Internetless

For the past two days, my computer (Rosa) has been without Internet. During those two days, I felt so cut off from the world. Normally when I wake up, the first thing I do is stumble to my desk and check my email. And then I get my breakfast and check my email again. And then I wash my dishes and check my email again. By the end of the day, I probably check it around 80 times. Now, I had to catch a few computer minutes at the library if there was one available (a rare occurrence), or find someone in my residence whose computer wasn't in use -- also rare.

To go from checking 80 times to around 2 is a drastic change. At the same time, it was nice to have a change from my normal routine. Instead of sitting in front of my computer, I was wandering around the house while eating my breakfast, visiting my friends who I normally wait for in my room. It was nice to not constantly be signed into chat etc, and to be forced to go out to connect. Of course, I never received anything drastic or important during those two days; I realized that the time that I spend on the Internet could definitely be better spent elsewhere. So I decided: from now on, my monitor spends most of its time turned off. I will live a real life as opposed to a virtual one.

It's a Saturday night and as always, there are a lot of really different things going on. One of our neighbor residences is having a floor crawl and I'll be heading over there to serve later. A few of my friends are going to a party off campus and even more of my friends are in the lounge watching all six Star Wars movies in a row. (Serious commitment, they started at 9 am.) No matter what, there is always a plethora of activities going on here. I remember being worried because this town didn't have the clubs or nightlife that a larger city might have. But now that I'm here, I realize how great it is to be in such a small town. We have to make our own entertainment on the weekends; we can't just escape and run away to the waiting city. I think in the end, it brings us all closer together. We're all a part of this bubble whether we like it or not.

Another insight I wouldn't have got from the computer screen.