Who knew one banana could take a great day, and turn it into a rough month? Not me. I’m not being funny when I say that I legitimately got a banana smooshed into my Mac laptop! It all began with a poor decision: to keep a banana in my backpack as a snack for later. Well, later came, and to my surprise I found that my computer had definitely beaten me to the banana. Unfortunately, the yellow fruit was my computer’s downfall. The banana had fallen to the bottom of my backpack and somehow liquefied underneath my computer, soaking deep into the ports of my Mac. Sadly, it was pronounced dead at the scene. I was as devastated as any girl would be at the loss of her laptop, but my unique situation taught me a lot.

It could be worse.

Yes—I was without a computer. My little accident was a large expense and a HUGE inconvenience (as you can imagine, considering it was in the middle of a semester), but I realized something, it could be worse. I remember thinking to myself, ‘If the only thing wrong in my life is that I don’t have a laptop, then I have it pretty damn good.’ The key was changing my “WHY ME?!” mindset. Not only did that put things into perspective, but it also allowed me to handle my situation much more reasonably.

Don't take good for granted.

When everything is going good, we shouldn’t take that for granted. It’s so easy to complain about what isn’t perfect in our lives…getting a B- on that exam you totally deserved an A on, or being unhappy because you woke up late. I think it’s time we accept that life won’t ever be as perfect as we would like it to be. It’s time to acknowledge what is going right in our lives.

Stop frivolous habits.

If I held my computer to such a high level of importance, why didn’t I have a case over it? If I valued my Mac as much as I said I did, why wouldn’t I simply use a protective covering? Originally, I didn’t use one because it seemed like a pointless hassle but if I had used one, I might still be using the same laptop at the moment. The whole banana-intervention showed me that if I care about something, I should act like it.

Get innovative.

Middle of the week, middle of the semester, and hopelessly without a computer. What does one do? Get innovative! Until I had the knowledge and resources to fix the pickle (or should I say banana) I got myself into, I needed a temporary solution. At first, I began going to campus computer labs for all of my computer needs. The issue with that was, some of the labs were only open to a certain time, and like most college kids, I work better at night. I realized I needed a more permanent fix, and then it hit me! I could just have my mother send me my old (truly ancient, if we are being honest) computer that I used in junior high. It wasn’t the best computer, but I knew it would definitely do the job until I could purchase a new one. Anyway, whatever the problem may be, it never hurts to brainstorm new ideas and to get creative. You might be surprised by what you come up with!

Overall, it took about a MONTH to finally get everything straightened out. My life would have been so much easier had this ordeal never happened, but each bump in the road serves to tell a very valuable lesson; I believe it’s up to us to pick up on those lessons and to learn from them. So, for all of those who are still wondering—apples and bananas are NOT compatible.