There comes a point in every brave man's journey, an inevitable and much anticipated pit stop just after crossing the halfway mark, where one feels that the worst is over. Where he knows he has gotten over the hump successfully, and that the absolute worst and most agonizing moments of the perilous trek are far behind him. This is a moment of genuine celebration. The fact that he has gotten this far is extremely impressive and the rest of the journey is one filled with much more happiness and relaxation than the previously.
Ya, THAT HAS HAPPENED FOR ME. In fact, IT. JUST. KEEPS. GETTING. WORSE.
We are on the 4th day, THE 4TH DAY of my technology fast and it is definitely the longest, most painful, most depressing, most boring, most monotonous, most melancholy, and most frustrating week in recent memory. Was there a single positive adjective in that overly long sentence? I don't know about you guys, but I certainly didn't see one. I'm not gonna lie and say that this is "a humbling and rewarding experience, that makes me realize the gaping flaws in our technologically based society, and makes me pine for the good 'ol days without cell-phones, television or Internet. The days when we would go outdoors and spend time in the park or at the beach, when families were closer, the environment better, and the U.S. more peaceful. I realize just how terrible this society is and how our fall from grace is one of great, great melancholy". I'm not gonna say that because it's a heaping pile of BS. I did not go into this project because I wanted to realize "how great" not having technology is and how we have forgotten that as a society. No, Technology is freakin awesome and I knew that going in and BOY do I know that right now. I did this because I knew I would suffer and it would legitimately affect me and how I go about with my everyday life. And, ya it has. The only positive thing I can get out of this is that I've been getting more sleep, since there is no iPhone 4S to distract me in the late hours of the night.
But, I feel so "out of it", so to speak. I feel like I'm a strange alien creature, walking among immortal, all knowing beings. Since these beings have phones, and computers and television and iPads and what not, they are heavily "in the know" like I used to be. I wake up every morning thinking "there's probably some really awesome, or really important news flowing around the Internet right now. Do I know what it is? Of course not! Will I ever find out? Probably not!" Since there is so much news and (usually) most news stays in the public eye for short amounts of time, there will be a plethora of vital information that I will go my whole life without knowing. What if some of that news could've served me well in the near future? What if me reading a certain article or watching a certain video would've inspired me to do something important, or maybe change my views on certain political or social issues? Yes, I will admit I'm being a bit hyperbolic but still, knowing that your basically detached from the world from a week feels, well, lonely. And no one wants to feel lonely.
Greetings people who DO have technology. I hope you all had just as good of a Friday as I did because mine SUCKED BALLS. If you are at all worldly you know that Friday is the start of the weekend. Ahh, the weekend, a time that all adolescents and teenagers alike wait the entire week for. A time for relaxation, minimal homework, and most importantly to watch TV, play on phones, and use the computer. So you could say I wasn't exactly excited for this weekend. Not in the slightest.
The school days, again are certainly not to bad since phones are only use periodically at school as supposed to home which is like 70% of the time. But something happened today where I knew, for a fact, that the universe was against me. That it (the universe) believed that I, quite simply, haven't suffered enough. That moment happened today around 10:30 A.M. in my Spanish 4 class. We had just finished taking a quiz about an article involving FACEBOOK (this has just been a really crappy week) and, like after Tuesday's math test (Day 1), I sat there awkwardly tapping my fingers, as I made quick glances at my fellow classmates, who stared blankly into their smart phones. The story you are about to hear is absolutely, 100% true. After the test, our teacher, Profe Windburne, pulls up a PowerPoint, that says, in black, bold, italicized letters "TECHNOLOGY" but in Spanish of course. You've gotta to be kidding. Then she starts asking us questions like "How often do you use your cellphone", and "Are you addicted to your cellphone"? And I'm thinking "Almost every hour of every day" and "Very", as answers to those two questions. She then, and I swear I am not making this up, asks us "How would you feel if you couldn't use your phone for a week".
I knew, right then and there, the universe hated me. That the panel of gods who hate teenagers addicted to their cellphones were taking advantage of me, and were using this as an opportunity for torture. Well guess what guys?? You won! I hate this! And I freakin hate Spanish class! (I already hated Spanish but this solidifies that fact even more).
Something I also did today was...read. What?! What???!!!! WHATTTTT???!!! Reading???!! What is this newfangled READING you speak of??!! Basically it's been a long time since I've read. Too long. And I know that it's been a long time since many of my friends have read as well. I will say, if there's any negative impact that technology has had on society, it's limiting the amount of books read by children each year. Reading is important, and can also be incredibly powerful, or fun, or sad, or funny, and many times it can be all of them at once. If there's anything I will try to do more often after the conclusion of this project, it's most definitely reading.
Well by Jove, I believe we've reached the end of Day 4. Stay tuned as I chronicle what is to sure be the most boring and uneventful weekend of all time.
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