This Thanksgiving Break was unlike any other for me. Traditionally it was full of turkey, yams, sleep and more sleep, but in addition, I got to experience what it was truly like to step away from the world around me.
It all started the weekend before break: during a night out with my friends, my high-tech and mostly dependable phone took a huge dive – and when I say a huge dive, I mean it became useless to me. A touch-screen phone really has no purpose when the touch screen portion no longer works and when there’s no way to access the phone’s main menu manually.
It wasn’t that big of a deal to me though – I’ve dealt with broken phones in the past and this certainly wouldn’t be the last time. Besides, I was 90 percent sure I had an old phone waiting for me at my house.
While it’s nowhere near as cool as the phone I was forced to say goodbye to, it works and still gets the job done. I am proud to say that I successfully went three days without a properly working phone, and it didn’t bother me nearly as much as I thought it would.
The only way I could be reached was via Facebook, e-mail or in person, which proved more of a hassle to everyone around me than it was to me. I wasn’t concerned, as I knew the people who really needed to get a hold of me would know how to do so.
My second dose of anti-technology over Thanksgiving break came the minute I stepped foot into my room: my beloved television wasn’t there because I brought it to school with me at the beginning of the semester.
How was it humanly possible to plan five days of nothingness without a television to support it? And to top it off, I also left my trusty DVD player on campus.
Within two hours of being home with no television and a laptop that certainly needed a rest, I did the first thing that came to mind – I ventured down into our basement and went through old boxes of stuff for a trip down memory lane and to find anything nifty that I hadn’t seen in a while.
I certainly found things worth looking at, including a collection of all my favorite books, including my favorite of all time: Brave New World. I’ve read it seven times, and I decided the instant I held it in my hand that I would read it again over break, as it always inspires me and challenges the way I think.
As I sat in my room with no television and therefore no distraction, I whipped through the book in a few hours. I read, made journal entries and took time to contemplate life. Looking back, I’m so glad I got the chance to step away from my hectic life, even if it was forced. Being away from the technological wonders of the world allowed me to take time to appreciate the simple things in life. It may have taken me a while to learn this lesson, but the journey to any sort of accomplishment is irrelevant, as long as the final destination is met.
