The power to connect with others is perhaps the strongest force we possess as humans. When thinking about what it means to connect with someone, the first thing that personally comes to mind is connecting via media. In this day and age, perhaps some of the strongest connections we are able to fortify come through the use of technology. This idea is often times frowned upon, but what exactly does it mean to connect in this day and age?
On my ACT this weekend, the writing prompt was something along the lines of "Is 'newness' a threat to our societal values? Is the impermanence of an ever-changing market of products something to fear, or should we embrace the avoidance of stagnation?" This question raised a lot of interesting points, but I felt particularly inclined to focus on one. I took my soft-lead #2 pencil and wrote four pages about why the progression of consumer goods is beneficial because the ultimate goal of society is not one of perfection, but simply one of improvement. During this frantic forty-minute writing spree, one piece of writing I've had saved in my notes in the past came to mind over and over again.
"I swear to every heaven ever imagined,
if I hear one more dead-eyed hipster
tell me that art is dead, I will personally summon Shakespeare
from the grave so he can tell them every reason
why he wishes he were born in a time where
he could have a damn Gmail account.
The day after I taught my mother
how to send pictures over Iphone she texted
me a blurry image of our cocker spaniel ten times in a row.
Don’t you dare try to tell me that that is not beautiful.
But whatever, go ahead and choose to stay in
your backwards-hoping-all-inclusive club
while the rest of us fall in love over Skype.
Send angry letters to state representatives,
as we record the years first sunrise so
we can remember what beginning feels like when
we are inches away from the trigger.
Lock yourself away in your Antoinette castle
while we eat cake and tweet to the whole universe that we did.
Hashtag you’re a pretentious asshole.
Van Gogh would have taken 20 selflies a day.
Sylvia Plath would have texted her lovers
nothing but heart eyed emojis when she ran out of words.
Andy Warhol would have had the worlds weirdest Vine account,
and we all would have checked it every morning while we
Snap Chat our coffee orders to the people
we wish were pressed against our lips instead of lattes.
This life is spilling over with 85 year olds
rewatching JFK’s assassination and
7 year olds teaching themselves guitar over Youtube videos.
Never again do I have to be afraid of forgetting
what my fathers voice sounds like.
No longer must we sneak into our families phonebook
to look up an eating disorder hotline for our best friend.
No more must I wonder what people in Australia sound like
or how grasshoppers procreate.
I will gleefully continue to take pictures of tulips
in public parks on my cellphone
and you will continue to scoff and that is okay.
But I hope, I pray, that one day you will realize how blessed
you are to be alive in a moment where you can google search
how to say I love you in 164 different languages."
http://befitzgeraldwriting.tumblr.com/post/8429408...
People often discredit relationships formed online because of the distrust that can lie whilst hiding behind a screen, as seen on the hit TV show Catfish and in many other circumstances. That aside, we cannot deny the value of online relationships. This skepticism is a dangerous breeding ground for those who are ready to jump at the opportunity to be distrusting of their fellow humans. While I am not advising one to be naive when it comes to online relationships, I am advising that faith and trust be restored in the idea of forming bonds, in hopes of strengthening the basis of humanity. If we live our lives with the fear that who we bring into our lives may not be completely honest, we will exist in a state of constant doubt and miss out on the possibility of so many good things happening.
Please, do not fall prey to the idea that meaningful connections can only be formed away from a screen. We exist in a world where connections are presented to us by almost any way imaginable, and all we have to do is go out and take these opportunities by the reigns. Reach out. You never know what's waiting on the other side. Someone could be reaching back.
If you still prefer to go out and meet people the old fashioned way, by all means, do so! Talk to the person standing next to you in line. Talk to the barista when they hand you your morning coffee. Talk to anyone and everyone as if they could end up being your soulmate. Who knows? Maybe they could be. Give life a chance to do its thing. It has a funny way of working out. Make every single moment worth it, and don't be discouraged by anything, because if you deny yourself the pleasures others can bring, you are closing yourself off and denying yourself one of the most precious entities imaginable- a relationship. (And let me be clear that that doesn't always mean a romantic relationship. I'm talking about friendships and all the like.)
You are alive in a moment where you can google search how to say I love you in 164 different languages and you are alive in a moment where you can talk and interact and create relationships with others that can be mutually beneficial.
