Advanced Essay #2- Autumn Lor

In 2013, I got my first phone where I could only call people. In 2014, I was able to text and in 2015, I got my first iPhone. It allowed me to talk, text, use wifi and so much more. Taking pictures to capture the moment and playing digital games to pass the time. I have a love/hate relationship with phones. There is one main reason why… 

Why is everyone walking so slow? I turn around and I see phones. They’re looking at their selfies and don’t know where they’re walking. “I don’t understand why you guys have to do this right now,” I say out loud, but no one hears me because no one is listening. I look straight forward again. There are two people standing in the parking lane, wearing big green coats with fur on their hood; they’re wearing matching coats while being on their phone. They both just look at the phone as I see the car that’s in front of them turn on his lights as if he was backing up. In that moment I screamed, “The car is backing up, get out!” Not one person moved. I watched the car back up and hit the guy as he pushes his friend. But the girls and I just kept walking as I watched and they were looking at their phones. I turn around, “Did none of you guys see that?” No response, “Hello, did you hear me? None of you saw that? Those people who just got hit by a car! How did you guys not see that? Did you guys even hear me scream?” They looked at and still didn’t know what I was talking about. 

Kara finials answer back, “See what? Those people aren’t my problem, they can get hit again and I’ll it watch this time,” Kara shouts.

“What do you mean?” Selena asks while still looking at her phone. She sounds concerned but the way she looked, it didn’t seem to add up. 

“What great friends you are. Always paying attention to me and actually caring for me. Don’t worry about those people because if that was you, I’ll just walk away and not say anything. I will watch you get hit by a car nothing will happen.” I rolled my eyes and just walked away. After taking some time away, I thought about the quote Lisa D. Delpit that says, “If you try to suggest that that’s not quite the way it is, they get defensive then you get defensive” (Delpit, 281). People get really defensive when they believe they are 100% correct. By defensive, I mean pushy and rude. They will say anything to make themselves right. I tried my best to see if they could change their minds but all I got in return was their attitude. 

We’re walking to the train station at 42nd and Market street but I walked faster than them so I got to the train first. When I got to the station, I didn’t look back so I didn’t know if they got on the same train as me but I know they didn’t get on the same cart as me. While being on the train I didn’t want to think about what happened, so I took out my phone and started to play a game called Bricks. By the time I looked up my score was 2098, my highest score, and I was two stops before I had to get off. The Market-Frankford Line takes so long that I never look up. 

A few hours passed, Selena texts me, “Are you fine?” 

I responded with “fine,” but what I wanted to say was fine with what? I just hate the fact that I think too much about everything. It’s either that or people don’t think enough. I don’t know what to think anymore. I hate it so I exited the iMessage app and went on Instagram. 

Instagram makes me forget everything, being able to watch videos that are a minute long and watch another where my mind will completely switch. Instagram changes my thoughts in four seconds. Lisa D. Delpit brings out the point about “bitterness and resentment expressed by educators” (Delpit, 289). Although while she wrote it she meant something else but just reading that part, I see it as my educator being a distracting for me getting away from my bitterness and resentment. Instagram is my educator that reminds of my bitterness.