By: Tessa Shelton
Instagram has turned into a black hole of demands, improvements, and picture perfect lives. One hour of scrolling seems like minutes as I read the not-so-helpful information.
Summer wedding, the best decision I ever made. Become a digital designer online in 24 weeks. Peter said Benny looks like Toad today. A caption accompanying a picture of a smiling boy in a little tykes car. Bunnies eating lettuce in the living room. Apply now for our immersive spring 2022 residential semester away programs. Why dumbbells don’t make sense in 2021. Our favorite car finds. One-of-a-kind storage sectional for all your one-of-a-kind stuff. September challenge: Wake up at 5am, 2-3 hours of deep work daily, cut out junk food, read 2 books this month, learn a new skill.
It was hot. Likely 90 degrees this Saturday in the Shenandoah National Park. I wasn’t bothered by the heat because the trails promised waterfalls and pools to cool off in. At the entrance of the trail there were two signs: “Caution! There are venomous snakes living in the area” and “Watch for ground nesting yellow jackets”. Walking up the mountain I heard cicadas, rushing water, and my footsteps in the dirt. Gazing around the middle of the woods, at first there seemed to be nothing of interest. Looking closer I saw burrows under tree roots and the leaves partnering with the sun to create a kind of stained glass roof over me. Centipedes moved slowly in my pathway, likely trying to run from the giant feet. The high humidity had me sweating more than I could have ever imagined. When I stopped at a pool above one waterfall, I saw tiny centipedes roaming around in the moss which made me think: do centipedes breathe underwater? I wanted to know very badly but I didn’t have cell service and I don’t carry around an encyclopedia of life questions. This question made me spiral down a black hole of curiosity.
The difference between instagram’s black hole of information and my mind’s black hole inspired by nature is the feeling behind them. When I fall into the trap of instagram I am thinking about many things at one time. I think about all of the topics and experiences it is presenting as well as what I should be doing instead of scrolling. This causes mild to high anxiety and easily becomes overwhelming. The black hole of questions that I experienced in nature was energy giving. I got excited about all of the potential answers to my questions. I let my mind run free as I came up with my own explanations to these questions. It was a fulfilling and pleasant experience.