This is the first in a small series of posts where I’m publishing essays I’ve written but never got around to publishing.
Something I’ve been realizing about going to college is that you are constantly busy. You are always pulled in a thousand different directions, and yet I still feel empty. The exams, the homework, the job, the social life, the time I spend at clubs, all of it just feels like noise.
One thing that I keep reminiscing about is how when I was little I would be able to just lay on some grass and stare at the sky and just IMAGINE. I don’t really know why I stopped imagining how the clouds could become all these different shapes. Maybe I just “grew up” or maybe I simply became busy.
But as an adult I’m rediscovering things. I used to hate things like laundry, cleaning, reading, listening to the radio or simply just the sounds of outside. But now I’m actively seeking these out to find peace in the mundane.
I’m choosing to unplug from this digital noise generator which keeps my mind going at a million miles per hour, all hours of the day, when there is no need to. By spending time by myself, unplugged and focused on one simple activity. I’m able to relax and enjoy my time instead of regretting opening the Instagram app and clicking the reels tab and loosing an hour. By going outside I’m gaining time. Maybe because I’m used to the speed of digital but even 15 minutes on one activity, offline, feels like an hour. But I’m not just disconnecting from technology but also the buzz of modern life. Just walking to class without a shell whispering in my ear or without a constant feed in my hand showing me something new or entertaining me to death. I’m letting myself be open to whatever could happen. I’ve noticed much more now that I’m listening and looking around me. I hear the birds chirping, I hear the wind rustling, or the background noise of college construction sites. I see how the autumn leaves catch and color the light, how a cloud I saw reminded me of that Pixar short I saw as a child, how the architecture has changed over time as I walk down the street.
Modern life gives you pushes the high speed nature of technologic
improvement on you. Push back, unplug, and enjoy your time. When you live life
at your own pace things feel so much nicer.