A few weeks ago, I was talking to one of my friends on the phone. I was driving home from HEB and had a few minutes to talk so I figured it was a good time to catch up.

We talked for the duration of the drive home, but still had more to talk about, so when I got home, I proceeded to take the groceries in while I was talking to her. I pulled one of those pro-multitasker moves where you carry six grocery bags on each arm and then put the phone to your shoulder.

I totally pulled it off. I opened the back gate, unlocked the door, and even started placing the grocery bags on the counter all while juggling a pretty intense phone conversation with my friend.

Then all of the sudden the phone started maneuvering out of place between my shoulder and head. I tried so hard to stop the inevitable from happening, but I just couldn’t hold it in place any longer.

It happened. The phone fell to the ground. Embarrassingly enough, my first concern was that my friends would think I had hung up one her. I was not expecting to see what I saw next.

But alas, there it was. The once perfectly clear and smooth iPhone, shattered. I held back the tears knowing that I relied the information to my friend on the line. I told her I loved her and her life wouldn’t fall apart when I hung up (even though she and I both knew it would).

I quickly attempted to calm myself down and remind myself that it was not the end of the word, it was just a cracked screen, and I would get the phone fixed. (Side note: luckily I had found some extra cash as I was moving from my apartment that week and this fact kept me more reassured that it would be okay.)

I went to the sketchy phone-fixer shop here in cstat to see what they could do for my poor little iPhone. Much to my surprise, the cost was way more than I could afford at the moment, so I said “see ya!” and walked out.

Had the phone not worked at all, I probably would have spent the money to get it fixed right then. But, though it wasn’t pretty to look at and it was really hard to see any material on the screen, it still functioned.

It’s been three weeks since I have had a cracked phone. And when I say cracked, I mean shattered. Maybe part of the reason is that I haven’t had the money to spend to fix it or the time to take it in, but honestly, a majority of the reason is simply the fact that it hinders me from using my phone.

I’m serious. Sometimes it hurts to touch the screen because of the occasional glass shards that flake off, I often times have to strain my eyes to see any pictures on Instagram, and it’s a pain to try to text.

Shattered iPhones are not pretty; people always seem to gasp, “what happened?” in shock and disbelief at the horror of the cracked screen. Yeah, I agree. Broken phones aren’t pretty. But I guarantee ¾ of you have cracked your iPhone screen at some point in time.

Don’t get me wrong, I will get it fixed. But for now, I am realizing the beauty in the shattered screen. I have found that in the past whenever I am bored, don’t want to do my work, or I’m in an uncomfortable situation, the first thing I tend to do is grab my phone. I enjoy the distraction; it takes me to this world of perfection we see on Instagram and Facebook and we forget about the awkward situation we are presently in.

That’s what social media is for anyway. In it’s very nature, it is a communication tool that allows the users to see highlight reels of each other’s lives. However, it is not an accurate depiction of the realities life will present.

The shattered screen forces me to be present in my life even when that life may be uncomfortable, awkward or unfamiliar. And y'all, it took a broken iPhone that costs me $200 to fix to truly realize this fact about myself and our modern world.

I say "truly realize," because I have known the distraction phone presents, but never have owned up to or acted upon it. However, this situation has forced me to admit to myself the hold my phone often has on me.

I don't want to be caught up in a world of falsity that social media (and I would argue, even texting) presents. I want to be fully here in this world; I want to be generous with my time, with my story and with my thoughts and I want to do that in person—face to face, not phone to phone.