A freewriting exercise - Write about a place you've been

As I mentioned in my last post, I have started a 40 day writing exercise.  I felt today's 10 minute writing sprint was good enough to post. 

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When I visited Ireland the first time, it was with my parents.  It was the first time I had been overseas and I wasn’t disappointed.  There was so much there that was different than being home in the US.  Besides the cars being on the wrong side of the street and the other obvious differences, it was the little things that really drew my attention.  Like the fact that not everyone has a phone or a shower there, or a computer for that matter.  I’m sure it’s a bit different with the computers now that it’s over a decade later, but there is still an underlying difference in the way we do things.  The people are so much calmer there, and the lifestyles are so much slower.  It’s as if Americans have forgotten how to just slow down and enjoy their day.  I think people here feel that if they’re not cramming something important or worthwhile into every minute of their day then they’re not working hard enough or wasting time.  Where is the time to smell the roses, to stare at a tree or squirrel in your backyard, to feel the morning sun on your face without having a car pass by and ruin the moment?  

 I enjoyed the people in Ireland very much because they seemed to enjoy themselves.  Not every minute has to be packed with either work or entertainment; there can be a middle ground.  There can be the nothingness in between work and play that puts everything into perspective.  Not having a shower means nothing to some people there.  “It would be wonderful to have one” they say, but it’s not imperative and they go on with their lives without dwelling on it or making a fuss.  I think we could stand to do without some things here in America.  I don’t think the children of today realize just how much they have going for them; then again I’m sure every generation says that about the one after them.  So much technology pervades every part of our day; every ounce of our energy goes into either maintaining the gadgets we have or seeking out the ones we want.  People seem to have forgotten that there was a time when no phones or computers or internet existed, and that the people back then seemed to have been happier with their lives overall.  Maybe they made more time for family, or play, or to simply sit and talk.  How many people these days sit and have one on one conversations anymore?  They either get interrupted by texts or calls, or get bored and do something else, like watch Youtube videos.  It’s sad really, that so few people actually talk to one another that grammar is at an all time low and everyone with a camera thinks they’re a filmmaker, everyone with a keyboard thinks they’re William Shakespeare, and no one can tell the difference.  

 If there’s one thing I took away from visiting Ireland, it’s that we need to keep a part of every day free to just enjoy life.  Stop working, look up from the screen of whatever you’re glued to, and just look around.  People watch, feel the air, take in your surroundings, and if you don’t like them go somewhere else.  There is so much out there that you can miss if you’re looking down at a screen all day.  Look up.