Take a moment and ask yourself…when was the last time you went a full day without checking social media? When was the last time you looked up to say hello to a passing stranger? When was the last time you took full control of your own time? We create things such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Pintrest to better our lives in terms of connections and efficiency. But have we become slaves to our own creation? I have come to realize that although we may be ‘connected’ by social media…we are ultimately disconnected from ourselves, from each other.

We can all recall that occasional weekend afternoon that we don’t have plans, and revel in the silence for just a moment, thinking of all the things we could do with our free time. Paint! Go for a walk! Cook something new! Dive into the stack of books you’ve been meaning to read! Work on writing that book you’ve always talked about! But then we gaze at our laptops, and the moment passes.

After six years of heavy social media use (nearly every waking hour of every single day) it is time for a break. Recently I have come to realize my abuse of social media as I now use it to momentarily escape reality…instead of benefiting my life and facing my own battles. I voraciously consume the news and media on a minute-by-minute basis—so much that I often feel as though my mind is on the brink of a cartoonish information overload. By perpetually putting a screen between myself and the world, I’m surveilling my life from the same vantage point as my social media followers rather than experiencing it.

We set out to make each day influential in our lives..but sadly, social media is consistently a road block.

To renew my sense of gratitude and appreciation of the surrounding world, I challenge myself to ONE FULL SCHOOL WEEK of no social media. The first days are expected to be uncomfortable with withdraw symptoms. Hopefully, I will be able to successfully break bad habits (checking and refreshing feed) and increase the productivity of each day.