I spent my first hour on a walk around campus. No people, no music, no interruptions, just me and my thoughts. It was the first week of school so the people were buzzing like bees, the cars were failing to stop at crosswalks, and the sounds of nature were clear. Everyone was eager to start their new semester and get to their classes, so no one was really interacting. It was a quiet morning, but the idea of a college campus during the first week of classes speaks for itself. I set intentions to be aware and open minded when I left for my walk but I kind of went off in my own head as usual. The lack of interactions between people made me realize the extent of our dependence on technology and the digital world we live in. Everyone was on a phone or listening to a podcast or music, and no one was talking to each other, not even a small smile to the person you passed, there were only a few of those. I really started to wonder about life and if our stories are planned. This was where I sort of went on a thought tangent and weighed the idea of our connections being planned in life as we pass so many people each day, but we only ever connect with a tiny portion of the population. My mind did get pulled from the subject, but only to observe the ducks swimming side by side in mason pond, they looked like a married couple. They seemed to be holding hands, not physically since they obviously don’t have hands, but they just warmed my heart. My next focal point just so happened to be dragonfly, which I have always felt connected to. They mean everything to me as I feel that my loved ones are always with me whenever a dragonfly is around (I even have a tattoo of one to remind me everyday that I am being taken care of by my loved ones who I may not have around anymore for distance or other reasons including death). I truly was at peace in that moment, stress free and happy that I was in nature, surrounded by what I love and in my opinion who I love. Nature will always be my happy place and I will forever cherish my time spent in it as it always brightens my mood and makes me be mindful of life.
I spent my second hour on social media while in a room with my friends who were watching a movie. I had every possible distraction in the room and made sure to almost overstimulate myself as social situations with tv and social media often do for me. There was a movie on but with everything going on, I’m not remembering which one. My friends were chatting and catching up while I was scrolling endlessly on social media to avoid conversation, which I often do when there is a lot happening. The hour consisted of about 30 minutes of that time just comparing myself to others on Instagram and catching up with people that I hadn’t seen in a while, but from a distance with no real interaction. I checked on my past friends for a glimpse into my past life and sadly, I only felt regret. Social media can be extremely unhealthy as it can be a way to put yourself down or to be reminded of things and people that were unhealthy for you, but I still fell into the trap. I truly did nothing much but scroll and look up clothing sales. I did go down an Instagram news site, but I’d say that is the most productive thing I did. I’d like to say I did more, but time moves so much faster on a phone or with others that my time for reflection was interrupted by the voices of those around me and those on my screens updating me about their college move in or the latest break up. Sure I did learn about the climate impacts on drinking water as I did scroll through my favorite activist page, but in the end, that one piece of useful time spent learning about something was nothing compared to the amount of meaningless time I spent scrolling on my phone.
In conclusion, I have taken a lot away from this experiment. I have learned to be present and mindful, which I believe is very important for the human mind and body. I heightened my respect and love of nature as I spent an hour reflecting and observing a busy yet quiet morning on a college campus. I really enjoyed this hour of the assignment, I thought it was a nice shift from the normal time wasting activities people in our population do rather than just going outside. The second hour was full of those meaningless activities though and when comparing the two, I was miserable in that last hour. Do not get me wrong, I’m sure I enjoyed relaxing and scrolling but that was just an hour of many that I waste daily. All I did was compare myself to others and scroll through past friends, which put me down and made my time negative. As I mentioned, the only positive was the climate knowledge shared, which I generally only keep up with through social media rather than interactions. We truly do live in the digital information age, even though my experiences may not show it, but the majority of the population would have been more open to the lounging and scrolling rather than the time in nature. This is a way to stay informed but without the time for reflection and mindfulness, the knowledge gained, if any, is being wasted through endless scrolling or ignoring the important posts to read about Kylie Jenner and her newest makeup line. Overall, I really enjoyed this experiment and even though it was just a glimpse into what McKibben did, I feel that it got the point across and I recognize what I need to change in my life.