Look Odyssey readers, I'm not going to pretend that I'm not always on my phone. I'm not going to pretend that this generation is not obsessed with technology because we all know that the world revolves around the newest iPhone and the fastest WiFi.

*insert dramatic eye roll here*

Too many of us, including me, forget that there is a whole world outside of our smartphone screen. We get so caught up in who is sub-tweeting whom and who tagged whom in that video on Facebook that we focus more of our attention on that little box than our actual world and surroundings.

With that being said, a few days ago I turned my phone off and left it in my dorm room while I went through my classes all day (after texting my mom and telling her I hadn't died, of course). I cannot believe how many things I got done. Without having my phone as a distraction, without even having it as an option, I was able to finish all of my assignments far before I usually do. I was more motivated and more attentive to what was happening around me. That day was so, for lack of a better word, refreshing.

I remember sitting in the Cafeteria with my roommate eating lunch, just looking around at everybody and simply observing. It was incredible how many people were just sitting at a table, with multiple friends surrounding them mind you, eating in silence and scrolling through something on their phone. Why do we choose to type to people on our phones rather than just looking up and speaking to the person who is right in front of us? It's as if no matter what we are doing, no matter who we are with, we must always keep one hand free to hold our phones at all times.

So many people say they "seem lost" without their smartphones, but isn't it the opposite? Actually experiencing your surroundings will give you a better sense of reality than your iPhone ever will.

So Odyssey readers, I challenge you. Turn off your phone, put it in away, and live your life. For just a day, try and go without your precious hand magnet. Lift your face up and appreciate the people you have in your life and you're around every day. Talk in person with each other, which I know is such a foreign concept in today's day in age.

If you are somebody who says "I feel like a part of me is missing" when you don't have your phone in your hand, this will be especially helpful to you. A person shouldn't feel more fulfilled simply because they have an expensive box of technology in their hands all day.

You'll live if you don't check your Instagram feed every 10 minutes and text constantly for eight hours straight, I promise you.