During my pre-college orientation this past year, every freshman was recommended to read Einstein's Dreams before starting the school year.
In the novel, author Alan Lightman writes about hypothetical cities and worlds where time is skewed in some odd manner. For example, one city in Einstein's Dreams is a world without a future. Lovers part and then immediately reunite, thinking that they will never see each other again. Lightman writes about a town where time is worshiped like a god, a world where cause and effect are interchangeable and many others, all based on a distorted concept of Einstein's.
I was unsure why the university recommended the book, but now I think I have my own idea. This college setting is a bit like one of worlds Lightman created. The concept of time here at school is drastically different than anywhere else in society.
So let me give you a tour as to why. I'll even try my hand at Lightman's symbolic short-prose storytelling technique:
While the rest of the world sleeps, typically laying down their heads when night falls, there is a world where people are still buzzing.
A student is up late, books and papers scattered on her desk, completing a paper. Another celebrates without a specific cause, lounging in drunkenness, mimicking Dionysus.
To counteract these late hours, the world's inhabitants sleep off their late-night lucubration and intoxication, skipping morning meals and mornings in general and adding an extra meal in the evening. Dining halls are nearly empty at breakfast. Pita Pit and Goodfella's are bustling at night.
In this world of College, time can be rearranged. Schedules can be deconstructed and constructed in a matter of seconds. Priorities can be shifted with little care. A game of Tiger Woods Golf 2004 is being easily substituted for an Astronomy class. Procrastination is a vital tool. No task is too important to put off for a few more minutes.
Time in College revolves around the strangest of things. A residence hall quivers with the anticipation of favorite T.V. shows. Nights begin when the all important question of Hey
when are we starting? is answered. Weekends are held in such high regard that many choose to extend their very existence, giving weeks a 50/50 week to weekend ratio, possibly even more.
It may seem like the inhabitants of College have complete control over time, but many, if not all of them, are struggling against it. They are stressed to convert all available time possible into memories, like alchemists. Some try to take rolls upon rolls of film to retain it. A group of people sit outside on the grass talking about their experiences, as if trying to further solidify them.
The people of College may think they have a control of time. They may even disregard it. Little do the people of College know that time will get the last laugh.
-Kita is a freshman journalism major. Send him an e-mail at paul.kita@ohiou.edu. 17
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Paul Kita
