I mean when you think about it, who doesn't want to be engaged? Life is passing us by, each minute it’s own kind of special and I don't want to waste it anymore, I want to be engaged. No, not physically engaged with a ring or a white dress (not yet anyway), but mentally engaged. With advancing technology, a growing number of social media platforms, and smartphones in every hand, it's easy to become disengaged from the people and events around us.

We go out to dinner and are more concerned with updating our status or who got more Instagram likes than we are on having a conversation with the people in our presence. We pride ourselves on our follower count and "follower ratios" are way too important. At concerts and sporting events, our cameras are on the subject more than our own eyes. We are living our lives through screens, and don't get me wrong, I’m just as guilty as anyone. I snapchat throughout the course of the day, Instagram more than I should, and continuously update my status (because I’m so sure everyone wants to decipher the song lyrics I tweeted or know what I’m doing every minute of the day). When you think about it, it's a little scary to think just how much technology and social media have taken over our lives. Sure, I think Facebook and Twitter are great ways to stay in touch with distant friends and family, but in excess, it hinders our daily lives more than we realize. The relationships and interactions that are meant to be personal are slowly becoming impersonal and distant. When I was little, playing outside was the only way to pass the time. Now, children are handed tablets and phones to stay entertained, its so odd to me.

I’ve decided that I want to be engaged. Not every moment of our lives has to be captured on camera or a platform. Instead of scrolling through my timelines at dinner, I want to know how someone's day went from their own mouth. I want to have meaningful conversations with friends and loved ones, rather than one-worded texts and emojis. I want to witness every second of a concert featuring my favorite band as opposed to watching it on a Snapchat story. Play the phone game at dinner and have conversations, sing and enjoy the beauty around you on road trips rather than bury your nose in Twitter. I want to live in the moment instead of focusing on electronically capturing it. I want to challenge myself and others to be 100% completely and totally engaged every now and then. I want to live in the moment because we only get so very few, each special in its own way and we can never get them back. These moments are all worth experiencing first-hand. Like I said, I want to be engaged.