[ N O W H E R E ]

What do the letters above spell?


Some read them all as one word, "Nowhere," while others see them as two, "Now Here." Funny what a difference a single space makes, right?


When a Coach of mine presented this exercise to my team once, we looked at what it means to be mentally present and focused on the present moment. She told us, "If you are not Now Here, you are going Nowhere." The president of our college and sport psychologist Dr. Thierfelder urges athletes to focus on staying mentally present with the encouragement, "as much as you are in the present moment, you are in the presence of God" -- the idea behind this being that, as God is not bound by time, he is present always and everywhere; he is in every moment. If we are living 100% in the present, we are with God.


I learned about these tips in order to focus in my sport, to be mentally disciplined, to move on from mistakes and bad calls, to become the best athlete I can be.


But this week, as I've been thinking more than ever and reminded constantly of life after Graduation come May, I've realized that we can all benefit from these ideas.


Most people know that I am not an outwardly emotional person. I actually told a friend last week, "emotions are stupid" when asked about my feelings towards our last President's Ball. It's not the most academic or descriptive or logical statement, and it's certainly not 100% true. But, what I mean is this: I want to be Now Here. I want to be present and in the presence of God and those around me. I know I won't get to Graduation without looking back a little. I know I can't move on past Graduation without planning ahead some.


But, for the most part, I won't be reminiscing about our days as baby freshmen. I won't be comparing freshman year to senior year. I won't be getting emotional over all of the "lasts."
I also won't be worrying about the future. I won't be completely preoccupied with grad school and job applications. I won't be taken by all of the "firsts."

I will be Here. Now. I appreciate the past and how I have grown. I look forward to the future and how things will change. But, I love the present. I love my friends, and my teachers, and my teammates, and my church, and everything about the life I live now.


So I will spend this year investing in the people who are currently around me, in the place I currently am, with the God who is both in and out of this crazy phenomenon called Time.




(I will also probably keep calling emotions stupid.)



-Tana