The Cruel World of Facebook

Why is Facebook so addictive? Why are we so drawn to it? Why do we make up words associated with Facebook?
The answer is simple. As humans, we are drawn to everything that links us to other people. There is nothing glorious or fascinating about Facebook, but it links us to those we have connections with. Facebook allows us to keep in contact with our friends and family without actually making a connection. It is a way of taking the easy way out. Rather than picking up a telephone and calling your second cousin, you can "poke" them on Facebook and feel satisfied that your relationship has been rekindled. It is pointless to think that we can maintain a relationship without physically being with the person. Relationships aren't based on merely talking to a person, we must be there for them emotionally as well as physically. Facebook lures us into this "safe-zone" where we mistake friendly curiosity for affection. We even create words or phrases to show our appreciation for Facebook. Often times, the phrase "I Facebooked you last night" can be heard between friends in the hallways of the school. How well can we know people if we base their life around their Internet usage? If someone does not go on their Facebook for a week and their status becomes blank from inactivity we lose our connection to them. Is it really that hard for us to talk to the person in person rather than on the Internet? It is easy to be deceived over the computer because you can't see the facial expressions or hear the tone of someones voice when they say "happy birthday." Are they really wishing you well? Or are they merely saying that so you don't get snippy with them the next day? Facebook is just another distraction in our relationships, it lures us into a false security. Eventually, we could abandon our interactions with people in the real world and base relationships on our interactions over Facebook and the Internet. Anyone feel like boycotting Facebook now?

Texting

Why is texting so important in society today? It seems as if it is a lifeline to the outside world, a link to those around us. It isn't though, it is just an easy way to contact those who are not in your immediate vicinity, a simple way to talk to them without uttering a word. To me, it is somewhat of a crazy obsession that i try to stop at every turn but never succeed in curing myself of the need for it. It is pure nonsense, and yet my hands are so familiar, so in-tune with it, that I can't seem to help myself. Every time I hear the zzzttt of the vibration or catch a glimpse of the screen lighting up, I reach for it without hesitation, not knowing what it says but feeling some sort of connection to the words nonetheless. It is almost like my mind has bonded with it, as if mind and phone have become intertwined. Absurd and pathetic, I know. What gets me most though, is the fact that nothing I do seems to be able to curb this unknown fascination with the cellular device. Nothing interesting really comes out of the texting conversations, so there isn't any real reason to get excited. Maybe it is because, during the day, it is my only way of contacting my boyfriend. He lives eightteen hours away, so any conversation we have is sweet, in a simple sort of way.  It is our only means of communication, until night-time when we talk on the phone. He is the only one I end up texting. It used to be that I would text a friend sitting right beside me, those unspoken words that cannot be said in the presence of others. As time passed, however, and I became more familiar with it, I became bored. I stopped texting my friends, unless they messaged me first. It brought a time of peace, a sense of accomplishment for me. I had overcome my texting obsession! Well, not quite. I still text my boyfriend, almost religiously it seems, but even that has its limits. I don't text in class or during work, so we are limited to the time between classes and during lunch. After school is a time of constant messages, until the time we both head off to work. After work, the only text message I receive is one giving me permission to call my boyfriend, an acknowledgement that if I want to talk to him rather than read a short version of what he wants to say, that I may do so. After that, the phone gets plugged into the charger, and is not picked up until morning. Yet it remains on all week, as I do not own an alarm clock so my phone serves as one.When the weekend comes, the phone gets turned off before bed, so that nothing may interfere with my rest.When I first started texting, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world, but now I have lost that childish interest in it and use it only when necessary. I text my mother and my boyfriend, nobody else. Aside from those times, it remains in my purse, lonely and awaiting the time when I may rekindle the bond. If I have my way, the bond will continue to deteriorate as I grow older, as more important aspects of life distance me from the frivolous activity of texting.

Thank God It's Friday.

     Thank God it's Friday. I have the same thought every week, as if it were routine. Why do I have this thought? I'm not entirely sure. On Friday night I work from 5pm until 7pm. That isn't that great, why be thankful for the day I have to work? The rest of the weekend isn't that great either. I may possibly have to work in the mornings, from 5am-8am. Why look forward to waking up before the sun has risen? Maybe it's the fact that I don't feel lazy, as I do during the rest of the week. During the week, I get up, get ready for school, go to school, come home, do homework, talk on the phone with my boyfriend, then go to bed. What a boring routine. But on Friday, the routine changes. I sleep in, rush to get ready, curse the traffic lights and pray I don't arrive late. Then, I receive tons of homework that I don't really think that I will do that evening, go home, talk on the phone until my boyfriend goes to work, go to work myself, and have small chat with the secretaries at the doctor's office where I clean. After work, I eat supper around 8pm, which is late for me to eat my biggest meal, and watch TV (usually a movie) with my grandma. After relaxing for an hour or two, I talk on the phone until about midnight, talking about random things with my boyfriend. The routine changes, it's slightly more exciting, more thrilling to have that change, the unpredictable aspect looming ahead, piquing my interest. For the rest of the weekend, I consider doing homework off and on, clean the house as if my life depends on it, talk on the phone whenever I can, and laze around. Why should I like being lazy? Well I don't. I chastise myself for it, but on the weekend, it is a guilty pleasure that I just can't help indulging in. The weekends are unpredictable, I never really know what I will be doing. My mother could ask me to go shopping with her, I could go to church on Sunday morning, I could drop by my sister's place for a visit with my niece, or I could be conned into babysitting, not getting any pay afterwards. Maybe that's why I do it, feel relieved that it's Friday, it means that the routine events of the week are over and done with. It means that the weekend is here, and anything can happen. Something worthwhile just might happen to me while I go out for coffee or clean the house. something unexpected that sparks my interest. I could break an arm, I could get accepted into my favourite college, or I could move out. The future is unpredictable, unexpected, and surprising. So, in honour of all that may or may not happen this beautiful or dreary weekend, thank God it's Friday.

Inspiration.

The inspiration to write may arise from anything. For me, nothing inspires me to write more than a good book. After reading an interesting novel, I have so many new ideas for writing that I don't know where to start. Should i start writing them down, putting all of my crazy ideas into words for others to criticize? Or do I push them to the back of my mind for a later time when I start to write a story, and use them up then? I generally write them down on a piece of lined paper and set them aside so that I may look at them when I get the urge to write.
Just last month I bought a journal. My thoughts when buying it were centred around writing a story, one that may be published in the future. The journal inspires me to think creatively, to write in different styles than I am used to. The cover is a map of the world, with labels set in the 1800's. Inside, the journal has inspirational quotes from authors, poets, actors, pilots, and everyday people. The quotes promote change and diversity in my writing as well as how I live my life.
The only thing that seems to inspire me as much as my journal and reading do is being in a quiet atmosphere where I am encouraged to write. This atmosphere is provided in Writer's Craft. In class, we are given encouragement to write, this encouragement inspires me to practice my writing skills and better my writing habits. If I can teach myself to use the techniques I am learning in Writer's Craft outside of school, I may very well finish a story and publish it, rather than having one too many works in progress.