When I was just a mere toddler, everything about the outdoors amazed me. From the diversity and uniqueness of the wilderness, all the way to the different shapes and sizes of various rocks. However, one thing intrigued me more than any other feature of the outdoors---the water. I loved to swim; I loved to see and count the fish; I loved excavating the shoreline of lakes for lost goods and treasures. It was a great way to pass time; a hobby, a lifestyle. It was anything any kid could ever dream of. However, now that sense of wonderment and curiosity deteriorates as the days progress. New advancements in technology hindering my ability to reminisce on the good ol’ days. I’ve have officially become what I said i'd never be---reliant on technology. Technology has become the firewall to my outdoors. My sense of wonderment definitely peaked during my childhood. I would do anything to that sense of wonderment back.

Presently, my sense of wonderment for all things nature stands at an all time low. A plummet in the stock market you could call it. With recent advancements in technology I can only ever see that number dropping even more. No matter how many times I go outside and rekindle the lost memories, all the good times I had, and how I enjoyed the plethora of things nature once had to offer to me---I will always revert back to my smartphone, back to my xbox, back to my television. Thrusting all those resurrected memories right back in the same spot they used to sit in, where they sit patiently, waiting on the brink of extinction. Currently, I have no desire to swim; no desire to go fishing; no desire to explore the fascinating bodies of water I used to be so interested in. What is there to explore when I can just google it? Why answer my own questions when a computer can? All these questions float through my mind and I can only help but think that society is molding us to stay away from the things that make us unique, that make up our character. We need to change. But for now, i’ll conform to the social majority becauses its easier and more convenient for me.

As I look and wonder what the future holds, I determined one thing--you can never really be sure what the future holds. Will it be a first class technological utopian empire? Or a technology-less dystopian society in anarchy? I, for one don't know and won’t know. However, one thing I do know is that if we continue to turn a blind eye to our environment and stay glued to our screens we’ll be stranded on a lifeless planet like in Walle, and be shiping off our own kind to mars simply because we prioritized convenience over constancy. What I also know about the future is that I'm going to give my kids, my family the same notable childhood I had been raised upon. Swimming in every lake we find, playing hide and seek in the vibrant woods and overall just letting their imagination run loose. That’s a promise. Maybe, my own kids can teach me how to find my own sense of wonderment back.

As I rekindle the fabled past of growing up in electronic-less America I had, I can’t help but wonder how my fascination with technology has grown so quickly. Is it the constant pressure of trying to fit in with society? Or the constant plunging of advertisements and media down my throat?  No matter how hard I try to stray away from these thoughts that consume me, I always revert back to trying to figure out what the future holds for me. From looking at the poorly taken care of lake I once swam in; ugly but yet still beautiful in way I can’t explain but that I just so happen to feel. Looking at the vibrant, colorful trees singing their happy song nature intended them to while being constantly disembodied and taken advantage of for our own personal use. Looking at the mosquitos buzzing around in harmony, refusing to leave me in peace. I realized one thing. I am a slave to technology, as is everyone else around me and I'm ok with that. But when did I stop living life the way it was intended to be? Who knows, but for now I'm going to stick with what I know, and what I know is that knowledge surrounding technology is critical for success in today’s society.