While sitting down with nothing but my thoughts for those fifteen minutes, I tried to turn my attention towards social media, technology, and how it affected me. I began replaying the day I had, and how a simple decision completely altered the quality of my day. After a morning  interview I felt unsure about, my plan for the rest of the day was to go to my dorm, sit on my phone, until I fell asleep for what would have most likely been roughly 4-5 hours – yikes. Thankfully, my original plans changed for the better. 

While lying in bed, on my phone, scrolling through nonsense on twitter that I have convinced myself to find entertaining, I was invited to go to the gym. Initially, I wanted to stay in bed, but I could not resist the beautiful weather. Instead of wasting the day on my phone, I pulled myself together and went outside. A day that I was initially going to spend online turned into a great day of walking to the gym, having a great workout, then productively working on schoolwork at the library. 

When I began my 15 minutes of seclusion from the world around me and on my devices, I did not feel tired or down. Alternately, I felt awake and content. I was able to relax and spend my time being grateful for the life I have, and especially the people I have in it. Most of my reflection included feeling proud of myself for getting to where I am today, and genuinely feeling happy to just be alive. I was looking forward to my night, week, and the potential I have to accomplish so much this semester. Life as a college student is very stressful, and like everyone else, my life contains baggage that has held me back time and time again; however, today, this assignment gave me the opportunity to absorb all the good things I have in my life – something that I do not do often enough. 

I think the most important thing I have to pull away from my reflection is my belief that if I had stayed in bed on my phone instead of going out, being healthy, and interacting with other people, this reflection and my day, would not have felt as successful as it was. Yes, technology and social media can have its upsides and be used as a way to spend your time, but in my experience today, it simply does not feel as wholesome.