As a kid I really only had two options at anytime I was bored. I could remain bored or I could entertain myself.
Remember now, this was before cell phones, endless apps, social media channels. My family, like most others, didn’t even own a computer.
My choices at the time were looking at clouds or coming up with ways to stimulate my brain. I soon found out that all I really needed was some blank paper and a pencil.
At first it was just doodling. Then it became short stories. I got a typewriter from my father and now had the ability to write longer stories faster than before.
As I got older I concepted and sketched out dozens of comic book characters. I wrote short stories constantly.
Thus my entire life I have constantly exercised my curiosity to be creative.
However today when people are bored they pull out their phones. Not to open up the note pad section and start typing away a new story – but to scroll through apps, open a browser window. This has severed our ability potential to create.
I would still take a blank piece of paper any day.
James Patrick
IG @jpatrickphoto
jamespatrick.com
I couldn’t agree more with you! I’m 28 and I, admittedly, had a cell phone as soon as I hit high school in 2000 (1 of 3 siblings who were all active in multiple sports and UIL extracurricular events – cell phones were my parents’ way of allowing us all to stay on the same page).
HOWEVER, I also grew up outside. The home that I grew up in was on beautiful grounds that used to be where a zoo was located. Our neighborhood was hilly, had several large ponds and no one had a fence unless they had a pool (state law). Granted, I grew up in the Midwest, but that shouldn’t really matter. If it was snowing, we were bundled up in all 18 layers of clothing and our snow suits and building HUGE snow walls to hide behind in the cul-de-sac so that we could have giant neighborhood snowball fights. I have a picture of a tunnel that my best friend and I dug in the snow from my house to her house, 6 houses apart, that we could crawl through back and forth. If it was warm out we played roller hockey, rode bikes, played dodgeball, played tackle football and went down to the ponds to catch the biggest bullfrogs we could find. The parents in the neighborhood knew who all the kids were and kept an eye out for our safety. It was time to go in when parents started calling out.
I had a desktop computer that was issued to me in 4th grade by my school that I used to do homework on and turn in via floppy disc. That’s right, floppy disc!
I also drew. A lot. My mother in fact just asked me if I’d like to take one of the sketches that she had framed of mine with me to put in my son’s room.
My point is that our imaginations and creativity were at an all time high growing up. The world was our playground and any blank sheet of paper was our canvas.
Today, it’s nothing for people to be glued to their phones. Relationships suffer. Our ability to communicate suffers. Our writing suffers. I often see people writing how they would text. Misspellings and shorthand. Parents giving their children phones to keep them entertained instead of playing with them outside or giving them paper and (washable) crayons.
Watching the news last night, one of the headline stories was that Dallas passed a ruling that it was now mandatory for all Dallas elementary schools to have 30 minutes of recess and that teachers could not take away recess as a punishment for mild behavioral issues. And, additionally, they had to put into the passed proposal that recess would be separate and apart from Physical Education (P.E.) class. I stared at the t.v. and looked at my husband and said “that’s insane to me that it’s come to this.” Dallas had to have an actual meeting, present this as an actual proposal and actually vote on it! School can be fun in elementary, but recess is where the imagination can run free! Tag, jump rope, imaginary adventures, drawings on the pavement with chalk and friendships have always been made on the playground!
I understand that times are changing. New technology is amazing. Our ability to have instant knowledge, social media outlets, and conversations at our fingertips makes our lives easier. However, I think there still needs to be a balance between shoving our faces in our phones and laptops and letting our minds roam free in actual conversation, outdoors in parks and playgrounds and across blank paper.
I agree with you — give me a blank piece of paper any day.
Thank you so much Ashley!