Today’s reading for Lit. of the Pacific was “Last Virgin in Paradise” and my professor opened up the discussion by asking what “paradise” means to us. Naturally, living on one, most everyone agreed that the beach was the paradisal go-to. Sandy beaches, cool ocean, salty wind at one’s fingertips pretty much every day. What more could be asked for?
But what’s a beach trip without a Tweet of hashtags, a funny Facebook status and an Intacollage every hour of stuff you only spent five minutes doing?
“….leave your cell phones behind…”
This was the statement that left almost every student under the age of 25 silent.
“Maybe we’ll hold onto modern technology”
And while I am THAT girl — who is constantly tweeting the funny things that people say, or posting up embarrassing photos on Facbeook and is generally all kinds of social media noise — I couldn’t help but feel a tingle of disdain when my classmates refused to give up their techno-things.
When my professor spoke of paradise and a place without modern technology, I didn’t flinch. I smiled to myself and knew exactly what I call paradise. In fact, I had one of those days this past Sunday.
“People need people, right? That’s part of a paradise,” she said.
Exactly.
Just a couple of days ago, I traveled into deep Dededo with a couple of loved ones. The sun shined bright and the sounds were of the ocean, peaceful murmurs and a splash of laughter every once in a while. All the cell phones were left to their own, except to take a couple of pictures ^ and to play music. Such was definitely paradise.
So yeah, I’d take any amount of hours without my iPhone as long as it comes with my favorite people, pens, a coupe of notepads, a camera and FOOD. And maybe a rope tied to a tree that we can swing from.
Ruzelle Almonds 