If you haven't seen John Legend perform live, you should. His voice is as pure live as it is on the radio - seriously. I wish I could show you a video of what I watched, but my phone died. And to be honest, I'm not even that mad about it. In all actuality, I am extremely happy my phone died and let me tell you the exact story of why:
We arrived at the conference hall where John Legend was speaking and singing and found our spot in the back of the audience. Everyone was raving about him far before he even came out. When he did, the place went bonkers for every single thing he said. Here's a sample dialogue:
(crowd going crazy as John Legend walks out)
(still going crazy)
John Legend: "Hello."
(crowd hits all time record high in volume)
(John Legend smiling, nodding, and waiving, and waiting).
John Legend: "Thank you."
(John Legend waving while crowd is having the time of their lives)
... you get the point.
Anyways, he ends up giving one of the most incredible speeches I've ever witnessed live. He spoke about his personal life and how his passion led him to do what he loves. He really brought me to some incredible realizations about education and how passion can lead to change. To summarize his speech, even though that would do no justice, with passion, you can do anything.
After he was done speaking, he casually walked over to the piano (crowd breaks the world record for volume). As he hits the first few notes on the piano, I pulled out my phone and clicked the camera button so that I could record. As soon as I pressed the record button and my phone instantaneously shut off. I freaked out for a few seconds trying to power it back on, but it was juiced out from a long day. I was a little upset but then I realized how pivotal that moment really was. Everything had stopped. The frustration of my phone not working was cut off by the trickling sounds of smooth piano tunes. My eyes closed and I felt my body begin to sway to his voice. I was stuck with no distraction to the art in front of me. One word: incredible.
Before, I had always been so in tune with making sure I took a video, picture, or Snapchat to share with everyone. Sometimes I would take 50 pictures and 10 videos of one thing to make sure I got the best content. I have even caught myself editing a picture on Instagram while something was still happening. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it was because I wanted to prove that I was there. Most likely, I would scroll through those thousands of pictures and videos in the future deleting old content to randomly find that moment, probably to watch it once more, and then delete it to make space for something else. What was the point of living through my phone?
It was a ridiculous habit and to be frankly honest, I hate it. To think, I've wasted hours, if not days, of my life trying to get the right shot. Sure, taking a picture is fine to remember things, but why take 50? Why video tape the entire thing? Why not enjoy what is happening and live in the moment? I am guilty of trying to record a moment over experiencing it. Technology is now who we are and the feeling of knowing what everyone else is doing at all times has hypnotized most of us. It has hypnotized us to think that we too should record our lives for everyone else to see.
I love photography and I've always enjoyed a good picture, but there is a clear difference between getting the right picture and aimlessly creating digital artifacts that block out the actual experience. Now that I think about it, there has been multiple times where my post-event memories made me feel like I didn't even attend the event.
A study was completed in 2013 by a Dr. Linda Henkel of Fairfield University which stated that a person amassing pictures "can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experience". *
We take pictures and forget how it actually felt to be there. It is as if we weren’t even there.
At the performance I smiled in confirmation as I noticed the thousands of other people in the crowd and all of lights floating above their heads. Everyone was trying to get that best shot and taking endless videos even though the best shot was happening right in front of their eyes. There were even people in the front row experiencing his event through their little screens. I, however, had the best seat in the house, some 200 rows back and I experienced it all.
I must explain too that I fully believe that social platforms are revolutionizing business for the better and adding value to the voice of the people. I use social media on a daily basis and utilize the power in every platform in order to connect, share, and learn. I think everyone should. However, there is a balance to all of that.
You have to embrace the views from atop a mountain, staring at all of the wonderful details. You have to indulge in a good read. You have slowly experience the flavors of a well-cooked meal. You have to lie in the sun and feel gusts of wind. You have to feel the sand between your toes and the water that rushes up to your knees. You have to laugh and celebrate the friendships you have when you're out. You have to discover the feelings of every new encounter. You have to be a part of the adventure. You have to shut off your phone. You have to power off your computer. You have to explore life, not record it.
*http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/12/04/0956797613504438.abstract
We arrived at the conference hall where John Legend was speaking and singing and found our spot in the back of the audience. Everyone was raving about him far before he even came out. When he did, the place went bonkers for every single thing he said. Here's a sample dialogue:
(crowd going crazy as John Legend walks out)
(still going crazy)
John Legend: "Hello."
(crowd hits all time record high in volume)
(John Legend smiling, nodding, and waiving, and waiting).
John Legend: "Thank you."
(John Legend waving while crowd is having the time of their lives)
... you get the point.
Anyways, he ends up giving one of the most incredible speeches I've ever witnessed live. He spoke about his personal life and how his passion led him to do what he loves. He really brought me to some incredible realizations about education and how passion can lead to change. To summarize his speech, even though that would do no justice, with passion, you can do anything.
After he was done speaking, he casually walked over to the piano (crowd breaks the world record for volume). As he hits the first few notes on the piano, I pulled out my phone and clicked the camera button so that I could record. As soon as I pressed the record button and my phone instantaneously shut off. I freaked out for a few seconds trying to power it back on, but it was juiced out from a long day. I was a little upset but then I realized how pivotal that moment really was. Everything had stopped. The frustration of my phone not working was cut off by the trickling sounds of smooth piano tunes. My eyes closed and I felt my body begin to sway to his voice. I was stuck with no distraction to the art in front of me. One word: incredible.
Before, I had always been so in tune with making sure I took a video, picture, or Snapchat to share with everyone. Sometimes I would take 50 pictures and 10 videos of one thing to make sure I got the best content. I have even caught myself editing a picture on Instagram while something was still happening. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it was because I wanted to prove that I was there. Most likely, I would scroll through those thousands of pictures and videos in the future deleting old content to randomly find that moment, probably to watch it once more, and then delete it to make space for something else. What was the point of living through my phone?
It was a ridiculous habit and to be frankly honest, I hate it. To think, I've wasted hours, if not days, of my life trying to get the right shot. Sure, taking a picture is fine to remember things, but why take 50? Why video tape the entire thing? Why not enjoy what is happening and live in the moment? I am guilty of trying to record a moment over experiencing it. Technology is now who we are and the feeling of knowing what everyone else is doing at all times has hypnotized most of us. It has hypnotized us to think that we too should record our lives for everyone else to see.
I love photography and I've always enjoyed a good picture, but there is a clear difference between getting the right picture and aimlessly creating digital artifacts that block out the actual experience. Now that I think about it, there has been multiple times where my post-event memories made me feel like I didn't even attend the event.
A study was completed in 2013 by a Dr. Linda Henkel of Fairfield University which stated that a person amassing pictures "can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experience". *
We take pictures and forget how it actually felt to be there. It is as if we weren’t even there.
At the performance I smiled in confirmation as I noticed the thousands of other people in the crowd and all of lights floating above their heads. Everyone was trying to get that best shot and taking endless videos even though the best shot was happening right in front of their eyes. There were even people in the front row experiencing his event through their little screens. I, however, had the best seat in the house, some 200 rows back and I experienced it all.
I must explain too that I fully believe that social platforms are revolutionizing business for the better and adding value to the voice of the people. I use social media on a daily basis and utilize the power in every platform in order to connect, share, and learn. I think everyone should. However, there is a balance to all of that.
You have to embrace the views from atop a mountain, staring at all of the wonderful details. You have to indulge in a good read. You have slowly experience the flavors of a well-cooked meal. You have to lie in the sun and feel gusts of wind. You have to feel the sand between your toes and the water that rushes up to your knees. You have to laugh and celebrate the friendships you have when you're out. You have to discover the feelings of every new encounter. You have to be a part of the adventure. You have to shut off your phone. You have to power off your computer. You have to explore life, not record it.
*http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/12/04/0956797613504438.abstract