I never realized how much I needed other people until now. My unplugged challenge began Friday 29 September at 3p.m. I had to preplan for this special occasion that wasn’t so special. I began by emailing two of my professors to inform them I may or may not be able to turn in assignments on time because of my unique circumstance. One professor didn’t seem to get the email in time while the other responded, “good luck. You’ll need it”. Little did I know, I didn’t need it much at all.
I printed out two copies of my capstone draft, uploaded the assignments I had to complete before taps, and I also called my mom who did not answer. I posted my final Snapchat letting my associates know I’ll return in 24 hours. To make life simpler, I powered down my cellphone and iPad and placed both in my desk drawer. I sat at my desk for a second, lost and confused. I felt like I had just given up a large part of my everyday life. Once I was able to return back to reality, I walked down to the new Corps training facility for practice. On my walk down I kept reminding myself that it was only going to be 24 hours, that’s all. I just had to keep busy at all times. Even at this moment, walking down to the track, I began replaying things in my mind I needed to do before the night was over. A cycle transpired in my head between washing my clothes, folding them, and writing two paragraphs for my capstone. As I continued to walk I began to hear the leaves crunch beneath my low-quarters. The orange, brown, and yellow colors surrounded me, giving me a taste of the fall season. Within minutes I was at the crops training facility. My coach looked shocked, as if I was actually on time this day. Just thirty minutes earlier than normal, according to the watch I borrowed from my roommate. I walked into the locker room, changed and headed to into the training room where I was immediately asked to hook up to the aux. I sat in utter shock that the one day I was asked to play music, I couldn’t. Annoyed at the fact that I didn’t have phone to begin with was one thing, then to go to practice without music was the icing on the cake. Practice lasted about two hours and left me with an hour to see the trainer and get showered. By 6:30 I was walking back up to my room to get ready for formation at 7.
I spent a particularly long time in Crozet eating dinner and socializing with people I don’t normally speak to. Typically, I would find a table in the corner, fairly quiet, and enjoy my dinner with one or two friends. On this day, I decided to sit upstairs with my teammates. Loud and rowdy is what we were, but it kept my mind occupied for the hour. After SRC, I spent the remainder of my Friday night in my room having “girl talk” with my rats until I couldn’t take it anymore. This was somewhat of a typical Friday night for us. The girl talk, pizza, and music are what we usually engage in, if most of us are around. Generally, most weekends my roommate and two out of three rats are away at a soccer game. Thankfully, they were all present and attentive. Dance battles broke out between the rats and the latest ratline stories were being shared among those in the room. I continued to try to make conversations to keep myself busy. It was only to realize I was trying to avoid being board.
I’ve never understood what it truly feels like to be bored here at VMI or even at home. When I have free time, I usually spend it by watching “Orange is the New Black” on Netflix or shopping on various websites online. When I’m home, I have this cool device called a Television that plays thousands of shows at one time on different channels: not to mention, friends that are able to go out, restaurants that don’t close at six, and a mall with more than three stores. Being board was an option that I could chose because I didn’t want to do anything else.
Right around 10:45p.m, I began to tune everyone out around me. I felt my eyes getting heavy as they started lowering as the minutes passed. I laid in my bed and told the party animals to have at it, just don’t be late for taps. I looked over my shoulder and asked my roommate to put her alarm on loud. I know she thought I was crazy, given that we always put our phones on vibrate. She didn’t ask questions and continued with her night. I rolled back over, closed my eyes, and was fast asleep.
Have you ever been woken up too an electric drill in your ear? What felt like an everlasting ring pierced my ears, waking me abruptly. I wasn’t use to this type of noise this early in the morning. As I began putting my clothes on and brushing my teeth, I couldn’t help but to think how I took my alarm for granted. The subtle vibration that slowly woke me from my slumber each morning was magnificent, and quite to say the least.
After formation first classmen are able to fall out of their platoons and go back to their rooms. I decided to march down with my company and eat breakfast; this was the first time in a long time. I walked back up to barracks but before I went back to my room, I stopped to ask Julia if she would come get me at 8:45 since she and I were scheduled to babysit together. She looked at me tangled and confused, and agreed. As I began to walk back to my room, I began to feel helpless. For once, I needed to rely on other people for help. This was foreign to me.
At 8:50 we both began to walk over to Coach and Mrs. Wach’s house, VMI’s head football coach. When we arrived, sitting there in the living room were four kids ages ranging from 2 to 7 years old. Thankfully I had experience with kids this young before, Julia on the other hand, not so much. There was no set schedule for the kids so we went with wind. They sat for the first half an hour watching Team Umizoomi on Nickelodeon. On this episode, Milli, Geo, and Bot were off helping find a baby panda named Little Joe, who is lost in Umi City. Once the team found him they set off on a journey to take him back home to his family at the Panda House.
The oldest of the four kids began to get a little antsy, so we pulled out Hungry Hungry Hippo, Jenga, and a LEGO Creator 31012 Family House. The kids were satisfied for the next hour and a half. Of course, with kids being kids, nothing last forever. Around 11:30 we headed out back for some fresh air. We played tag, we raced, and we even climbed a few trees. I truly enjoyed being out there with the kids. It made me think about a profession in childcare until the youngest one, Adam, needed his pamper changed. Time was flying by. Before I knew it, Mrs. Wach and the other moms were there to pick up the kids.
We went inside, had a quick lunch, and said our good byes as each of the kids gathered their belongings. On the walk back to barracks, I was recapping the morning in my head. I couldn’t believe I had gone thus far without a phone or even my iPad. I would periodically check my pockets or backpack thinking I’d left it someplace, forgetting that I was in the mist of the challenge. Once I made it back to barracks it was almost two o’clock. I felt my insides flutter as my heart and mind jumped with joy. I was so excited to get back on my cell phone; I missed my boyfriend the most. I began to do what I knew best, clean! I organized my drawers, and got my clothes out for the weekend. I headed to shower, and timed it perfectly. By 2:55 I was out of the shower walking back to my room. I threw on the quickest item I had in my vicinity, pulled open my drawers, and powered on. I’ve never felt so anxious to turn my devices back on. I kept asking myself, am I that connected that I can no longer disconnect? I wasn’t convinced. After a few days had passed of being reunited with my items, I realized it wasn’t the items that I missed the most; it was my routine. Not having to rely on others when I needed something or being able to handle a situation on my own was determined by my reliance on my devices. If I could do this all over again without having to ask for help, I would and I’d save those “good luck’s” for something else.