Alexandria Cox
To fill my hour of media consumption I opened Netflix on my laptop to watch the first season of a show called Ultimate Beastmaster. It involves contestants from six different countries (including the US) competing in various obstacle courses. Before the competition started, I immediately began rooting for the Mexican team. Not long into the show I found myself texting, getting on FaceTime, and scrolling through some of my social media. Whenever I felt like I missed something important I would rewind it, but I did not stop doing things on my phone. There was one moment where I ended up pausing the show to watch a video on Facebook. This was the only moment in that hour that I gave something my undivided attention. This hour showed me that I try to give focus to too many things at once.
Given that I am at my dad’s house and am unfamiliar with the area I decided to go out to the front of the house. There was snow on the ground and on the stairs, so I stood by the door for fifteen minutes looking around at the neighboring houses and watching cars go by on the main road. When I finally moved towards the stairs all I could think about is making sure that I don’t fall or step in something hidden in the snow. I spent the rest of my hour pacing back and forth wondering how much time has passed so I can go back inside and get in bed. Being out there was difficult. Not because I was bored, but because I couldn’t listen to music to pass the time. So, all I could do is to think about all times I took being indoors for granted.
This experience has shed light on the fact that although I am an environmental science major, I do not like the outdoors. I appreciate nature and recognize its importance, but I can only enjoy experiencing being out in nature for a limited time. This could be because I have spent most of my life finding entertainment indoors through movies, shows, and social media.