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| PHOTO SOURCE: Jeremy Ricketts |
Hello, reader!!
*shrieks with excitement* It’s been so long and I’m happy to be back blogging. As for
my whereabouts during my ‘disappearance’, fret not, I’ll be updating you on
what I was up to.
I have changed my blog name which was a long time coming but
I decided to just change it so it could correspond to all my social media and
as it’s an extension of myself, I wanted it to be just that in name as well.
~
Over a week ago I decided to take a week off from the
internet. It was a pretty sudden decision but it was necessary. There were
times when I’d get sad, frustrated and would just feel so low but instead of
confronting my feelings head on, I’d tell myself that ‘it’d be fine’ then
immediately go on Tumblr or Reddit and other various sites in order to feel
better. One time I was refreshing all sites simultaneously because I was
spending so much time on them, while my feelings were ignored. The decision to
take a break happened when I noticed that instead of being happy using the
internet, I’d get even more depressed because I had slowly started comparing
myself to the people on the net and like that saying goes, “comparison is the
thief of all joy”, and thus began my break.
It was easy at first, which was surprising because I thought
it’d be hard as I was dependent on the internet, and on top of that, I used the
internet to conduct business. I wasn’t going to answer or send any emails
whatsoever and I worried I’d be losing potential business that way but I stopped
worrying. With good reason too!
I watched a lot of TV, I had time left over and I didn’t
worry about anything, I did what I felt like doing and if I wanted to nap, I napped.
While watching TV, there were times when a commercial break would come on TV
and the first thing I’d do was to reach for my phone (!) before remembering
that I was taking a break. I even mistakenly went on Twitter so I signed out of
my account to prevent any further mishaps!
I also read a lot which was great because with the frenzy of
always being busy on the internet, I didn’t have time to sit and enjoy a book
but this time I did. Over the week, I read and finished two books and started a
third.
It’s amazing how much time is freed by taking a break from
the internet. I was able to play with my nephews when they got back from school
or to just snuggle with them on the sofa while watching cartoons. I gave them
attention that wasn’t taken away by whatever new or great thing is happening on
the internet and it was greaaat.
After supper every evening I would spend time with the whole
family watching TV instead of my usual rushing directly to my bedroom to work. Since
I had free time, I used it to think of what I wanted to do and how I would do
it, business wise and my mind was so clear; free from the clutter of
information on the net. (Running a business is EXTREMELY stressful!) I also went for daily runs with my nephews and dogs and
I saw the sunset every evening. Yay for fitness!
What else? I got to write and completed a script I was
writing which was so much fun that I’m going to extend it and write as much as I
can on it AND I also wrote a few pages of my book (which is really hard but I look
forward to writing the last page!).
When I was bored I would wonder what news I was missing out
on or if anything interesting was happening; I couldn't ‘watch’ the Billboard
Music Awards or Eurovision on Twitter! I also missed talking to my friend
Kayleigh because I went from talking to her everyday to have to refrain from
Whatsapping her the whole week! On Friday I saw from my notification window
that one of my friends needed urgent help with her assignment and I couldn’t
help her as she texted me through Whatsapp. The only way I could communicate
with the outside world was through SMS but few people these days use that
anymore what with –you guessed it- the internet.
Overall, it was a really good and much needed break for me
mentally and emotionally. I got a chance to deal with my feelings, to think
clearly and to be actually spend time with my loved ones and be present. The
last time I went on an internet break in 2013 when things were starting to get
bad for me though I only took 3 days off then. I would recommend a break for
anyone who feels overwhelmed and becomes too dependent on the internet. After
all, your health has to be more important than a trending meme on Tumblr,
right?
Have you ever taken a break from the internet or just social
media before? If so, what were your reasons and how did you fare? Leave a comment
below and if you have a blog, a link for your blog so I can check that out too!
Look out for my update posts coming everyday this week!
'Til next time,
-Bella
