late. It’s actually one of the first things I tell people about myself — I run late, and I’m a terrible texter, both things I’m actively working on. Time blindness aside, fully leaning into the commuter lifestyle has made me a little less late, but maybe a little more time-conscious.
I had grand dreams for my five weeks in NYC. Being back on the East Coast, somewhere everyone is always moving, always going somewhere — meant I was faced with the question of where I was actually going.
When I went to my 10-year reunion a few weeks ago, I thought I’d be filled with dread walking through the streets of Cambridge. I wasn’t. I had the best time. The ups and downs of life lately have only sharpened my time blindness. I wanted to be moving fast, the way most of my life had been up until that point — quantum leaps to the next rung of the ladder — until I was forced to get off and think about what I was actually doing with it.
Fortunately, I now look back at all the “right steps” I never took as blessings in disguise. Being back at Harvard made me realize I’d built a solid foundation to jump off from. It filled me with immense gratitude for the pace my life has taken. I may always be running late, but this is the first season of my life where maybe I’m actually on time.