AT&T Internet and Education Scholarship

Some days I try to imagine my life without the technological advances that we have nowadays. It’s difficult, it’s scary, and ultimately, it’s unthinkable. I've gotten so used to the privileges we have in our modern age that the thought of being separated from it through my head into twister. The ability to stream movies and TV episodes in the palm of my hand is quite advanced, in the eyes of my parents, and although I’m not that old I do remember the struggle of trying to remind your family to record the newest episode of Sailor Moon on a fresh VHS tape. I still like to go back and re-watch those tapes on what’s left of my family’s broken down VCR. Or even buying a new rabbit ear TV antenna that only seemed to work when one ear was halfway up and the other was tilted all the way to the right. Those days were quite painful. However, those are the memories I will never forget. With shift to online media, I slowly watched my life turn upside down, a negative effect. Although these advances are meant to make our entertainment more accessible and enjoyable, it has caused a major problem for students, especially those in high school. I for one can say that I was always a child that enjoyed watching TV with my brother everyday after school. It was nice to come together and lay down on the couch and watch the newest episode of SpongeBob, then doing our homework right afterwards. However, as we got older, it seemed as if we spent less time in the living room together and more time to in our own bedrooms watching our own shows from various websites. Eventually, homework and textbooks were only used to put under our laptops to keep them from overheating. Ask any high school student and they’ll tell you how hard it is to do schoolwork at a desk with a computer. It’s nearly impossible to resist the urge to log on and watch a movie instead. And although the ability to access videos on news websites such as CNN or NBC is very helpful, they are often overtaken by the ability to watch the newest episode of your favorite anime that only comes out in Japan. It’s really about having the strength and determination to get your work done. It may seem like a daunting task, but we have to at least try. As for myself, I had to learn the resistance the hard way. I clearly remember being near spring finals when I discovered Netflix. I would stay up every night watching episodes of How I Met Your Mother till 3:00 am. By the 4th night, I was done and I knew it was time to turn my habits around. Every student should appreciate what we have in technology nowadays, but they need to learn to balance it with their performance in school. With this, we can have our cake and eat it to.