A Simple Life

 

Disclaimer: This has absolutely NOTHING to do with Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie.

At 8pm last night I deactivated my Facebook account. As the final moment drew closer, I was in anguish. Have you heard about the scene in the new film 127 Hours by Danny Boyle (out in November 2010), based on the true story of Aron Ralston, where the mountaineer’s arm gets stuck under a boulder, and he cuts it off to save his life? Yeah, that’s how I felt as the time to click the ‘deactivate’ button approached, and I realised that it was going to be a relief to get it over with. Especially because I was silly enough to let the tension build up for a good 36 hours beforehand. I took a long, hard look at myself then, and saw how pathetic it was of me to feel so connected to a website. It shouldn’t control my life, yet it does. Or, no, it did. At 8pm I vanished from Facebook, and at that very instant I felt more free than I have done in years.

Originally the plan was to get straight into my final film essay once I’d abandoned Facebook, but then one of my friends offered to come round to my place to watch a movie, and of course I felt like I deserved that, so I agreed. Funnily enough, we ended up watching Into the Wild (one of my favourite movies). So if I’d been feeling a bit sad about amputating a good 50% of my online presence, that feeling changed over the course of the evening, into that of shame; shame at thinking that what I’d done was something extraordinary, when this guy, Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, gave up everything to live a more simple life. Every time I watch that movie I feel so inspired to go and do the same thing; just give away my money, burn my ID papers, strap on some good tramping boots and a backpack and just go for it. I’ve always had a desire in me, deep down, to do just that, and watching that movie brings those feelings to the surface, making me want to leave on the spot. I’m not the biggest fan of society, I’ll tell you that. To quote the amazing Lord Byron: “I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone.”

Of course, today I was expecting to be madly wanting to check my Facebook profile, but so far whenever the thought even just pops into my head I think about all the things I want to achieve in the near future (especially passing my exams, which demands a fair bit of studying beforehand on my part), and the knowledge that Facebook would distract me from achieving those goals makes me a little furious and strengthens my determination to place all thought of Facebook in a tiny, dark space at the back of my mind and throw away the key. (Wow. Long sentence.) The only thing I’m struggling with is finding other ways to procrastinate when I need 5 minutes to consider what more I’m going to say in my essay. So, as you can see, the lack of Facebook is doing me nothing but good.

Being Saturday, I also have a wine glass and a bottle of wine (Chardonnay, today) standing next to my laptop, on call to be opened after 5pm (I’m practicing self-control – so far this week I have failed miserably every day). Not that there’s anything wrong with drinking – to quote my man Lord Byron again: “Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; the best of life is but intoxication.” (My only concern is the cost of it.) Also, to justify writing essays under the influence of alcohol, here are a few well-chosen words, from the great Ernest Hemingway: "Write drunk; edit sober." Wise man.

I must say I really am enjoying the Facebook-free day I’ve had so far. It’s forcing me to look elsewhere when I want something “fun” to do, thus causing me to think creatively once more. And lo and behold, there’s another blog entry being written. Not to mention that I’ve written a lot more on my essay. Feeling just a little cut off from the rest of the world feels, in a single word, great.

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more…”

- Lord Byron