The pros and cons of social media are a hot topic these days. Many people, companies, and organizations love the convenience, availability, and connection that the social media world offers. On the other hand, there are the skeptics that abstain from getting sucked into the paradox of "likes" and "retweets." I am not here to convince you or get you to change your view on social media.

I am here to challenge you.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to completely cut social media out of my life. I didn't delete my accounts entirely, but I did delete the apps to make the social media world less accessible to me. At first, I remember thinking how stupid I was for doing this. There were times that I just laid on my bed staring at the ceiling because I couldn't think of anything better to do and I had already binge-watched all the good shows on Netflix.

As time went on and I discovered life without the constant buzz of notifications, I learned to appreciate the little things in life a lot more. For example, a friend who took the time to ask me how life was. Genuine conversations weren't as scary as they once were when I used to find my social identity in my likes. Also, I had SO MUCH free time that I started trying new hobbies, like cooking, that I had never thought about trying before.

This may not happen for everyone but at least for me, I had lost my identity on social media. When I cut it out of my life, it was like I had no other choice but to develop my identity all over again because I didn't have my "likes" and "followers" to determine how successful I was.

Overall, I have loved my new social media free life. Please, do not mistake this as a hate post against social media. It is a wonderful, magical thing and you wouldn't be reading this article right now if it didn't exist. Rather, I just want to recommend "unplugging" from this fast-paced realm for a week or a month, go do something you love and don't document a single thing. Just enjoy it for the sake of itself. Whatever it is. Go enjoy your life free from the anxiety of updating your status, determining who did or did not like your post, and being retweeted.