There is one thing that we prize above all: time. It’s constantly being  kept track of, whether it be through the rise and fall of the sun, an hourglass, or just a plain old clock. It’s also measured by a tick on a growth chart, the whitening of hair, reaching the end of a photo album, or the increasingly tattered appearance of a well-loved stuffed animal, the vestiges of age.

Where has Time gone? Is it hiding under the bed like the monsters we feared growing up?

We like to think we can control Time--there’s a reason we like fast cars--but we can’t. Delay time sure, get a few cosmetic procedures, a pop of botox here and there, try to reclaim your youth through sports cars and flashy apparel, it doesn’t change the fact that you have wrinkles and your life is half over. And that’s what makes Time even more fearsome (and perhaps loathsome) than the apparitions or reincarnations of the scariest characters in those movies your parents banned you from watching. 

Where am I going with this? Is this some lamentation about how we’re all going to die? I hope not.

My point is this; time passes whether you like it or not. Your time is not unlimited. So spend it meaningfully. We spend the first quarter of our lives physically growing (and perhaps the rest of our time growing in directions we’d rather not think about), but we shouldn’t stop there.

Grow some scars. Get your heart broken, cut your finger learning how to cook or woodworking (if that’s still a thing), explore the place you’ve only dreamed of going and fall in the process.           
Grow up. Not physically but mentally. Read some more books, look up what’s going on in the world, it can’t hurt.

Grow ___________. Grow however you want to grow. Grow fierce, grow tomatoes, grow __________. Why not? It’s your Time.