I could not think what to write today’s blog about, but suddenly it came to me. As I was sitting on my bed in my third floor dorm thinking “hard” about my work load and future assignments I was interrupted by this incessant chirping. I was outraged by this aerial assault. That’s when it slapped me right in the face. Noise is what I should write about, it must be fate.
As I thought about this disturbance I began to wonder when I became this girl. As a small child the sounds of nature, the outdoors, that was my soundtrack. I liked to tell people that I was musically deprived, because I didn’t own a radio or a walkman or a CD player until I was in middle school. The only music I listened to was the faint sound of Bruce Springsteen coming seeping out my father’s door. So at night or during the day I listened to the outside, and growing up in rural Pennsylvania, that meant crickets, rivers, rain, and the way the trees creaked in the wind. These sounds never bothered me. In fact as I continue thinking of it I think of how much I miss it.
As time went on and I got older I was given music and a TV and a cell phone and then I lost all sense of familiarity to the earth. I was trapped in this technology. The overpowering presence of technology is another thing Lasn focuses upon. And I feel that these two things go hand and hand in corrupting society today and the future of America. We have stopped embracing the natural things in life and instead we have produced machines to entertain us. We have become dependent on automobiles and cell phones and the internet, and with the introduction of motherboards and wireless we have the power to block out what we once relied on.
I fear that technology may fail us and we end up with “the Terminator” on our hands. At first that may sound silly, but if you think into it it kind of seems plausible; the idea that technology is advancing to extreme heights. Also I fear that the children of today will never know what life was like before everything was handed to them on factory belts. Or the only way they may learn about postal service is in history books. Sometimes I feel like my childhood was something I read in a history book.
That’s not how I want it though. So now that this issue has been brought to my attention I want to try and stop myself from straying from natural world. And I suggest that we all do the same. Because it’s sad to think that I was so easily perturbed by one of nature’s creatures calling a mate.
This is awesome, I love your style of writing. I really liked the part when you said "Sometimes I feel like my childhood was something I read in a history book". When I think about it, things were so different back then, and in a way...better. Everyone just wanted to go hangout outside and play sports and just enjoy the outside nature. Now, even on the nicest days, we all sit inside and are too occupied by tv, Facebook, our cellphones etc.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, nice blog.
I love the story that unravels here--the "evolution" of your journey into a life of noise. Great reflection here.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your memories about growing up, "listening" to nature. To be honest, I was the same way as a kid! I loved being outside, and I definitely spend more time getting lost in the woods, than watching T.V. My soundtrack back at home was a small creek in my back yard, animals going about their business in the forest, and birds chirping early in the morning. Now we hear about people not being able to concentrate without music, T.V, just noise in general. I just find it fascinating, and I always question how our generation arrived at this point.
ReplyDeleteThis post was very interesting, Your a very good writer. It was descriptive and it made a lot of sense. I agree with everything you said about noise and its relation to Lasn. I like that you put your own experience into it and made it kind of like a story. This was creative and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteIt's actually quite funny to think about our childhoods. It really is sorta something of the past. we start out free from the grip of society and media, but eventually, just like death, the grim reaper of conformity catches up with us and takes hold. Your terminator mentioning made me think of the Grim Reaper. I like how you wrote about noise. It was interesting how you got inspired by the presence of an annoying cricket.
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