One of my absolute favorite memories of high school is definitely going to concerts and seeing singers such as Justin Bieber, Cody Simpson, One Direction and other teenage heartthrobs I was utterly infatuated with. I went to almost every single one of these tween-fests with my best friend Taylor and our Dads, who both deserved Dad of the Year for enduring the never ending squealing of preteen girls who were at the pinnacle of their sugar highs. I clearly remember an instance when we were finally in our seats, waiting on this magical concert to finally start. Keep in mind we had been daydreaming about this concert on an hourly basis for months now. The pure bliss was momentarily snatched from me when I noticed my Blackberry Pearl phone was low on battery. I began to panic about not being able to film my favorite singer or take a million pictures of him with his to-die-for swishy hair. I decided to postpone this particular apprehension of mine until later, but of course I was back to constantly checking my phone just minutes later. I had a mental list of songs I just HAD to film, and therefore I was slightly stressed about preserving my phone’s battery. How concerning is it that on the best day of my life (at this point), I still remember myself, even as a carefree eighth grader, developing anxiety and fretting over something as insignificant as the status of my phone? Foreshadowing at its finest.

It is astonishing to see how quickly cell phones have taken over our lives. Look around you. It does not matter where you are, whether it is walking to a class on campus or lying by the pool with a group of friends. I would bet my right arm that more than half of the people you see are glaring at their phone screen, with their fingers typing faster than an Olympic track star who just downed a 5 Hour Energy. Our tech-savvy world is extremely dependent on cell phones. Although they have brought a multitude of advantageous factors to us, they are also gradually changing our lives and the way we think.

My mom sent me a video a few years ago that has stuck with me to this day. It focuses on the central idea of how we miss out on so much in life, all because we will not get off our phones. Our ability to be present and live in the moment is slowly but surely diminishing right before our eyes.

If you are walking to class, look up! I am the worst at staying on my phone and not even noticing the people around me. The beauty around you is undeniably stunning and deserves to be noticed. This very day has been specifically planned out for you in such a way that it is discourteous to God if you choose to waste it by looking at the piece of technology in your hand. The day that lies before us has the potential of being the best one yet. You have the ability to totally alter somebody’s day, yet you may be completely missing it thanks to this little electronic distraction. I cannot tell you how many times my day has been made solely because of the fact that someone went out of their way to be nice to me. You have a unique path paved specifically for you and only you, where you will pass various people who are there for a reason. Maybe today is the day where you will pass your future best friend or husband. Maybe you will come across a stranger in a moment when they need a smile, or even a simple hello, more than ever. There are so many reasons people are put into our paths, whether it is for a second or a lifetime, and we need to be more present in life. It totally changes my mentality on the day ahead of me if I apply this way of thinking to my life. You are here for a reason and a purpose, do not let this miniature computer interfere with the people you come into contact with.

Communication is almost a thing of the past at this point. People do not know how to interact or socialize like they used to. In our parent’s day and age, they could not turn to their phone if a situation was uncomfortable. They did not have the option of looking to see where their friends were at all times. We are becoming less and less appreciative of the world around us. We do not have a chance to buy the time back that we spend on our smartphones, and it is so scary to think about what all we have missed because we were looking down, mindlessly scrolling through meaningless newsfeeds. According to CNN, teens are spending, or wasting, around nine hours on their phone a day. I wonder what would happen if that monstrous amount of time was spent really getting to know the familiar faces around you, and not just the ones behind your cellphone’s screen. Stop stressing over your boyfriend not texting you back. Who cares if you did not get a lot of likes on your Instagram picture? Do not stalk your friends on Snapchat to see what everyone is doing tonight. Do not use your phone as a security blanket to help you escape from the people beside you. The amount of anxiety people my age have from their phones is not worth it.

The main reason I am writing this is to hold myself accountable. I am the world’s worst at being distracted with anything, let alone my phone. I want to reiterate that I am not saying we put away our troubles or forget about the positive things our phones bring us, but we as a country should take a step back, and simply breathe. We need to stop forgetting how to live and take advantage of the hundreds of opportunities laying right in front of us. Let’s be the generation of adults who bring back the face-to-face connections we once had, and give ourselves a time out from our phones, along with the anxiety it brings us. We are all here for a reason. Look up. Start living life in the real world, and stop missing out on things that actually will matter years from now.