My challenge of facing a week without a phone was great. I did homework, spent time with family, and felt more in tune with myself. Now, as time has passed, I’ve felt myself getting sucked into yet another hole of brainrot and doomscrolling. No, I’m not doing the same challenge again, but instead doing something slightly different. I’m going a month without social media.
To put it simply, October was a rough month. If I could’ve been run over, I would have done it. Now, in the clear, I want November to go in a completely different direction.
Goals:
Mental health – right now, I am at a crossroads. I feel confused, sad, angry, and want to make impulsive, bad decisions. I need to work on being stable for myself and staying focused on discipline. It’s kind of ironic how the things I don’t want to do end up being the best for me, so I’m going to try to complete them while remembering this is all for me.
Future – I’m embarrassed at how behind I am regarding the whole college thing. I’ve completed one application, but have done zero scholarship work. I don’t want to push myself further behind, so I must work towards my future.
Hobbies – we all create more than we consume. I have so many wild ideas, but they get silenced by social media. With this break, I want to create more art and read more books.
Week 1:
With wrestling and turtles all the way down, I feel quite content. I enjoy the mystery of the book and am even considering dropping weight for wrestling. That’s not all I have to occupy myself with, though. I have coloring books I want to work on, a sewing project, and so much personal work to go through. For this challenge, I am utilizing the whiteboard in my room, the Finch app, and my last brain cell. I find myself missing Instagram the most, though. I can survive without streaks and weird TikTok livestreams I scroll upon. What I really yearn for is a weird Instagram reel that I can laugh at for five minutes straight. Sometimes when I take pictures, I start imagining what song to post them to as a story, or what caption I can make for my next post.
Week 2:
This was a rough week. Almost every day, I woke up from school because I didn’t want to go. Some days I even fell into my urges and just slept in or didn’t go. Shout out to scooters and big cats’ energy for lightening up my mornings. Aside from wishing I could become one with my bed and crying to Mr. Najarro at school, this week wasn’t all that bad. It’s noticeable when I improve during wrestling, and the long weekend really saved me.
So, the good news is that I got to take a fun little weekend trip to Chicago. I took a river taxi, went to a protest, and got some pants at Uniqlo. Upon arriving home, I got an acceptance letter from the University of Iowa. In the end, I was happy with this week and didn’t need to share any aspect of it on Instagram.
Week 3:
I have never wanted to be on Instagram more. This week was actually hard, even without my socials. I was wiped out and wanted to go home almost every single day. I did no homework for English (sorry, Guerra), but got reprimanded for having YouTube, so I eventually deleted that too. Long story short, the week was terrible. I was craving to post on TikTok, rant on my private story, and share my thoughts of each day on Instagram notes. The weekend, once again, is what saved this week.
On Saturday, I had a wrestling tournament where I got lucky more times than I deserved. I woke up late, forgot my singlet, and had all my shower stuff in the locker room. Luckily, my teammates called me, my coach let me grab my things, and my dad left me a salad in the fridge. With this luck, I was able to progress from getting pinned in 20 seconds to making it to the second period. My last match truly saved the day because I endured all three periods and won my first-ever match by points. After being totally wiped out, I got to work, and the event was a wedding. I had fun dancing and being a part of such a special day. Sunday was the best reset day I had in a while, and I’m ready to take on the final week of my challenge.
Week 4:
Stranger Things. That’s how I survived this week. The first two days almost wiped me out. Between wrestling and last-minute assignments, I was definitely ready for the break. Mr Muscatine made the last day bearable, along with a good school lunch cupcake. I was thankfully relieved when some of my family visited home, and I got to spend plenty of time with them.
For Thanksgiving, my entire family came over to my house. My kitchen was filled with food and music, and my living room was filled with laughter and dancing. We played an intense game of loteria, but ended the night with the chacha slide and warm hugs goodbye. I spent black Friday shopping small and found some awesome salt and pepper shakers at Meg’s. The break was successful, to say the least. I did my nails three times, ran three miles on Thanksgiving, and got to see everyone I love. Being near the end of the challenge has also been a good time for reflecting. I’ve learned that taking away social media won’t magically make me productive or eliminate my procrastination, but it has given my mind a lot of room to think. Instead of my thoughts being drowned by Instagram posts and dumb TikToks, I have room to come up with new ideas and create new things. These last few days will have me on the edge of my seat, but I know I will be fine.
Last day:
After 29 days without social media, I feel like a homeschooled kid getting their first phone tonight. At 12, I’m going to redownload everything, and beyond my excitement, I’m nervous. I’m anxious to see everything, to be sucked into a black hole of mindless videos and posts. Obviously, I want to be caught up on jokes, drama, and pop culture, but do I really want to be a part of it all over again? I want to post on Instagram, but I’ve enjoyed my privacy and having a quiet life. I feel conflicted, but I do not want my break to go any longer.
Final reflection:
Taking a month without social media is not as impossible as everyone around me likes to make it seem. I miss chatting with people immediately, but ultimately, I feel more in touch with reality.
Goals reflection:
Mental health – I feel a lot better mentally. The lack of distractions has given me a lot of clarity, and I didn’t want to be run over by a car as much.
Future – I got accepted to Iowa! I worked on more applications for colleges in Chicago, and I am currently waiting for more acceptance letters.
Hobbies – I read more than normal this month. I read Mexican Gothic for class, which was wild but a good read. I also read Turtles All the Way Down, which honestly wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be: the plot lowkey got lost, and the ending felt very rushed. At the end of the month, I began reading the poet X and Blackout.
So, finally, I enjoyed my challenge, and I think everyone should take a break from social media from time to time.
