Somehow, these miniscule hand-held computers have taken over our world. With a click of a button, one is able to communicate with a friend who lives in Spain, get directions to the other side of the country, or watch a video on the current news in Russia. Although these devices were initially developed to connect us, it has unfortunately disconnected us from reality.
The term "going to a party" is now equated with surfing the internet on one's phone in the presence of others partaking in the same activity. "Hanging out with friends" is only associated with one's evidence or lack thereof on one's Snapchat story because in this day in age, without the proof, did it ever really happen?
While on a bike ride, I decided that this time I would choose not to embrace the sounds of nature and instead engage with my music. Without having anywhere to put my cell phone, my source of music, I decided to put it inside the basket attached to my bike. I pressed "shuffle" on my Spotify playlist and trusted Spotify to provide me with satisfying music for the duration of my journey, without considering the consequences of my bare cell phone in a metal basket for two hours or more.
Throughout my bike ride, I noticed that my cell phone was bouncing around in the metal basket as if it was a kernel of popcorn, ricocheting off the sides of a pot while making homemade popcorn. I didn't think twice of this because my cell phone somehow had managed to survive and adapt to my careless ways of continuously dropping it on anything one could think of: concrete, rug, tile, etc.
However, to my unfortunate surprise, when I picked up my phone to change the song, the only thing that lighted up on my screen was an array of colorful stripes, almost as if I had suddenly opened a small window into my own personal carnival. At that point, I knew my phone would never work again, and I would need to replace it.
Initially, I was heartbroken. My phone became my best friend, someone I could always turn to, at any time of the day or night. It cheered me up during times of melancholy; it entertained me through times of boredom. Nevertheless, I faced reality and came to terms with not having my phone for the next several days.
The next several days turned into two weeks. Those two weeks were the the weeks of my final exams in which I needed to desperately focus in order to achieve maximum marks on my final exams as a senior. I knew that my cell phone would be the main obstacle because, like I said before, there was an endless abundance of different things I could do on my phone. But, this turned out to be the biggest blessing in my entire senior year.
Without my cellphone, those two weeks became the most productive time ever since owning a cell phone. Those times after school, every day, when I would surf the Internet, Instagram and Facebook were vital hours in which I had the ability to review crucial material for my exams.
Additionally, even though I originally thought that I would need my classmate's help in order to finish studying for these exams, I came to realize that I was already equipped with everything I needed in order to be successful.
I began to realize that I had tricked myself into believing I needed my cellphone in order to complete my studies because of the easy access to my companions. While classmates and companions are very essential aspects of anyone's life, there is an extent to which we need the virtual reality version of them; sending and receiving hundreds of text messages had definitely reached my limit.
I noticed that on the day of my exams, while lingering nervously outside of the testing site, I was forced to become more social. No longer did I have the comfort of my phone when the person I had previously been conversing with had moved on to discuss topics with others.
Instead of hiding my uneasiness behind my cell phone, I began to take refuge in the reality and comfort of speaking face to face with a classmate, where one could see each other's facial expressions, body language, and other nonverbal aspects of communication, something completely impossible while messaging or texting.
Although I eventually bought a new phone because of the lack of communication I had with my family, I had come to terms with my precious two weeks without my cell phone. I've even come to consider taking periodic breaks from my cell phone.
