College is expensive! How about $1,000, CenturyLink?

A quick author’s note, since this is not in the usual fashion of my blog posts, however sporadic they are – this is an entry for a scholarship from CenturyLink based on what the Internet has increased my awareness of. Hope you enjoy! Technology is a double-edged sword – as we have maximized our use of it, we have made our world smaller and smaller, allowing us to get things done faster and stay in touch with people better. It has many advantages to be sure – I can make a doctor’s appointment online, register for classes, buy a book with one click, research a topic by typing in a few words, email my mom to say hi even though she lives 1,000 miles away – but many pitfalls as well. How many times do we sit down to do homework and wake up from a reverie half an hour later to realize we’ve spent the time we allotted for homework looking at PostSecret and Facebook? Those are the benign ills technology can distract us with – what about the horror stories we hear of cyber bullying or the online communities where depressed youth encourage each other to express themselves by cutting? The quote “with great power, comes great responsibility” has been attributed to many possible different speakers in many possible different forms, but its sentiment is as true today in regards to technology as it was in any of its previous contexts. Technology has taught me the paradox of being a speck in the grand scheme of things, while holding the infinite power to influence others for good or for ill with however I choose to represent myself online. When I was younger, I saw technology as a way to promote myself, to get attention. “Look at ME, listen to what I have to say!” (We need look no further than the Selfie Stick to see what a prevalent attitude this is in today’s culture.) Every little thing that happened to me was fodder for a status update, often in the form of some cryptic plea for attention that insinuated something bad had happened, without saying what. I had no lightening bolt, “a-ha!” moment where my perspective suddenly changed, but I can probably pin it down to turning 30. (Another double-edged sword of technology: Facebook ensures I won’t forget someone’s birthday, whether or not it is someone I want to remember to wish a happy birthday to.) 30 loomed ahead of me for a few years, taunting me with its “over-the-hill” jokes and images of wrinkles (okay, more wrinkles) and other such old(er)-age rites of passage. Soon before it was upon me, though, I stopped being afraid of it and saw what a blessing each birthday is, and considered not only what kind of legacy I’ll leave when I’m gone, but what kind of impression I’m giving each day I’m here. Through the convenience and fun of technology, I post status updates, share interesting articles I read, and post pictures on Facebook. Even though I live far away from all of my family, they can see what goes on in my life and watch my children grow up – a privilege denied to anyone who lived away from their loved ones before the luxury of things like cell phones and Skype. I post pictures and get inspiration from others on Instagram when I see Bible verses and uplifting quotes superimposed over beautiful scenery, or the happy, smiling face of a loved one filling up my feed. Because of the realization that thanks to technology, I have an impact on everyone I see in cyberspace - whether it’s a fleeting impact or a lasting one – and it’s up to me whether that impact is good or bad. Technology has increased my awareness of my ability to make the world a better place even though I inhabit such a small corner of it. Thanks to the way technology advances, what seems like a small corner of the world isn’t really so small after all.