Media: A Safety Net?

Tonight I did something that I have never done before: I went to the volleyball game ALONE. Crazy? Well, no one else wanted to, and I did. Just so you're not waiting in suspense, the game went to 5 sets, and we won by 2 points in the last set!! AMAZING game. I'm so glad I went :)

Taylor Sander was BOSS. :)

That being said, I had an interesting experience being alone. At first I wanted to see if any other of my friends were at the game or would be willing to come, so I was texting people almost constantly during breaks. This may be dumb, but I almost felt like I was safe from the ridicule of other people if they knew that I was important to somebody? Hence, it was safe to have my phone out. But then I thought, dumb! You can definitely be in the moment better if you put your phone away! So I stopped trying to stop being alone, and I decided to enjoy it. And I did.

Another thing I noticed when I put my phone down... I looked around me. And guess what I noticed? TONS of other people on their cell phones, doing whatever, even though all of them were at the game with someone else. Why do we do this?

My dad told me something when I was younger. He said, "Be where you are." I think that's a good way to live, and something that I am also working on. I think that while cell phones and other like media are such a blessing, but at the same time they can hinder relationships. Another experience. I went to Romania for an internship a year ago, and for the first little while, our apartment had no internet. What on earth do you do with no internet?!?! You talk with your roommates. You sit at the dinner table and laugh for over an hour after you've finished eating. We became so close, and had so many good memories during those first few weeks! Now, I realize that school and other responsibilities require media time, and I'm not suggesting dropping media altogether. That would be crazy. But, as President Monson said, "What is most important almost always involves the people around us." Whether it's for security or for other reasons, I think that sometimes we need to take down that "safety net", push out of our comfort zone, and make more of an effort to connect with the people around us. I promise, good things will happen. :)