For the record, no, I am not leaving or discontinuing my blogging. I am, however, saying goodbye to a lot of the time I would've normally spent online.
I noticed that most of the last couple of blog posts (excluding the novena posts) have contained some sort of ranting. Though I do feel like I was within my right to express my unhappiness over certain situations, I've also come to the realization (with a little help from God) that a lot of my recent stresses have come from being online so much. Just because I have so much free time (and go through books uncommonly fast) does not mean I should get online. I'm a young and (I hope) creative woman, I should be able to brainstorm and think of more productive and/or stress-free things to do with my time.
Thanks to Emily's post (as well as one about kicking technology to the curve -- just don't ask me for the link since I forgot to bookmark it and don't remember where I read it), I've also made the decision to go back to the basics. I've been considering it for the past couple of weeks but reading these posts was the push I needed to actually do it. This means: less Twitter, less Facebook, less online games (not renewing my membership to anything), and (this pains me, lol) less Spotify since I will be trying to give my laptop a break every couple of hours (hey, I still write and am working on my novel). When I do use the laptop, I'll be disabling my WiFi connection so that I am not tempted to browse. This does not mean I am quitting cold turkey as I do have Grad School applications and emails to respond to but I am cutting back quite a bit. Of course, I will continue to blog... and I hope that, by cutting back on the time spent online, I will be able to write better and more meaningful posts than I have in the past. My iPod and Android phone are also getting makeovers. Less apps (and I may also eventually cut back on my current phone plan so that I have a cheaper and more basic one) and less clutter. Like I said, I've been thinking about this for a while and I think it's now the right time to implement this change.
One of my best friends and I have also been getting into the habit of writing letters through snail mail rather than emailing. Since we currently live in different states (and I don't know when I will see her again), we also try to have a Google Hangout session every once in a while... because there is nothing better than having face-to-face conversations. Even if it's online, there can be no communication errors because we're seeing each other as we talk. Emails, messages, and texts... they've all become so impersonal. It seems like our communication has lost a lot of meaning because of how it's currently done. Because of this and other reasons, we're going back to the old fashioned way of communicating. Plus, let's be honest, there is something more romantic about receiving something your significant other has taken the time and effort to write for you longhand than a quick email. Just a little hint in case my future boyfriend/husband ever stumbles across this post. ;) lol.
It's not going to be easy as our society is so immersed in media but I'm going to work on it. This is not me saying that all media and technology is bad. For our Church, there are definitely upsides to using it in order to evangelize. For me, as an individual with nothing valuable to contribute while I am jobless and with a future that has yet to take shape, my time would be better spent offline for the meantime. This also does not mean that I will stay away forever. I think that, once I can contribute better, I will increase my online activity. For now, I'm going to work on myself offline and keep you guys updated through this blog and an occasional tweet. :)
This is not a goodbye. I have a feeling my blogging will increase as a result of pushing Twitter and Facebook to the side. This is a challenge I willingly accept and I will let you all know updated. :D And, I am actually headed offline soon so that I can (hopefully) have something of substance written for tomorrow. ;)
I hope you are all having a great start of week thus far... and that you will let me know if I can pray for you today or any day that you need it. :D
As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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