I am not usually one to talk about things I give up/ do for Lent. I try and do an action instead of give something up, but this year I decided to try something especially difficult for me: go without all social media (Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook). I thought to myself, "Even if I just go without it for a week or two, I will be proud of myself." But as the days have gone by, it has gotten easier and I want to prove to myself that I can do it and that there are positives to being disconnected.

Here is what I have learned in my three week journey thus far:

I have so much more free time! Social media used to run my life. I was addicted. It was the first thing I checked in the morning and the last thing I did before bed. Now, I have had so much more time to do activities that I enjoy such as reading. I have had more time for reading in the past three weeks than I can ever remember in my college career. Reading has taken the place of my social media at night and in the mornings.

If people want to get ahold of me, they can text, call, speak to me in person, or FaceTime. I have felt a lot more connected in that aspect. I do not know what is going on in other peoples' lives because I do not see what they are putting on social media, just as they do not know what is going on in my life (since I am not currently posting about it). People get to talk to me and tell me about what they did during their day instead of me seeing and knowing about it already via social media.

I feel liberated. That does not mean that I do not miss it at times or wonder what friends and family are doing, but I did not like feeling tied down and so invested in everyone else's lives. I think anything in moderation is fine, but I used it too much. People who really care will reach out or I will reach out.

I am more present and in the moment. I walk to class with my head up watching everyone looking down at their phones. I wait for class to begin and either sit patiently, pull out a book to read or talk to friends. I used to use that time to catch up on social media before putting my phone away for class time. I do not feel myself reaching for my phone or using it as a crutch to waste time anymore. I have been more productive while doing my homework/ studying as well.

There have been many times when I wanted to cheat. I would think "I will just quick log on to Facebook and nobody will know" or "I will re-download Snapchat and look at snaps that I have received but not respond." There have been times that I have been out with friends on the weekends and thought "Ugh, I wish I could Snapchat or Instagram a picture." But then I come back to focus and realize how addicted I was/ am and how much of a role social media plays in my life. Why do I want to Instagram or Snapchat? It's to show all my followers how much fun I am having/ what I am doing. Which I am not saying is wrong, but I have just come to see that it is much more worthwhile to be in the moment with friends or family and enjoy that time. I get way more satisfaction personally than I did worrying about how many likes or views I got.

Like I said above, I do not think social media is a bad thing, and using it in moderation is normal. But for me personally, I have gotten way more out of being social media-less than I have gotten from being on social media. When my 40 days is up, I have not yet decided if I will go back on or stay off of these sites. I do know for sure that if I do go back on, I will definitely limit my time more than I did before. I am so much more connected now that I am disconnected.

P.S. It is so ironic that people will be reading this as it is posted to my social media. Feel free to leave comments, I just may not be seeing them for awhile :)