Personal Narrative: My Social Media Cleanse

After spending the past week hustling to complete High School applications all the while studying for my midterms, this essay prompt seemed to come at the perfect time. I figured, that no access to social media for the next three days would allow me extra time to buckle down and get things done. Although I found it challenging at times, I noticed three large changes and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

The first day of my cleanse I made an eye opening self-discovery. The refreshing feeling of switching up my daily routine and trying something new had changed me. The most noticeable and immediate change was my happiness. I can't quite explain the emotional burden that social media has on me, however, I now understand that it’s especially easy to get caught up in the glitz and the glam of other peoples lifestyles and I often started comparing it to my own. After seeing pictures of people putting their mark on the world, and seeing new places. Often times I felt unsatisfied with how I was spending my time, and often blamed my environment for not being more stimulating. As cool as it is to share images from recent travels and adventures, I believe that it’s just as important to share images of your not so ‘picture perfect’ life because that is what truly makes us human.
The first thing that popped into my head was my sleep schedule. Before bed time I usually try to turn my phone on silent mode so that I have time to slow down a bit, however, that rarely ends up happening. By not having the option to send a couple Snapchats or spend a few minutes scrolling through Instagram I found myself not only going to bed earlier but I also noticed that I woke up happy and feeling more well rested. This was a huge benefit because for me sleep plays a huge role in my emotional health and feeling confident to start my