If you haven't seen the latest interactive Black Mirror episode, I highly suggest you stop what you're doing and watch it all the way through. Yes, spend the time to go back and experience all the different plot lines, play with the options, and experience how the writers of this episode did an amazing job with helping viewers visualize the butterfly effect. Every single action matters, no matter how small. From choosing which song to listen to on the bus, to choosing the way to react to a hectic situation, each choice directly affects the next.
This episode made me reflect heavily on my life and the way I've been living it. Some days I feel like my life is constantly on a loop, each morning turning into night while my schedule stays the same unchanged. This episode helped me realize that even though some days seem the same, every single decision is unique and the smallest choice can alter the direction of my entire day. It helped me reinforce the idea that more often than not, I am the only person responsible for my personal happiness. This has been a slightly difficult idea to digest since it is much easier to blame external sources for my emotions and to let negative situations that seem out of my control take over and impact my entire day.
As I've mentioned in a previous article, changing my mindset and helping myself become a more positive person is one of my goals for this year. Bandersnatch was released at a great time since it was literally right before I came back to school and this allowed me to curate a list of goals and New Year's Resolutions to help me be the best possible version of myself.
2018 was overall a really rough year for me. I vividly remember the New Year and thinking about how I was going to switch things around and "make 2018 my year". While that was optimistic thinking (and some might argue one step closer to actually making a change) it didn't do much. Instead of actively seeking out change, I lived passively – constantly letting my emotions and my negative energies consume me, while not taking any action to change things around to my benefit. This year, I'm determined to do things differently. While constantly living in the present and making the conscious effort to "do better, be better", I hope to feel some control over my life by knowing every single action made is necessary for the next.
