Kayilb Yang

Winn

English 12

21 May 2021

A Moment Turned Into a Memory

There are two kinds of people in the world - those who constantly look for the next thing

and those who enjoy the moment. “Live in the moment” they say, but what does that mean? It is

crazy to me that I am graduating high school in a few weeks. I always thought I would never

leave high school and I would stay young forever. Google defines a moment as “a very brief

period of time” which I agree with. To me, living in the moment means to enjoy the small things

and soak up everything around you, the good and the bad. The crazy realization that I came to is

that nothing ever happens again. You can never live the same moment over again, and I think

that is what makes a moment so special, they are all different. That conversation you had with a

teacher about a grade, the time you ran into the person you liked, that awkward bathroom

experience you had, is just a memory now. We always wait for school to be over, so the weekend

will be here, so we can go out, just to repeat this cycle over and over again. I constantly ask

myself am I living in the moment and doing the best I can in everything I do. Now I am not

saying to never look forward to things or plan anything, it is just that we are all so focused on

what is next. I think social media and society has played a huge role in this idea of always being

busy and going out. We see influencers and celebrities always on the go, getting ready for the

next event or place they have to go. We look up to them and place them on pedestals and want to

follow what they do. I have tried this, going out all the time and constantly doing things, which

just left me exhausted. This is why I think living in the moment is so important, because
moments are one time occurrences. They only happen once. There are no re-do’s. I also am a true

believer in that where you are in life is right where you need to be. It is crazy to me that in just a

few weeks, high school will be a memory. All the times we studied for a test, packed food for

school, tried to look good for our crush, all just a thought. As the school year winds down and

high school comes to a close, I really want to focus on taking in and appreciating everything that

is around me. Sometimes I wonder what life would look like if I had done this or that, but I am

glad with where I am. I know one day I will look back on all of these memories and laugh at how

they were moments and very real in my life. I am very grateful for everything I have been

through and the memories I have made here. Even after writing this speech it is still hard to come

to the reality that life will be much different from anything I have ever known in just a few

months. If I could give advice from my eighteen years of life, it would be to “enjoy the

moment”, it sounds cliche and maybe even simple but is really something I wish I would have

known before entering high school. Eventually everything we experience becomes a memory in

our life. Even this speech that I am reading will become a memory. This day will become a

memory. Our lives will become memories. Moments do not last forever, memories do.

A Moment Turned Into a Memory