Since the very beginning of civilization, people have endeavored to attempt to measure time. Some came up with sun dials, others with sand glasses and in our modern world, we have hours, minutes and seconds calculated for us by digital clocks. It must have been a jolly invention for those who came up with it as a useful tool to measure the intangible. But to a student dreading the moments till he/she leaves home, time is the cruelest thing.

I’m sitting in a boxed up plane with the craziest back-ache (courtesy of the concrete-like chairs) with frayed nerves at the wailing children, looking out of the window of what must be the millionth plane I’ve been on in the past two months alone. Everywhere around me there’s something that can tell me how much time we’ve spent on board or how much we have left; my laptop, my watch, my phone, my screen and the unfortunate air hostess that marches up and down the aisles.

I hate watches. Unfortunately I cannot seem to live without them, but I hate them nonetheless. I think every student studying abroad must feel the same way. No one appreciates or perhaps realizes the value of time as much as we do. No one like us appreciates the difference one day or half a day can make when you’re at home rather than at whatever miserable place you’re headed.

The ironic thing about it is, 99% of us wanted to leave home so badly to start our new lives so far away to get an education, and once we’re there, once we’ve looked around  and realized that all these beautiful streets and buildings and gardens somehow cannot replace the somewhat littered streets of our own neighborhood, our wonderfully sandy nature and safe homes, we ache. We ache to be back in our kuwaiti bedrooms with everyone waiting on our every need, we ache for the warmth of our mother’s arms and our father’s smiles, and I ache for noise.

Strange, yes. As much as my little tyrant brothers manage to drive me insane, I miss their noise. I miss their cheeky smiles and pertinent questions. I miss it all. ..because in a few hours, I’ll be back, and I’ll be dragging up my bags all on my own, and I’ll open the door to my apartment, and there will be.. silence. Silence and me. Silence, me and probably a whole lot of rain or snow. How uplifting -.-

Scary as it may be, we realize the importance of making every moment we spend at home the fullest because only we understand that, god forbid, we may not find everyone here when we come back. We know how important it is to actually tell our families exactly how much we love them, because we don’t get enough time to show them. I guess like all things in life, a good education has its price.

Sad thing is, if only a similar education was available in our own country, we wouldn’t have to go so far. Although living abroad has it’s many perks and educates us well in life, most of us would rather be home. Yes, we have many universities and colleges in Kuwait, but how many of them actually have proper accreditation? How many of them actually care about the student’s brain rather than their paycheck? NONE. Kuwait’s secondary education has become a commercial industry and Kuwait University is a completely different shameful story. We have professors hitting on students and vice versa and professors who don’t even have real certificates! Scandalous, but very true. Many teaching at Kuwait University have bought their accreditation from Egypt and the likes and are now given the responsibility of educating our youth. If I were to write of KU’s flaws and corruption, I don’t think this post would ever end.

– Apparently there’s less than 40 minutes to landing now. Great, another timely interruption. Time hates me.

For those of you smugly sitting in your homes with everyone around, be very grateful for living with your families. Make the best of it. For those who, like me, are forced to live elsewhere, pick up the phone and tell your family how much you love them, and when you’re home, treasure every moment you get. Time flies. Literally.

You never know when or how or where a loved one may be taken. Time is short and evil and before you know it, it would have robbed you of your youth and all that comes with it. Be stronger than time. Be prepared.

Never leave home without hugging your parents however awkward it may feel at first. Never leave or let them go or sleep with them mad at you or hurt. Because when the sun dawns, you may not get that chance to say “I’m sorry”. Don’t leave your siblings thinking that they don’t matter or that they’re unappreciated. If you’re mad at anyone, don’t carry that hurt around. It’s too heavy and it will eventually break your back. Forgive. Because forgiveness is not saying “what you did was okay”, it’s saying: “what you did is not okay, but I can move on and value better things”.

Nothing is worth a rift with those closest to your hearts. Nothing. Don’t wait till it’s too late to realize that. Live, laugh, forgive, forget, and most important of all, no matter what, never go without saying “I love you”..