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The Benefits of Time Travel

When I first heard about the app “Timehop,” I had really mixed feelings.

 

If you haven’t heard of it, it does what it sounds like: hops through time. It pools together a conglomerate of your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), and each year it will tell you what you’ve posted on these platforms on this day in years past. And if you haven’t heard of Timehop, I’m sure you’ve come into contact with the Facebook feature that does the same thing.

 

At first, I hated the idea of Timehop simply because I didn’t want to have everything that I’ve put up to be accessible in one place.

 

On one hand, I mean, it’s just embarrassing! Sometimes, it feels like I’m looking back on someone else’s life. Someone way different from me.

 

The message is clear: you can’t escape past you. But I’ve chosen to change my perspective on Timehop.

 

Because on the other hand, as embarrassing as it can be to see that I 0nc3 wr0t3 lyk dys, it can also be heartwarming and eye-opening. Like when it reminds me of a great friendship, a family trip, something that made me laugh.

 

It also can remind me of how far I’ve come. Often, when we’re in happy times, we forget the bad times that led us there. But Timehop takes us right back, whether we want to go there or not.

 

For example, take my current job. I will often refer to this job as my “dream job” and I’m not kidding (and I’m not just writing this because my boss is reading it). But it didn’t just appear out of thin air. And I never want to forget how blessed I am to be here.

 

Because Timehop has been reminding me lately that this time last year I was all over the place. I was posting pictures of the beautiful campus on which I worked, trying to make myself love where I was. Secret: I did not love where I was. I was praying a lot that things would get better and actively searching for new opportunities, but I felt kind of abandoned by God. I mean, I had just graduated, spent a few months unemployed, and when I finally found part-time employment, I hated it. It felt like a horrible joke. I felt like my life was at a standstill, and I had no idea where I was headed.

 

But by the grace of God, a few people mentioned this job listing, and I figured “there’s probably something to this. Let me apply.” Here I am, a little less than a year later, having made it out of that rut.

 

The things that I see on Timehop, as unwanted as they can sometimes be, stand to remind me that life can change through faith, trust, and prayer. This doesn’t always ensure that things will get better, that things will change immensely, but even the little things count sometimes.

 

It’s hard to see these types of things from day to day, but I bet that if you looked back on where you’ve been and compared that to where you are now, you would see major changes.

 

Challenge yourself to find something to be grateful for. Even a change from who you were, how you thought, or where your faith laid a few years ago is important. And if you don’t believe you have a lot to be grateful for, download Timehop.

 

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Maria is the Administrative Coordinator of Y2AM. She is a New York native who isn't completely sold on the city's charm, yet has never left. A proud graduate of Fordham University and occasional runner, she is happiest whenever chocolate, a sale, or a good Gilmore Girls reference is involved.

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