Kennedy Ream
After my morning classes on Monday, I decided to sit outside for lunch. I ended up on a bench outside the Johnson Center eating my ramen noodles. On a regular basis, I usually use this time to go on my phone to catch up on social media; however, I decided to follow the rules of this assignment. Campus was weirdly quiet at this time; I assumed people were in their 12 to 1:15 lectures. After I finish my ramen, a bee decided to explore my Tupperware (which had the leftover soy sauce-flavored broth). On instinct, I attempted to take the Tupperware from the exploratory bee, and the bee was not very pleased. He encircled me several times, giving me the thought that he was angry with me for taking away his newly possessed broth. I set it back down, curious as to what he’d do next. He slowly calmed back down, trusting that even though I was sitting next to him, I wouldn’t make another move at the bowl. I studied his behavior, why exactly he wanted the broth, how he acted when he was standing in the broth. This observant period took up most of my hour outside- and I felt weirdly in tune with nature. Instead of trying to separate myself from the bee, we coexisted, just for a moment.
Coming home from a short day of classes on Tuesday, I decided to get my friend hooked on a Netflix show called Stranger Things. We began to watch the pilot: action-packed, suspenseful, and humorous all in one. Being one of my favorite shows I have watched prior, I did not feel the need to keep my eyes peeled to the screen. Right around when one of the characters (Will) goes missing, I decide to go on my phone to catch up on social media. I’m texting multiple friends, scrolling on Instagram, watching stories on Snapchat, and looking at Facebook posts. I tune back into the show-we’re at the part where Eleven (another character) escapes the laboratory. This routine repeats several cycles until the show ends. There’s a pause between the first episode ending and the second episode loading. My friend and I share an odd moment of silence, and my brain takes this opportunity to reflect: Did an hour really just go by?
The dynamic of these two experiences shows the contrast of simply existing in modern day. There’s so much information happening in the second experience, my brain cannot process the rate of information I am getting. In the first experience, it’s quite the contrary. Being in nature forces my body and brain to slow down and to not forget the fundamentals of life. I’m hoping recording the difference in these two experiences will influence me to be outside more during my typical work weeks (when inside life keeps my brain going too fast for too long).