Are we, as college students, too dependent on communication? As you walk around campus, take notice of how many students are on their cell phones the second they step out of the classroom. We as a society are so concerned with communication that we rarely take any time out for ourselves. When’s the last time you stayed in on a Friday night, turned off your phone and instant messenger, and spent the eve-ning by yourself to explore your personal interests? A month? A year? Never? The time is more valuable and fun than you might think. You could watch a film, listen to music, sketch a drawing, read a book or a magazine, play an instrument, or even write and explore your thoughts. Find out who you are and how you arrived at your present location. If people split the amount of time they spend in a weekend between their friends and themselves, they would have a much better concept of what they are about. When a teacher or employer asks, “How would you describe yourself?” The response could be much more than a shoulder shrug.Are we, as individual college students, too caught up in our own lives to worry about what is going on in the world around us? The next time you are on campus, ask some random students to name three democratic candidates running for the presidency. There is a good chance many students can’t name one. Better yet, ask them to name three republicans running for president. Most likely, the majority will not realize it’s a trick question.
We all have many responsibilities to take care of aside from school. Many of us carry a job to involuntarily increase our workload. But, if college students spent a little more time by themselves and a little more time thinking about the world around them, we would be better prepared for the world ahead of us and a more productive community.