Arriving home for the holidays, I discovered the thing I missed most during my first full semester of college. It wasn’t my parents – I talked to them often. It wasn’t the privacy of my own room nor was it sleeping in the middle of my queen sized bed, although I thought about these accommodations while at school.
This past semester has been a whirlwind, opening my eyes to all sorts of things. As mentioned in previous columns, I endured my first long-term separation from home cooking and some peers’ lack of personal hygiene. But these struggles paled in comparison to one challenge the semester presented.
Upon entering college, I knew I was starting a new era in life that would bring many exciting new challenges. In the spirit of shaking things up, I did something drastic – I decided to undergo my first semester of college without a TV.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. “Why? What a stupid decision!” Let me offer an explanation.
One reason I made this insane decision was I wanted to prove I didn’t need a television. I figured college was the place to stimulate the mind — an action done better through books than TV.
So in place of a television I brought a stack of novels I wanted to read.
Another reason I opted against bringing a TV is I didn’t want the pleasure of lugging it up the steps to my room. Plus I didn’t think I would have space for it.
Now I was right in my assertion of the limitation of space. The rooms in Pentagon residential halls are so tiny, it is a wonder that your necessities fit. And it would have been quite a chore lugging a 32-inch television up what ended up three flights of stairs. I do believe, however, that I would have made what I wanted fit. And no chore worth the sacrifice is too hard.
I realize now the folly of my logic. First, no one grabs a book after a grueling day, they sit in front the television.
There were days when I would have liked to crash in front of the tube, letting my mind go blank and absorbing only whatever happened to flash across the screen. But I could not partake in this luxury.
A cliché comes to mind: “You don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.” This is true about television. Society often underplays the value of a television, saying it adds to laziness and promotes violence to teens.
I certainly underestimated the value of TV in my life and didn’t realize its worth until I had to live without it.
I spent my entire first semester being unable to laugh at Fox News, not having the latest celebrity updates and unable to watch the latest crazes.
I caught the end of “A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila,” and I feel my life has suffered a tragic loss. I also missed the season endings of many of my favorite shows.
To make up for this decision, whenever I am not hanging out with friends and family I spend my time glued to the television compensating for lost time.
When I first arrived home I routinely spent most of the night just watching TV. In fact, the television is on while I’m writing this column. I have become an addict, and it is all because I tried to unnecessarily stop watching television.