I hate time. I have taken almost every measure that I possibly can to ensure that I look at a clock as few times as possible in a day. I have turned off all of the clocks on my devices, I have taken the clocks out from my room, and I have even changed my car clock to be a random time so I don’t know what time it really is. To me, time is nothing but a limitation; something telling me that I have to stop. I yearned to challenge the concept of time, so last year, in order to combat this astonishingly large limitation, I created a challenge for myself. For the entire month of December, I would not look at a single clock, or else I would fail. I obviously failed, as this was nearly impossible. Notably, December was probably the worst month to do the challenge in, as I absolutely had to be on time for my final exams. But that challenge was the ignition for my war against time. I started looking at clocks less and less, and would often show up late for meetings, classes, and other such activities. I developed a reputation for being late.

Though, as time went on, my awareness of time actually grew to a much higher level than where it was before. Since I was so ardent about not knowing the time, even in situations when I needed it, my body developed a natural clock of its own. Now, rather than being unaware of the time, the opposite happened, and I became what I hated most: timely. Whenever my friends would ask what time it was, I would be able to tell them what time it was without the assistance of a clock. I no longer need an alarm clock in the morning, as my body will wake up when I know I need to, and my perception of time passage is proficient enough to where I do not need a watch during a timed test, as I will know exactly when time is about to run out. This increase in cognizance was also accompanied by a change in disposition. Rather than always being late, I almost always show up early now.

This self-experiment that I have conducted upon myself has made me realize that humans are meant to progress. When something goes wrong, we are capable of learning from our mistakes and bettering ourselves in the future. I made a conscious effort to worsen my time-reading abilities, but because I put so much effort into trying to exacerbate them, they instead flourished. I am naturally a person who puts effort into whatever I put my mind to, whether that’s school, work, or even my chores at home. I believe that this means I am extremely capable of progressing in whatever I choose to pursue. My intense training in time perception, although originally meant to deter me, has instead only further prepared me for my future.

Only when we do not give effort to a task, will we not better ourselves; and I will always be giving my best effort.