A little while ago, my wonderful college who knew just what us stressed out students needed, arranged a rally of fluffy animals to come spend time with us. This was also the day that I lost my phone charger. Like some prophetic karma business, my phone died in the middle of me taking the perfect kitten Snapchat video. Oops. We all know what that means- Celine actually had to socialize with people!
At first, it all just seemed so incredibly awkward- I would mindlessly try to turn on my dead phone, look down at it expecting a text, or try to check my email. It's become such a habit to be constantly refreshing my Facebook feed or scrolling through Instagram that sometimes I'm not even aware that I'm doing it. I've been caught up in my own fast paced, technology consumed world that I forgot how nice it was to be able to have actual interactions with actual people instead of with a screen all the time. I was so blessed to be able to feel the simple excitement of holding a baby goat for the first tine in my life, to be able to snuggle with a soft kitten for 30 minutes, or to be able to crack up laughing at the cockatoo, all without feeling that impatient nudge to look at my phone.
Isn't it funny, how we roll our eyes at all the memes that are shared and complain about how many selfies are being posted, but we watch Snapchat stories in a elevator to avoid eye contact? We sigh when our phone buzzes, but we watch viral cat videos or retweet @realDonaldTrump tweets when we're sitting down having dinner with a friend? We are so busy keeping up with the Kardarshians that we forget to enjoy the irreplaceable moments with the irreplaceable people in life.
All those memes, videos, Buzzfeed quizzes- those can wait. You can find out what flavor potato chip you are later. You can revisit them any time, be it in a few weeks, in a few months, or even a few years. You can't do that in real life. You won't always get to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with someone over a warm chai, nor will you always get the chance to hear someone laugh while they sit beside you.
Sometimes, I think that spotty WiFi can actually be a good thing, because there is nothing more important than the life that is happening all around us. Why would you spend an hour of your time double-tapping pictures of friends laughing when you could be laughing with your friends in real life?
Opportunities, people, things, places- these are all things that can move on without you, and if you're too busy looking down.. You just might miss them.
