I have come to terms with most of progress being aimed at instant gratification. It's not progress unless it helps the common man get satisfaction sooner. I don't say this negatively as I am writing this and I don't have to worry about having to completely re-write it, or waiting for the mail service to deliver it to whoever reads this ,but there are some things I believe should be worked out fully if you are to appreciate them.

Among those things, the topic I have chosen to talk about is working out a problem with your car, yourself. I know it seems unnecessary with the option of a mechanic most of the time, but still, there are things to be learned from just plain old doing it yourself. For me, this has brought a sense of accomplishment or a sense of pride in the work you do. And I'm not just limiting this to automobiles as I have been a woodworker for some time and I believe these traits have carried over to the rest of my life. They show you just how much you can do by yourself, and how easy it is to learn when you have motivation. It is that sense of accomplishment I feel the coming generations will not learn as easy. The time when tools will be more automated leaving the human out and having it simultaneous with a routine chore, giving you the lackluster synonymous with pushing a button. This is why I think it is important to realize the things we take for granted because they are all we know. How often does someone reflect on how a phone works? How do you get those magical signals that send ones and zeros to a processor that screens the image to something you see. It offers you not only understanding but another way to view a problem. How else would we have had electricity in every home if we had settled, and never gave the opposition a chance? How would we have flown across the world if we had stayed on the ground? And how else would we have had to opportunity to build such a great nation, if we had settled with unfair representation?

I hope that this quality is not lost on people but it is hard to say with millennials turning more towards the digital world. With social media both bringing people together more than ever and separating them to the most opposing sides, it's clear that people are content with arguing over pineapples on pizza, rather than the real issues. Granted there are online publishers that do a great job such as the Odyssey Online at spreading the word, and that there is no problem with a little bit of distraction every once in a while, but when it takes over more and more of your day, it takes the human out of you, and that's just something that we need more of, with countless decisions being made, that constantly affect other people based all around the world.

So the note to future generations is: don't let life pass you by, just because you have the world in your pocket.