GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's time for 'My 2 Cents.'
We are 42 days away from the first day of fall. Kids go back to school Monday. College students are already on campus. The summer is quickly coming to an end.
But my question is: did we even have summer?
It sure doesn't feel like it. Between canceled vacations, a limit on social gatherings, and pools staying closed for a good chunk of the season - spring just kind of rolled into summer and right into fall. It's kind of like when I couldn't figure out what day of the week it was at the start of the pandemic.
Time feels different this year.
It turns out science backs this up. Claudia Hammond wrote a book about it - she says it's our perception of time that feels unusual, and that's separate from the way time actually works. We aren't participating in any noteworthy or memorable activities, like vacations or special events or even sports, so there are fewer signals to our brain that time is passing and seasons and days are changing.
Plus, we are doing the same thing every day. So when we look back on the summer nothing really stands out making it seem like it flew by.
So if you're like me and mostly staying home right now, time feels different because our worlds shrunk to the bare minimum.
Interesting right?
Don't get me wrong, I will remember the Summer of 2020 for the rest of my life. I think we can all agree it will be a hard year to forget, even if we'd like to. But I can't believe it's almost over.