When reinventing yourself is as simple as changing your profile picture and updating your About section, you know that something isn’t right.

I gave up my smartphone and deleted all of my (unnecessary) social media accounts over a week ago, and I have never felt freer. I can see the world for its beauty, and it amazes me how everything falls into place.

I met three little puppies yesterday. I couldn’t stop feeling the urge to pick them up and hug them to death. I didn’t do that, but I did pet one of them, and it felt so good. If I were still using my smartphone, I would have been too distracted even to notice them.

I feel like my problem isn’t with social media; it’s with the entire internet. I have become too dependent on the internet. It’s so much easier to type in my problem into a box than to approach a real live human being and share my shortcomings with them.

But isn’t this too extreme? I don’t think so. My smartphone impeded my decision-making ability. I would fret over small choices, like what clothes to wear, because I was already mentally exhausted from switching between apps. My sleep schedule and my diet were ruined. I wouldn’t shower for days on end.

But giving up my smartphone wasn’t enough. I still had my laptop. What I used to do on my phone I started doing on my computer. I became even lazier, glued to my laptop and my bed. I started condemning my duties as a student – calling all of it a big hoax, to the point of nihilism. I did not realise it then, but I hated my life. I loathed it. So, I recently gave up my laptop too (I would use it only for programming, studying or blogging).

I started feeling a lot better, but I still felt something lacking in my life, until today morning. I realised that after spending so much time with the internet, I had become accustomed to getting things instantly, without much effort. And now, without any means to satiate my curiosity, I have started experiencing withdrawal symptoms, feeling impatient and irritated whenever I sit down to study. But this is good. It means I’m heading in the right direction. This digital detoxification is necessary for me to achieve my goals.

I must understand that one can’t eat the fruit the day they plant the seed. I must learn to be patient and humble.

I’m planning to do a lot of cool stuff soon, and I will be updating this blog more frequently than before.