About Time Moves Slow

Time Moves Slow is a story I wrote that recently got accepted in Arrow Rock, my school’s literary journal.

Time Moves Slow is about change. I wrote it for my Creative Writing class in which my professor encouraged us to try out ekphrastic poetry. I was searching through pictures on my phone and came across a picture of me and some work friends. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it sort of symbolized the last moments before a high amount of changes in my life occurred.

After the photo, I switched job positions, I started summer classes for college, my family struggled with poverty, five or six things that were vital to our way of life stopped working, I bought a car, I experienced heartbreak, my great grandma died, and so much more. Some of the change was good, but a lot of it was bad and still sticks with me even today.

I thought a lot about what a photograph actually is. It’s a snapshot of a memory, something that can remind you of a moment, but can’t actually replicate it. There’s this feeling of loss because time never stops moving, and while photographs can give you a reminder of what you felt, they can’t actually capture the feelings of that moment.

I tried to encapsulate the way that time rushes by when your life is falling apart. It’s like so much is happening all at once that you can’t focus on any one thing. It’s hard to explain it, but I hope that it comes across well in the piece.

The title is inspired by a song I like called “Time Moves Slow.” Music is a part of me and I constantly have lyrics floating through my brain. The song is themed around unrequited love and the pain of accepting that it isn’t meant to be. It’s about letting go and the pain of moving on. For me, my piece is more about being forced to leave a happy moment behind and the idea of yourself being left behind by time itself. Time doesn’t stop and you must leave some things behind to keep up with it, if that makes any sense.

I’m really proud of the piece, although I’m not sure what genre it goes in. Creative non-fiction perhaps? I don’t think self-expression always needs a label, but they’re helpful.

That’s about all I have to say. Thanks for reading 👍🏾