I’m currently in the longest week of my life. Part of my Magazine and Feature writing class has me giving up social media for a week and writing about my experience. Not to be dramatic, but this challenge has proved harder than I thought.
To make my life slightly easier I decided to get rid of them cold turkey. I no longer have these temptations looming on my phone homescreen. No more Facebook. No more Twitter. No more Instagram. Nothing. So all that basically means is: no more joy for Imani.
I had a very unhealthy habit of being on my phone an excessive amount of time long before I fully opened my eyes in the morning. Like clockwork, I would shut my alarm off in the morning and then aimlessly catch up on the “drama” and photos that I had missed while I was sleeping. I did need a change, and it took this assignment for class to make it. Better late than never.
I would say the hardest part of the cleanse was not being able to update Snapchat. Through this, I have realized that is one of my favorite social media apps. Even though I knew the app is no longer on my phone I keep having that “omg i need to record this!” feeling when something notable happens, and then I have that terrible realization that I, in fact, can’t. Tonight I am going to a Gavin Degraw concert with a friend, and knowing I won’t be able to Snapchat it is sad to me, as I never miss a chance to record at concerts. I have no choice but to be nothing but in the moment.
I’m still going strong, I’m proud to say, but let’s see how long I can keep up with this challenge once my week is up.
I have so much more time in the mornings, I am more present with friends, and I have time to read all those books I have been meaning to read.
Who am I kidding? I’ll be re-downloading everything first thing Monday morning.
HCXOXO,
Imani Taylor