Be Our Guest / Briana Stewart

Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow

“Tomorrow’s way too far away; But we young right now; So get up right now; ‘Cause all we got is right now.”
—lyrics from the song “Right Now” by Rihanna

Whenever I hear Rihanna’s immensely popular song, “Right Now,” the only thing I can think to do is switch the station right now. The upbeat remix from David Guetta is all right, but the message and lyrics of the song are all wrong.

Actually, most songs on the radio today are sending similar, corrupt messages to the youth. Live today, forget tomorrow, the future can wait.

Now I find this idea of “living for the moment” to be one of the most blatant double standards in our society, possibly ever.

As a student, I am constantly being told by my superiors to plan for my future, but the media tell me quite the opposite.

The “live for now” mindset is appalling and contradictory to everything I have been taught by my family and the Catholic faith. As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls” (#2280).

Having the mindset to live only for the current day, hour or even minute conflicts with the Church’s belief in the longevity of one’s life.

Christ gave us life so we could live: take our children to school, discover our vocation in life, love others with the selflessness portrayed by Jesus. Basically, most people today only care about the present, and indirectly themselves, when in fact the future is what their focus should be.

Whenever I think of this mindset, I am reminded of a day not too long ago when I learned that most people are stuck believing the future is “way too far away.”

While at lunch with my best friends at Cardinal Ritter Jr./Sr. High School in Indianapolis, the topic of class rings came up.

A good friend, Emily, happened to be wearing her beautiful lavender ring, and we inquired why she decided to buy hers.

As we went around the table, people were saying things like “Everyone else got one,” and “It would be good for graduation.” Finally, it was my turn to explain my reasoning.

I told my friends that I was first interested in the memorabilia because my cousins had once shown me theirs; I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

With that experience in mind, I told my friends that I bought my class ring so that when I grow up, my children will be able to see it and share the same wonder that I did when I saw my cousins’ rings. It would be a piece of my past for them to cherish.

To my surprise, my three closest friends just stared at me, dumbfounded. They did not understand how I could even fathom thinking about my children yet, and how my decisions today will affect their tomorrow.

The future is what holds mystery and entices and inspires all kinds of people. In this day and age, the future is forgotten because the present preoccupies all thought and action.

But is that how we are to live? Should we not be planning ahead, not only for our earthly life, but our heavenly one as well? Life is all about advancement—in society, relationships and faith.

As Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham have said, “Why not think about times to come?”

So become unstuck in time. The present is fleeting; the future is waiting.
 

(Briana Stewart, an intern for The Criterion, is a senior at Cardinal Ritter Jr./Sr. High School in Indianapolis.) †