Blog #13

Twenty Four hours without using technology.  I there is no way I can do that.

That is all I could think about when I saw this option for this blog.  I really believed that there is no way I could do this.  Jill Lazzari and I were talking about it on Monday and she made it seem like it could actually be easy.  The only problem is I live on my phone.  It’s my alarm clock, it reminds me of when to go to class, club meetings, I get my e-mails, Facebook updates, and Twitter updates all on my phone.  No one really calls me on my phone so I knew that wouldn’t be a problem.  All I could think about was there was going to be some kind of emergency.  I decided to get on Facebook real quick and let all my friends and family know what I was doing. So, at 1 A.M. on Tuesday morning, I prayed that there wouldn’t be an emergency for the next 24 hours and then I started my technology free journey.    

My first attempt failed. Tuesday is my busiest day.  I have class all day long so I had no problem going to my classes without using any technology all day.  After class, I decided to go to Wal*Mart. I got half was there and realized that I had been singing along to the radio the whole time.  I was so upset.  Thirteen hours without technology and I have to start all over? It is an understatement to say I was not happy.  So, I got back to my dorm at 2 o’clock and started all over again.

Thankfully my roommate was at work so I didn’t have to worry about the TV being on when I arrived home.  First I decided to clean our dorm.  This was hard because I always listen my iPod when I clean, and I got bored real quick.  I still cleaned the whole place top to bottom which took two hours.  I was really hoping that it had been longer when I looked at my watch, but sadly, it wasn’t.

Now I’m wandering around my dorm trying to find something to do.  I wanted to write in my journal, but my journal is on my computer, so I wasn’t able to do that.  Then I realized that I have a whole book case of books I have barely touched this semester.  I picked up my half finished book and read. And read, and read.  Thankfully I’m a slow reader cause when I finished the book it was 8 o’clock.  I decided to take a shower, get something to eat, and go to bed; which is weird in itself, because I never get to bed before 12 A.M. these days.  

I woke up at 8 o’clock the next morning.  I went to bed at 10 the night before, so that’s 10 hours. I can’t even remember the last time I got 10 hours of sleep in one night.  I am so thankful for those 10 hours though.  Now I only have 9 hours left.  I am in the home stretch, and so happy about it.   

After my morning class I went to the library.  I was planning of studying for physics by doing some problems from the book, but I can’t use my calculator.  I read over my physics notes for about 30 minutes and got so bored I had to do something else.  I decided to move to some homework for my second class.  Forth-five minutes later I realized that I was staring out the huge widow in front of me, and had barely even looked at the book in front of me.  I looked up at the clock behind me and realized I had five minutes to get across campus for my next class.  I wasn’t too happy about that.  I tend to lose myself all the time when I’m studying, listening to music, or randomly staring out the window, so I have an alarm on my phone to remind me to go to class.  

Being without was phone and computer was really hard.  I can live without the TV and radio, but my music is really important to me.  It was really hard to go without my music.  I use music to lift me up and make me happy when I feel down.  Being without my computer was just as hard.  I’m not sure what I would do if I didn’t have my own computer.  Being without my phone was the hardest.  I live on my phone.  I have so many calendar reminders on my phone to remind me of things I have to do daily, and I can never remember them all without my phone.

After my last class I only had two hours left.  When I got back to the dorm, my roommate was home and she had the TV on.  For a brief second I freaked out.  I did not make it 22 hours to just have to start over.  Then I realized that she turned the TV on, not me so I’m all good.  The funny thing is I didn’t even watch the TV; I picked up another book and started reading again.  I don’t think I would have even realized that it was 3 o’clock, if my roommate hadn’t started a countdown, haha. 

I’m glad that I made it though.  I had a feeling that I could always do it, I just knew it would be difficult.  I don’t feel like I take advantage my technology at all.  I do feel that some people wouldn’t be able to function without their phones, iPods, radio, computers or even their gaming systems.  I think it would be very hard for students these days to take an e-media fast.  As the years go on we use more and more technology in our daily lives.  As the years go on we will rely more and more on technology.  I hope that we never see the day where we are completely dependent on technology we use.  

I think it would be a fun activity for everyone to try.  I know that not everyone would succeed-especially on the first try like me.  I think that everyone could benefit from not using any technology for a day.