To The Reader’s Forum:

So many times I have told myself, “I could do so much more to make the world a better place, if only I had more time.” Well, the universe, or, to be more precise, the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service, has granted my wish! This December 31st we will all be given the gift of one extra second.

When I learned of this boon, I thought carefully about how I will spend my second. This is not a decision to be made lightly, and I would not want to leave it until the literal last minute. There are infinite possibilities for this fraction of a moment. Should I spend my second reminiscing about the beautiful memories I created this summer during gishwhes? Should I spend it sharing a photo of my dedicated LlamaArmy teammates? Should I just spend it being grateful that even though my internet stream of the New Years Eve ball drop is slow to download, thanks to the extra second I will still celebrate the beginning of 2017 in tandem with the rest of the East Coast?

After much contemplation, I have determined that I will spend this additional sixtieth of a minute sacrificing my pride for the sake of positive relationships. When my clueless friend shares a Facebook post informing us that the extra second is a sign of good luck that only occurs once every 378 years, rather than posting a debunking link to Snopes, I will merely click “Like,” and scroll on.

Mary Zdrojewski,

Jamestown