Wang 1

Chris (Xun) Wang

Dr. Erin McLaughlin
Writing and Rhetoric 13300
11 September 2014
Three Days
No phone or iPod or anything with a screen during three days and nights. Technology
is prohibited during my mandatory junior fall retreat. This rule was ridiculous. It became a
palm squeezing my heart firmly. I was shocked. I was terrified. I would never be able not
survive this retreat without my phone, I whispered to myself secretly. That was the
beginning of September. My feeling was as depressed as falling leaves. I did not want to go!
Removing my anxiety toward this retreat, I pressed down the circle-round bottom by
the edge of my phone and loaded my chat app. It was almost the time when my best friend
Claire back in China would wake up. Being in a foreign country at the first few months, I did
not have that much friends here yet. I eagerly desired to talk with my friends back at home as
much as possible, and be connected. I sent out a message towards her in a second. She replied
right away. An hour was spent on chatting without noticing: literally 3600 seconds. That was
way longer than I expected. I was still fully satisfied with my close connection with her.
Those seconds were wisely used. But, what about the terrible three days without my phone?
What am I going to do about it? I did not want to be disconnected.
Finally came to the time to pack for the event, mixed feeling aroused. Every cells of
my body shout out my protest, but I had no way to avoid this mandatory fall retreat. Being
afraid of disconnected with my friends, I sneakily hid my phone in an inner zipper bag of my
bag pack, and felt smart and content. Five hours dull driving, finally, we came to a resort by
forest with river across. The fragrance of forest flew into my nose like little fairy made me

Wang 2
relaxing. The tinkle of scream stepped its little feet into my ears. I began to love this place,
only slightly.
Despite the unwillingness to live without the phone, once I attend those activities I
loved them. We had a bonfire at night, people holding guitars singing out worship music.
Like every time before, the sound of singing melted down into a single, beautiful harmony.
Lyrics of the music went right inside my chest and I was once again moved by it. We held
hands together and formed a big circle while singing. Bonfire sparked. The firewood popped.
The environment was cozy and warm. Lit up by the fire, my friend Abby began to ask me
question: Hey Chris, what is Chinese retreat looks like? Well, it is totally different.
Typically we just go to a park and picnic on the lawn. There are around 300 people in a grade,
so it is impossible to drag them all out and bring to a place to stay overnight. So you think
this kind of American retreat is pretty cool? Yeah! Its always cool to stay in a place
overnight without parents around. Without my phone, I can actually look into her eyes while
talking. The annoying beeping from the phone did not distract me from the conversation in
English. That might be the moment acquaintances stepped into friendships.
The retreat was over quicker than I previously thought. Different from the horrible
three days I imagined, these days turned out to be jammed with happiness, laughter, and fun.
Nobody wanted to leave. So was I. The days without cell phone were indeed survivable. So, I
start to think that phone constrained me. Holding the tiny little box-like object in my hand, I
keep my head down with a sore neck most of my free time. I rudely ignore people who try to
start conversation with me without intention, because I was too addicted to my phone. I was
in my own untouchable bubble, enjoyed. I pursue connection brought by my phone, but I was
too addicted to the screen-based connection to overlook the everyday connection with people
in real life. Fall retreat helps me realize that I actually enjoyed the face-to-face conversation
way better than online one. Who doesnt? The hugging, laughing, and even the dimples

Wang 3
appeared on cheeks make me happy easily than text messages do. Text messages are better
than nothing, but never forget the chance of being truly connected with people around you.
This few square inches human-invented technology, called phone, has shackled me as its
miserable slave for so long.
I deserve to live better!