Final 4th Hour Assignment: A Return to the past

For my final blog I chose to read about the article titled "The Amazing Thing That Happened When I Locked My Cell Phone In My Car. I thought that this article was particularly interesting because it demonstrated a couple different things about people and how they value their phones in today's modern age.

As the author tells us she had a particularly busy day so it was not surprising when she got overwhelmed and naturally forgot something. However, the interesting thing about what she forgot was what she was most angry about. It wasn't her purse, to-do list, or even the keys to her car. Instead the thing that angered the author the most was that she forgot her phone in the car.

Now there are a couple of practical reasons as to why she could be angry about forgetting her phone in the car. Issue one being that she now has no way to communicate with her family since she doesn't have her phone. She later solves this problem but still remains annoyed. The author then goes on to say that the reason she is so angry about forgetting her phone in the car is because she can't scroll through Facebook or other social media to pass the time. Instead she has to remain in this coffee shop and try to function like a normal human being.

As she looks around and the coffee shop casually listening to the conversations of these grizzled and unusual looking hunters she realizes that she is the one that feels out of place. While the hunters are carrying on with casual conversation and never once look at a phone or electronic device, the author has a dramatic moment of irony. She realizes that she is the odd one out in the coffee shop not because her clothing is different but rather because she didn't know how to function normally like these other people.

This is when the author had what she defines as her "amazing moment". What she really had was a realization about how addicted she was to her cell phone because it just became a part of who she was everyday. This is truly a shocking realization to have because it is hard to see our own addictions and struggles sometimes unless they are shown to us by other people or specific situations.

I'm sure we would all have a similar experience like the author once we have a situation similar to her. She goes on to tell us that she enjoyed the rest of her time being a normal person in the coffee shop instead of being stuck on her phone like she normally would have been. I think the real beauty in this piece is when she realizes her shortcomings and addiction to her smart phone and the irony that it creates with her suddenly becoming the outsider instead of those that appear to be out of the norm. Then she becomes envious of their ability to just be normal which I think is the most profound and impactful moment of the entire peace for me.