Earlier this month I spent a week at a camp with no wifi or cell service. When I first found out that I would have absolutely no contact with the outside world I can easily say I freaked out. How am I going to keep my snapchat streaks? How will I stay in touch with my friends? Will I actually survive, I asked myself. At first 7 days seemed like an eternity, however, looking back at the expletive it was actually pretty amazing.
During my first day at the camp I felt horrible. I kept turning on my phone every few minutes to check if I had any notifications, but would then be reminded of my horrific reality. It took a while to adjust to the fact that my phone was useless, just a scrap of metal that gave me the time of day. I thought that I would end up dead before the week ended.
However my emotions towards my experience were changed completely later that day. After the night activities I realized that I had barely looked at my phone all day. That night I laid on the ground with other people and we looked at the stars. They were brighter and more prominent than those I could see from my hometown. We laid there for hours taking about our lives and experiences. That was when I realized that my obsession with connection was stupid. I had spent so much time focusing on the outside world when I never took any time out to enjoy other things besides social media.
The next few days went by in a blur, I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with others and I fell in love with nature. The experience was beautiful, I got to reflect on how I felt about the world around me. Even though I was disconnected from the world, I had never felt so connected to myself.
I would have never realized that tuning out from the world has its benefits. I was oblivious to what was happening in the outside world and it didn't feel like a bad thing. I had more time to focus on myself and reflect on how I felt rather than worrying about the thoughts and actions of others. At the end of the trip I felt connected with myself as well as with nature. Our generation berates others for complaint about the negative affects of social media and technology. While I do agree that technology has been a useful asset over the centuries. It is also important to take a step back and try to distance yourself from it once in a while.
