"Patience is a virtue." This is a phrase that I have heard throughout my childhood and one that I myself have used many times. Whenever I am told to "hurry up" or asked "What is taking so long?" my snide response is always, "Patience is a virtue.'" And it truly is, but when did it become so forgotten?

People are rarely patient anymore -- fast food, fast lifestyles. You can go online and do research in minutes that would otherwise take hours. You can get lunch at McDonald's or Wendy's and have it in minutes rather than take the time to cook or pack a meal yourself. Online dating has led to the increase of people avidly searching, rather than patiently waiting for a significant other to come into their lives. We have become so consumed with what we want our lives to be that we take shortcuts to get there, rather than enjoy life along the way. Speed and efficiency can be very good, but the fact of the matter is that if we are going all of the time, we will miss a lot in life. This is not to say that grabbing fast food every once in awhile is bad, but if that is all you eat, there will be consequences. If you spend all of your time swiping left or right on Tinder, you may not meet the wonderful girl or boy sitting next to you on the bus.

It is when we lose our patience that trouble arises -- whether it be speaking harshly to someone because you became so irritated you did not think about what you were saying, or getting impatient and buying a new car that you could not afford at the moment. We live in a "have now" culture that is very surely causing our demise. While some may call this statement overdramatic... it is the truth. The best things in life are indeed the ones worth waiting for. If we strengthen our patience that we currently seem to have forgotten, we will better be able to appreciate what we have, now and in the future.

Slowing your life down may seem old-fashioned and inefficient, but it is just a fact that we cannot run full steam all the time. Hard work is imperative, but so is appreciation and patience for the things that we want in life. As a nineteen-year-old girl, I need to understand that in time, I will get a better car, I will fall in love and I will get a job. Worrying about problems that have not arisen yet will only stress you out unreasonably. Have patience that at the right time, you will reach these life milestones that you look forward to. But also accept that they are out of our control. No matter how hard you work, you cannot make something happen prematurely. Work hard, but be patient, and do not forget to appreciate life as it is as you look at the life to come.