Strategically Communicating

The other day, I was sitting in lecture and like many other students, I was on my cell phone. All of the sudden, mid text message – my iPhone shut off. I frantically began pushing the home button and holding down the power off button, but nothing was working. After five anxious and stressful minutes, my phone finally turned back on. Now as I look back on those five minutes, an interesting and somewhat alarming realization dawns on me. First, let me get this straight – I was literally in a panic for those short five minutes (although at the time, it seemed like an eternity); in fact, I was in such a panic that I actually considered leaving my last lecture of the term the week before finals to figure out why my phone would not turn on. I was ready to drop everything I had planned for the day and run to the apple store. It was in those five minutes that I realized how truly attached I am to my electronics. Not only was I worried about being unable to communicate with my friends, I was waiting for an important email from a potential employer, and with my phone shut off and my laptop at home, I had no way to receive the message. It truly amazes me that one electronic gives us access to all forms of communication, and without it working properly it feels as if we are cut off from all forms of communication.

So, now that my iPhone is safely working, I can look back at this experience and laugh at how ridiculous I acted in the situation. But I can quite honestly (and somewhat embarrassingly) admit that if it were to happen again, I would probably react in the same way. With this story aside, good luck to everyone during finals week and I hope we all keep strategically communicating – with the trusty use of our working cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices.