If you know me at all, you probably already know this: I'm always late.
I was late to classes. I was late to dinners. I was late to news meetings (sorry David). I was late to my Bio 118 exam-three hours late to be exact, but don't worry I still got to take it. I was late to purchase my cap and gown (still need to pick those up). I was late in studying for my MCAT-let's hope I'm not three hours late to this exam. I was late in confirming that I'm writing a senior column, and of course, late in turning it in.
I'm not proud of being late, and I know it's bad etiquette. So I want to first apologize for all those times you had to wait for me. I really am sorry. But now you know it was nothing personal, just a bad habit I've been trying to kick for years. I probably gave you a number of excuses why I was late: caught up in a meeting, traffic, couldn't find parking, got lost, overslept, didn't hear my alarm or simply lost track of time. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't lie to you-those things really happened. But when it comes down to it, there are no good excuses. I am responsible for my own time.
I like to say I'm five minutes late to life (figuratively, not literally). Just one-twelfth of an hour: not long enough for you to hate me but just long enough for it to be noticeable.
And I am five minutes late to life. I figured out how to do high school my freshman year, of college. I figured out my editor platform, two years after it was my chance to run. I barely made the final deadline to declare a major and just barely finished my major (of 10 classes) this semester. I have a vague idea of what my passion in life is. I'm starting to know who I am.
I know what you're probably thinking: It's all about perspective and experience.
And of course it is. But when you're in that moment, when everyone else seems to be in perfect pace with life, it's hard not to ask-is it just me?
It wasn't until senior year, when life beyond Duke came knocking on the door, that I realized how many of my fellow Dukies are in the same boat as me. Sure, there are those who graduated early, who have known what they want to be since kindergarten. But the truth is, most of us are clueless, which would make all of us barely (if even) late.
Time is precious-especially at Duke-and with any limited resources we need a proper triaging process. So this is what I figured out: It's okay to be late, as long as I have a good reason for it. And none of the reasons I listed above are; those are excuses, not reasons. What I mean is, it's a matter of how I spend the time and not always about meeting deadlines (a statement that does not apply to article deadlines and news budget).
And some things in life don't have deadlines. It's never too late to start meeting people-I met some of my favorite people senior year; it's never too late to catch up with an old friend; it's never too late to say you're sorry; it's never too late to learn something new; it's never too late to try something new; it's never too late to fall in love; it's never too late to start caring about others.
But then again, just because there's no deadline, it doesn't mean you should wait longer than you need to. Don't rush but don't twaddle either-because, let's face it, being late is just bad etiquette. (And there is karma-I used to never turn my stories in on time, making my news editor's job just a little more difficult and guess what my news writers did to me when it was my turn to be news editor?)
So I've taken a few measures in my life to try and be on time-I've set my watch and the clocks in my car and on my nightstand all five minutes faster.
Depending on the quality of this column, you can decide for yourself whether or not it's okay to be late when turning in assignments/columns/stories/magazines/newspapers. In the meantime, I need to get on with that one last final paper....
Jiajia Zhang is a Trinity senior. She is a co-editor of Towerview and former news managing editor.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.