A few Thoughts about time...
"Once you do not value your time, the others won't either"_ Anonymous
By Candidier
1/20/20253 min read


Everyone has his or her own view about time. Some trade it as a currency, while others think of it as an infinite resource. There are several ways to spend time. Some people spend it on loved ones, and some spend it on social media. At the end, we all find ourselves with no time. We live every day, but there is a limit to how long we can live, and that limit is death.
Here are a few thoughts on how I have viewed time, from an early age until now:
1. Time is an Infinite Resource:
During my childhood, I spent most of my time living in the countryside with my parents. As kids, we would play with friends every "Andro Fady" [Non-working days, typically Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays]. Life is difficult in the countryside. Kids go to the farm every working day, which means they don’t have much time to play with friends.
During Andro Fady, we would play football, swim, and play biligny (a game). My favorite game was ‘’bilign’’. Back then, I thought that time was unlimited. I didn’t realize that there were only 24 hours in a day. All I knew was that there was daylight and nighttime, when the sun rose and set. I thought vacations were very long and seemed almost eternal. I missed going back to school.
2. Time is Limited:
As I grew up and learned more about time, I came to realize that time is actually limited. I read many blogs about personal development, and all of them talked about how time is a scarce resource. We should value time, whether it is our own time or the time of others.
My birthday will be on September 8th. I will be 28 years old. How fast time flies. Every time my birthday arrives, I realize I am growing older each day. My biggest worry is the lack of achievement. At my age, I regret never having taken massive action.
3. You Achieve More Once You Value Your Time:
No matter how much time you are given, if you do not value it, you will never get anything done. Here is some wisdom I have received from people from all walks of life whom I have met:
- As a Research Assistant at SIT: I was privileged to be selected as a research assistant at SIT in 2018. Our time involved trips to the Loky Manambato area, Marojejy Protected Area, and finally Cap Est. Every step of our trip was explained in a PowerPoint presentation by the project coordinator before we left. I noticed that the timeline was exactly as explained. For example, the time we had lunch and took breaks at the exact locations we were told. It wasn’t perfect, but it taught me the importance of planning ahead.
When we arrived at the Loky Manambato protected area, we worked on lemur observation using transects and plant studies. We also conducted focus groups with local communities. Each time we came back from the field, we had 30 minutes to prepare a presentation and 15 minutes to present it in front of our peers, advisors, and teachers. Under the leadership of those SIT students, we completed the analysis of our research project, created the PowerPoint, and delivered the presentation in under 50 minutes. Wow! I couldn’t believe it was achievable. I remember in school we were given research projects with two weeks' deadlines, yet we still couldn’t complete them. This experience taught me that no matter how much time you are given, if you do not value it, you will never get anything done.
-In High School, Specifically in 12th Grade: We had a history teacher who was very strict about time. Her name was Sylvie. The first time we had class, we started at 2 p.m. Every student had already been warned that anyone who entered the classroom after her couldn’t attend the class, even if they were just a minute late. I showed up just behind her, and, like many other students, I was denied entry to the class that day. That moment gave me a valuable perspective on time. I never arrived late again after that. There were times I was late, but it got better from then on.
She remained strict about time throughout the semester, but after realizing that almost half of the students couldn’t attend her class due to her rules, she relaxed her policy. It changed to "Anyone who arrives after 30 minutes cannot attend class," but many people still failed to make it on time. Then she said one day, “You lack discipline. What can I do for you? This is for your own good. I tried to relax my policy, but you still come late. So even if I asked you to come at 12 p.m. instead of 2 p.m., you would still come late.”
I may forget the lessons about World War II, but I will never forget the wisdom I learned from her. Miss Sylvie, if you are reading this blog, THANK YOU for the valuable lesson on time.