Over winter break, my mom and I were in the car stopped at an intersection. I pointed out a new store that was across the street and told my mom I was sad it wasn’t there when I actually lived at home. My mother answered that the store had been there for months and remarked on how many times we have been stopped at this same intersection before for a red light. Needless to say, I felt foolish about never noticing this before.

How many times has a parent said to you, “Maybe if you’d look up from that phone every now and then, you’d actually be engaged in the present.” They aren’t just nagging you. They say this because they grew up without a cell phone or a tablet glued to their hands and they wish we had it the same way. Their generation got to see the world. They actually read street signs, looked things up in the dictionary, and valued moments with family and friends because they were unable to just text them later. When I am not giving in to the desire to constantly check Instagram or Twitter, I realize how incredibly jealous I am of the things they got to do as well as the things they didn’t have to go through.

For one, I am jealous they got to hang out with their friends and have meaningful conversations. They weren’t trying to hold ten other conversations over the phone and checking other pages every five minutes; they experienced every moment without their eyes glued to a screen.

I was recently overseas in Mexico where I met many amazing new people. I hate to admit it, but I think I know more about these random strangers that I met over the course of a week than I do of the friends I met at the beginning of my college career. The reason for this is simply because I did not have cell service. I was able to sit on the beach and just talk to people and have their full undivided attention. I noticed more mannerisms such as how people play with their hands or use them to talk because they are used to holding something like their cell phone. I also noticed how nervous most people are to make eye contact.

We use our phone as a crutch to talk to people. We get to avoid the awkwardness and the uncomfortable pauses in conversation but what we forget about is how these things make us who we are. The way in which we communicate face to face shows how confident we are of ourselves and how relaxed we are with certain people versus others. We need to practice this type of communication in order to prepare ourselves for future events such as job interviews or meeting your partner’s family for the first time. When we iMessage, Snapchat, or Tweet what we feel rather than sharing it in person, we lose a part of what makes us human. Our ability to express emotion through verbal and physical communication is hidden behind a long text in all caps that can never be taken back. We need to agree to put the phone down sometimes and deal with our issues face to face.

I am jealous of my parents' generation for the things they were able to do without the distractions of technology. However, I am also jealous of the things they were unable to do. For example, they couldn’t see what their friends were up to on Instagram or Snapchat nearly every night. While some people enjoy knowing their friends’ every move, I for one couldn't care less. We all experience different things on a day to day basis and live individually and some memories do not need to be shared with “300” of your closest friends. I’m not saying I am not guilty to putting pictures of my food or of a party I'm at on Snapchat but I realize there is no point.

My parents didn’t get to see when other people were having fun or when they weren’t invited to something. They didn’t need to know what food their friends ate that day or a scenic picture of the ocean that everyone has probably seen in their lifetime. There was less drama because there was none of the, “Did you see what happened last night? Here watch, the snap story will be up for at least 8 more hours.” No one had to be embarrassed or feel left out or feel like their face always had to be camera ready. Snapchat’s main function is to allow people to communicate through visuals but it has turned into a way to show your friends that you might be having more fun than them.

I thought being without my phone was going to be so difficult. I felt like I was going to miss so many important things happening back at school and I'd be out of the loop when I finally returned. The truth, however, is that it made my trip so much better. I actually talked to people and made real connections with them even though they live in different states and countries across the world. I watched the world around me and learned things that I didn’t have to ask from Google or Alexa from Amazon. I didn’t have to worry about what my friends were doing back home or what parties I was missing because I couldn’t see them. Basically, I could finally breathe. I lived in a world beyond the virtual one and it was beautiful but barren, and I think more people ought to join it.