There comes a time in everyone’s life when they hear the overused cliche “The trouble is you think you have time” or some other overused time phrase that haunts many as they reach each a different phase of their life. Unlike these cliches, I claim that we have so much time.

This past week, a phase of my life ended. This phase, unlike many others, I wasn’t ready for. But it happened whether I was ready or not. The end of my twelve-year basketball career was something that was dreaded for a very long time. It was something that always seemed so far away. But in all honesty, it didn’t really feel like just basketball ended; it was the ending of a  twelve-year adolescent game with some of my best friends.

When I walked into my first basketball practice, I didn’t know what to think. Here I was with my cheerleading shorts on, tennis shoes, and a pink basketball. I was so confused as to why in the world I decided to try basketball. Surrounding me was my twin sister, a tall blonde, a freckled-faced red-head, and a curly-haired girl with a friendly smile on her face. I didn’t know this at the time, but these girls are the girls that I would finish with 12 years later. These girls are my best friends.

As my first night free of basketball ends, I can’t help but think of how much time I had and how much I have now. I have so much time. And for once in my life those overused cliches don’t make any sense. They seem like pointless platitudes that make life itself seem more ironic. Our life is based on time.

Time as a teenager doesn’t seem relevant, as we are always trying to looking beyond to the future and not focusing on the now. We’re so focused on going to college and getting out of high school that some might look back on it with regret, wishing they had it over, a redo – something many wish for, but no one gets.

I have so much time now- or at least that’s what it feels like. So much time to do whatever I want, but never anything to do. The first couple weeks after basketball are the longest of the year, as I have to adapt to a new schedule and a new status quo. A new status quo without basketball, an event that I never thought would end, but now it has. I have so much time now. More than I ever thought.