At the dawn of this new year, the first virality of 2026 began to take form.
365 buttons. Essentially, a girl on TikTok said she was buying 365 buttons for the new year to be more conscious of time passing, but did not clarify what she was actually doing with the buttons, replying to a comment with, “hey so it actually only has to make sense to me for me to do it and I don’t feel like explaining it to anyone else.”
Some people said they understood what she meant, others assumed she was going to put them in a jar, and others simply adopted her response as their new mantra.
I fell somewhere in between, not really moved by her response, but not really apathetic, either.
It has been drilled into my head, by old teachers, by social media, by my overly nostalgic friends (guilty), and by every clock, that life is passing me by. Time is moving so fast, the days are blurring by, etc.
I have done everything in my power to be more conscious of time, but I have a different problem in mind.
Is time passing really that terrible?
I have become obsessed over the past three years with soaking up every last bit of each moment and the in between. Obsessed with not looking ahead, but instead staying in the present. An obsession with holding onto every last second.
A lesson I am slowly starting to learn is that time passes all the same. Whether you savor it, despise it, or pretend it’s not happening, time remains linear. Objectively, I knew this before, of course, but it’s something I’m still wrapping my head around. I thought I could cheat the system if I seized the day.
My mindset has been so entrenched in these ideas that I stopped looking forward to things. I thought I wasn’t supposed to. However, it’s not inherently wrong for some days to be more exciting.
The biggest takeaway I’ve noticed is that the counter-effect of living in the moment is that the bad moments feel eternal. Recently, in the midst of seasonal depression, I have noticed myself spiraling in trying to make my immediate surroundings ideal. Sometimes, that’s just not the truth. Sometimes, hope has to come from somewhere else, or from the future.
Essentially, I have no plans to buy buttons anytime soon. January was a long trek, and maybe February will fly by instead. However fast or slow the days feel, looking forward to the weekend won’t hurt.
Being conscious of time can definitely be helpful. Take photos, journal about your day, and give yourself ways to remember. And if you have a bad day, it’s okay. Think about the future. Let the time pass by, guilt-free.
Buy buttons if you want, but try not to feel too daunted by the fact that you are running out. It is natural, it is scary, and it is bound to happen.
