This spring break was the most memorable for me because of going on an adventurous trip with my best friend, technology free.

You would think having your phone break in the middle of your spring break vacation in Colorado would be unimaginably inconvenient, but it was the most eye-opening accident to ever happen.

The trip started off with countless photographs taken of the roads, mountains and city as well as many texts sent and Snapchats answered as I was more focused on showing my friends and family my trip to Estes Park, Colo. than taking on the adventure myself.

There was one day where we dined at a burger house down at Estes Park. While we were ordering, my best friend’s dad, Gerald Smalley, looked over at a table where a family sat, the mother and the two daughters were on their phones while the dad looked at the map. Mr. Smalley looked over at me and said, “That’s how I feel like sometimes, just like that dad.”

Confirming his words, when we finished eating our burgers, each person at our table turned to their phones immediately, even Mr. Smalley, that is when I realized I was the dad, not Mr. Smalley. Phoneless and bored.  

There were countless moments when I would see the most stunning views and immediately think about Snapchatting them to my friends; there was a rush of anxiousness in me that felt as if I had to take a picture and show everyone where I was.

This vacation taught me the amount of reliance I have on my phone, since I am almost never without it.

Although benefits like high speed communication, social awareness and acceptability come with these technologies, they do not cancel out the negative effects that may be inflicted on its users, including addiction.

“Now that I am older and have all these social media accounts and more friends to keep in touch with I think it would be extremely difficult to go without my phone,” Coppell High School junior Sydney Andrews said “I rely on it to keep in touch and to see what everyone is up to. Your phone is your best friend.”

On the other hand, there are students such as CHS junior Sebastian Escalante, who has not had a phone for a month now, and is doing more than fine without one.

“At first when I broke my phone I had a panic attack to be honest,” Escalante said. “I was like ‘oh no! I won’t have Snapchat, Twitter, texts, how will I keep friends this way’, but after a while of not having one I realized how much stuff I got done. I put all my focus on everything besides the Internet. This including working out, homework and friends. It’s great.”

The situation of being phone-less gave me the opportunity to take in the views and experiences without having a need to capture it with my phone.

The feel of serenity and relaxation was filled on this trip as well as countless adventures that were experienced to full effect, accidentally but thankfully.

To all you readers, I dare you to go a day out of the weekend without any technology. Spend it with your friends and experience the benefits of an internet free world. The benefits may surprise you.