Live Your Life

What ever happened to the good ol’ days (or as some older folk call them), the day when everyone got their own enjoyment from telling jokes and stories to each other on the front porch or at a restaurant and not form their 50 inch plasma screens, the day when everyone listened to each other in person, face to face. The day when calling someone on the phone was the main way of communicating to a friend or loved one- actually talking, expressing emotions like sadness and happiness by the sound of their voice and not just a smiley or sad face. I’m not very old but I’m old enough to see a lot of these changes in the world and how it’s affecting everyone’s life. Nowadays it seems like people can’t take their hands off their i-Phones, their blackberries, their rumors and palm-pre’s, in fear of missing an oh so important text. Some cats argue that this is a good thing; I believe that today’s technology has done more harm than good.

Gadgets like the new 3G i-Phone and i-Touch, the PSP and PS3, and Xbox 360 have kids (and adults) across the globe drooling over the bright highly pixilated and glowing screens which seem to shut out the rest of the world. They attract their buyers with useless gadgets like the compass and the video recorder on the iPhone, and say that it’s “the most powerful, fastest iPhone yet,” (apple.com) I’m not saying I’ve never used these devices- believe me I’m a huge fan of the Xbox and iTouch- I’m just saying over usage can be extremely harmful to one’s self. One who spends more than 4 hours a day with these conveniences tends to lose a grip on reality, they start spending more and more time in their room’s becoming fat and lazy; blinds shut and stereo blasting, shutting out all forms of human life except for themselves. And there they sit on their nice leather computer arm chair, out of shape, eating a bag of Doritos for lunch and playing World of War craft III. Or they’ll lie on their floor at 4 in the afternoon, still in their morning sweatpants and beater, playing Halo 3 for Xbox 360 live, thus getting virtually nothing out of their day/ life except a few more gamer points. It’s sad and I’ve seen it happen to a few of my friends; friends I hardly see anymore because they can’t get out of this bubble they’ve trapped themselves in. They shut themselves off, basically become addicted to “gaming,” and sadly never quit. They lose most of their friends and never gain any back.

I like playing Xbox live just as much as any other guy my age- but for no more than an hour tops. I get bored, honestly, especially if it’s only me playing. However, playing Mario with a huge crew of friends is always a good time. But in that instance you’re interacting with one another; talking and having a good time. Even then, after playing for an hour I realize that there are so many other things I could be doing. I could be at the gym getting my sweat on, on the court and in the weight room. I could be at the pool, swimming around, laying out in the sun, playing cards with my friends under the pavilion, having a good time in general. I could be at the park playing volleyball or ultimate-Frisbee. I could be reading my book, taking in all sorts of knowledge. Or at a last resort I could be working; saving up money to pay for college tuition and other necessities. The point is, there are so many other things to do besides playing video games.

Texting- texting is another thing I get really irritated with. I personally get sick of texting after about 3 or four texts. It takes too much time out of my day. This is especially true when I’m trying focusing on something else, like reading a book, studying, someone else’s conversation, or watching football game on TV; I’m trying to focus on 3rd down and 4’ in the last quarter, not how to spell ‘shwasted’ or ‘wilin’ on T9word. For real though, if someone really needed to talk to you so bad that you have to text them back 200 plus times in one sitting don’t you think one phone call would’ve saved you a whole lot of time and trouble? Seriously now, my texts consist of “’yo wudup,’ ‘not much chillin, you?’ ‘same, tryin to chill?’ ‘yeah son I’ll be over in a sec’”. Texts longer than that I end up just calling the person and talking the matter over- all while still being able to shoot hoops in my driveway with one hand.

Not only is texting a waste of time but I feel it’s also considered rude, or impolite, to text while talking or listening to someone else. This may be a little off topic but I had to get it out: nothing pisses me off more than when I’m out on a date or with a friend (at a restaurant, movie, coffee shop, something like that) and then them texting somebody constantly, over and over (this has happened more than once by the way). I’m fine with two, three or even four texts while at dinner or while getting coffee, that’s totally acceptable and in fact implied; but it’s when they won’t even stop, like they don’t know they’re being a jackass when I’m trying to talk to them, spilling my guts and they’re focusing what a 2 line message on their phone is telling them. It’s seems like half the time I’m with them (the compulsive texters) consists of them texting somebody else. It’s like I’m not even there; like the person they’re texting is a lot more important than I am, the person they’re actually across the table from. It just makes me feel like they don’t want to spend time with me; they don’t want to catch up on life and everything that goes along with it. And basically it offends me, straight up, I get pissed and then I don’t feel like spending time with that person. I can understand why many teachers don’t like kid’s texting; they feel like they’re talking to nobody; like they’re words were not heard by anybody who has a phone out. I know how that feels and it sucks. One day, many years from now, the whole world is going to become silent, no one will have a voice, just really powerful thumbs to text and send messages. And again, if a conversation is so important that you need to constantly text him/her, then why not go ahead and call them? It seems so simple just to text, but when you’re with somebody else, calling that person your texting saves time, energy, and you from having pissed off friends.

I find it hard to believe that America is confused about why their kids are so obese, so lazy, and don’t know how to socialize and communicate through speech with anyone except their video game characters. The answer is right in front of you! Kick your kid in the ass if he’s 180 pounds and gaining at the age of 9. Tell them to go shoot some hoops or drop them off at the pool and make them walk home. Make them join a club (Scouts, Girls inc., Boys and Girls Club) just to meet people, hopefully future friends beside their own imaginary ones. Make them join a sport or two at school. Take away their Gamecube and PSP if they use them too much- and even if they don’t. Make them see the other side of life. I believe the younger you do this the better off they’ll be in the future.

So finally, I say to America, all you kids that are excessively obese, lazy, bored with life and have no friends: put down your phone, put down you’re iPod, put down your wireless controller, get up, be active; explore the world. Go hike up a mountain, go run a 5K marathon, and go use the rest of your body- give your thumbs a rest. Enjoy being young and flexible, having good health and tons of energy; my grandpa, a man with much wisdom, used to tell me how much he missed these blessings from long ago- and from what I’ve seen there’s no doubt they fade as time roles on. Go hang out with your friends instead of texting them (and listen to what they have to say if it’s not too much to ask). If you’re going to watch TV or a movie, at least watch it with someone else. “Spend as much time as you can not being alone,” my grandpa always said. In the words of Tim McGraw, “live like you were dying.”