A peer of mine always has her head in her laptop. Everywhere she goes, everything she does: she’s just always typing away. It’s hard to turn away from the technology that we’re presented with. It allows us to make greater and diverse connections we normally wouldn’t make. It allows us to write faster, to get more ideas together in a framed time space. It allows us to stay up to date on everything that is going on in the world and with our friends and family. However, it doesn’t allow us to spark our imagination. It takes away the real connection with people and the experiences one encounters on a day-to-day basis.

So, this girl was in one of my classes last semester. The class was a small class, consisting of about fifteen students. It was a close-knit class, which allowed the students to make connections and work with others in the class. This semester I encountered the laptop girl once more, but she didn’t remember me. She didn’t know my name or that we shared a class together, even though I remembered both about her. I strongly believe that the cause for that incident was because she constantly had her eyes glued to a computer screen, not bothering to glance up to take in her current surroundings.

I, on the other hand, never bring a laptop/tablet to class. I sit in class and walk around campus with my head up, taking in the slight difference in brick color on the buildings and how the red awning over the entrance to the bookstore dips down just a bit as if there were a puddle of water pooling in the center. All these observations and experiences that I encounter are translated into details within my writing. I strongly believe that a person who takes in their surroundings and is involved in real-life experiences, not through a computer screen, will become a stronger, more successful writer because they have the advantage of translating the real world into their writing.

Sacha Kopp, Dean of CAS, would certainly agree with me. In “‘There Is No Yellow Brick Road,’” he words it like this: “…life and careers are a collection of experiences and learning opportunities that shape who we become…we alone are the unique person that results from those experiences.” Experiences, not only make for stronger writers, but for more relatable personalities. The more individuals experience, the more they are going to learn. The more you learn makes for a rounder individual which is exactly what employers are looking for. Employers don’t want a 2-dimensional person, knowing nothing more than how to google things in point-2 seconds. Experiences from the real-world is what’s going to translate into solving real-world problems. Sometimes one must rely on more than just the internet.

I understand and take note that my generation and the one’s following are heading in the direction of abusing technology to the point where I must fall to their demands. I might have to learn how to become reliant on technology if I ever want to advance in my field or even, much larger, the world. No one has the time to look up from their computer screens because everything that is happening worth importance is happening within that screen. Honestly, this new approach to living and experiencing is hard for me to digest because I believe it takes away from the authenticity of a person. Personalities and individuality diminish behind a keyboard, and my personality is something that I value greatly and believe it has gotten me far.

I want to advance and make connections just like anybody else, but I’m still not convinced that technology is the way to do that. I want to believe, and still do, that experiences outside of a computer screen shape individual personality, and teach us how to handle situations. I never want to lose sight of who I am. I want to advance and portray myself in an authentic light, not an artificial one the way a computer screen does.