A Boycott of Facebook a.k.a. Redefining My Life in One Week

From Monday to Monday, August 30-September 6, I have vowed not to let my fingers type in my username and password to enter that cyberworld of social interaction, instant chat, and awful surveys, known more commonly as Facebook.

I am a bit of an addict. I usually update my status once a day and have officially liked 305 different topics (musicians, hobbies, movies, books, etc. so I guess I could simply be considered more cultured with more diverse interests than anyone else...). Especially during the school year, much of my social interaction outside of school consists of having conversations through Facebook chat or posting on other people's walls. So, for me to spend a week away from Facebook definitely impacts some undefined part of my life.

I have stayed away from Facebook for longer than a week before. This summer, there were two different ten day periods where I simply did not have access to a computer. This is different, though. I'm on a computer now, but I cannot scroll up and select the bookmarked Facebook. I have to resist the temptation, and with my addictive personality, an added element - psychological, in fact - is in play.

So, why am I doing this? Does it matter that I'm not checking Facebook for a week? Really, it should not be this big of a deal.

But...I'm applying to eleven colleges right now, I'm taking multiple AP classes, I'm in a bajillion clubs, choirs, not to mention the 29 page piano concerto I have to learn within the next several months. So this is an experiment. If my life drastically improves, if my time-management skills improve, if any of my grades go up, if I get more sleep, etc., then this will be a success. Maybe I'll give up Facebook for two weeks next time, or a month, or even more.

This is a chronicle of my seven days...

DAY ONE:

Not too bad. I actually had my little brother check my Facebook page just to make sure that nobody had anything pressing to tell me. That's not cheating, is it? Well, too late now. I finished my college application schedule, which means all I have to do is actually...apply.
For the next several hours, though, I will be distracted by calculus, European history, and 1984, so don't count on me giving up today!

DAY TWO, THREE, and FOUR :

Thursday now. I'm alive and very well. Giving up Facebook is kind of like giving up chocolate for Lent. The first couple days are hard, but then you realize that you actually only ate chocolate once or twice a week anyways. No big deal. But this experiment has inspired me to maybe change the subject of this blog. Instead of a mix of music, film, literature, politics, etc., I might decide to concentrate instead on giving up some common item for a week...cell phone, ice cream, homework... the options are endless! Stay tuned!

DAY FIVE, SIX :

Yeah. Ditto the above post.

Eat Pray Love. repeat.

As a celebration/mourning exercise commemorating the first day of my last year of high school, I went to see Eat Pray Love at that rip-off wonder known as 'Northpark'. ($10.50 for a ticket? Seriously?)

I am a total SUCKER for romances (unless they were written by Sparks, Nicholas or Steele, Danielle or Meyer, Stephanie). And this was a romance, but without an overabundance of Romance. In fact, Liz Gilbert makes an effort to NOT be romantically involved during her year of world travel. This memoir movie, starring Julia Roberts (who, despite her unpopularity with critics nowadays, still captures the true spirit of her characters while allowing other actors to shine), starts with a woman, newly divorced and affair-ed, who FALLS IN LOVE WITH HER LIFE! She realizes that it is not her marriage that she needs to save, nor her relationship with her boyfriend, but for her own life! Call it selfish, call it unrealistic, call it idealistic, but call it courage. We all need a shot glass of courage every day.
Here are my top five favorite things about this end of the summer flick:

5. The scenery. Especially Bali. Oceans. Mountains. Paradise.

And Italy. The scene in Naples [seems] to capture the city (and pizza!) perfectly. Even the girl who flashed Liz the finger.

And India. Even the scene with the poor children reaching through the windows was completely breathtaking. The architecture is so different from America's straight up and down buildings.

4. The actresses. I adore Julia Roberts. She grows on you a bit. But just watching her versatility, from Pretty Woman to Mona Lisa Smile to Notting Hill to Ocean's to this! She creates the character, but lets everyone else do their stuff too.

Viola Davis as the best friend. A small part, but one that really stood out. Her marriage, unlike Liz's, is perfect. She is married to a fat, balding white guy. She's a gorgeous and curvy black woman. They have a beautiful baby.

The wife of the fortune teller in Bali. Dear LORD. The whole audience laughed every time she appeared, because she always had some smartass remark about Liz finding a man at any cost. Why was it funny? I have no idea.

3. The FOOD. Italy, here I come! Pasta, pizza, gelato. Thre three major food groups!

2. The clothes! Perfect wardrobe for Ms. Roberts, alternating from posh Euro-touristy to saris in India and long, flowing dresses and cute straw hats in Bali.

1. THE ACTORS! Richard Jenkins (Richard the stereotypical Texan) STOLE the movie. That is the ONE thing I am on par with the critics for. His name for Liz was 'Groceries' because she ate so much. He always wore the same funky pair of glasses. And he's a Texan in an Indian ashram. There IS a story behind that.

Billy Crudup is hilarious as Liz's ex. Even in divorce proceedings, he 'made up' a song to convince her to stay with him. At their wedding, he switched out their song for a disco one, then promptly danced along.

James Franco is hot.

Javier Bardem is not hot. But he is alluring. And I envy Julia Roberts and Javier's new wife, Penelope Cruz. And he is probably one of the best actors alive today. Just sayin'.

Go see this movie. It's not overly deep. It's not special-effects stunning. But it will make you aim higher, especially for those of us heading off to college soon. When you consider studying abroad, maybe don't go to a normal place like London or Paris, but somewhere with a non-tourist dominated culture. When you are thinking of marriage, maybe consider whether that person will let you change at all. When you are getting a job, maybe consider if you WANT the job. Not need. WANT. Why waste half your life making money that you will eventually be too old to spend and enjoy anyways? Think about it. Eat Pray Love. That's all you really need, my friends.