There comes a time in every musician's life when he/she asks his/herself, "Why the hell am I doing this? I'm broke, I'm starving, and I'm nowhere near where I want to be or should be..."It's definitely a valid question. As artists, we constantly struggle and sacrifice. We constantly experience rejection. We constantly need to validate ourselves and our art. We're no picnic, and neither is this business for that matter. Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself where it is you want to go, how far you're willing to go for it, and above all, if you're in it for the right reasons...
Having a dream is truly a beautiful thing (and by all means, follow it!), but the reality of this business is, you could have all the talent and drive in the world, and you may never be able to make the connections you need, or sustain a confortable living doing what you truly love to do. If you think that becoming a rich, famous rock star is going to be the answer to all your problems; emotional, financial, what have you, then you're sadly mistaken. Your personal success should not be determined by how much you can make or how famous you can get, but by how you feel inside. If you know in your heart that you won't be happy doing anything else, and there is no other path for you, then you're free, and there's no need to read any further.
Also know that what you do is not who you are. Never in any way, shape or form should you attach your career pitfalls or plateaus to your person. I still struggle with that to this day to be truthful, but I'm learning to accept the fact that having a "bad show," not landing a certain opportunity or not being at a certain level (playing or career wise) is not a reflection of me. I know that I'm a good person, I know I'm doing the best that I can, and I know I do what I do because I love it. Not because I expect anything from it. If you expect nothing, it's always a lovely surprise when the universe actually throws some candy your way.
The only thing you really can do is what you're doing. If, however, what you're doing isn't working, fix it. A major reason why the industry is crumbling right now is because the powers that be are operating the machine with an old manual. You're an artist. Be creative. There are ways to get yourself noticed so long as you put forth the time and effort to find out what those ways are. Don't give up. Just keep on trudging on and remember why you're doing what you're doing.
The key is having patience. Some people spend ten years playing dives and getting shafted before they achieve any kind of success. If you were to experience success instantly and without having to work for it, you wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much as if you had truly bled for it anyway. While you're "waiting," be productive with your time. Get involved in a project you can believe in, write, practice, find out as much as you can about the business.I'm telling you from personal experience that the only way you will be happy and successful in this industry is if you know in your heart that no matter what the outcome, you will always have your music...and yourself. Don't let other people define "success" for you, and certainly don't ever "quit" because it's not paying the bills or it hasn't yet earned you a plaque on the wall. When you picked up that guitar as a little kid, were you really thinking, "Oh man, this thing is gonna make me some bread!" or, were you thinking, "I love this instrument, and I just wanna play"? Maybe your luck will change, maybe it won't. One thing that should always remain constant is your love for what you're doing, and if it means eating Ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly for a while, so be it. Just play with heart and you'll see that the stars will align for you, promise.
Wishing you much success!
Always,
Alexx Calise
Friday, June 27, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
This really is the City of Angels...
After shopping for groceries at a Von's the other day, I started my car, and I heard a loud, whirring sound. I thought I'd run out of oil or that I needed steering wheel fluid because I couldn't cut the wheel, but it turns out that a rat had crawled under the hood of my car while I was inside (probably seeking shelter from the cold weather we've been having here), and somehow managed to take off one of my fan belts—not chew it off, but completely remove it altogether. It was quite an elaborate job, but this rat was obviously a fan of McGyver.
So, I manage to get it 4 blocks down the street to an Autozone on Pico Blvd (Of course it's the weekend, and there are no repair shops open. There would be no story otherwise). I'm pissed, I'm freezing, and I'm a girl. What the hell do girls know about fixing cars? Well, a lot apparently.
I thought she was just a cashier or a phone operator, but I was way off. Lori asked me to pop the hood to see what the problem was. The next thing I know, this girl is on her hands and knees in the freezing rain, fixing my car. I told her that there was no need for her to do all of that, and that she'd gone way above and beyond the call of duty, but she just smiled and said she was used to it. After all, she rides her bike to and from work every day, despite the torrential downpours we've been having here lately.
I was so impressed, and so grateful. If it were me, I don't know if I would have been so selfless. I don't do well with cold weather (I am a Floridian after all), and I sure as hell wouldn't be so willing to dig around under the hood of a stranger's car knowing that there's a dead rat lurking around there somewhere.
Well, for the next 2 hours that it took to fix it, Lori and I joked around about the "hood rat," and talked about life, relationships, and her love of cars. I found out that she's in mechanics school, she's a violinist, and she grew up with good Southern values (her father was from Texas) despite living her whole life in California. I knew that a regular mechanic would have charged me an astronomical amount of money for the amount of labor that went into repairing that damn car, but she didn't ask for anything. I could tell that all she wanted was to talk to someone and do what she loves to do most: fix cars. Never have I met someone so kind, and so willing to help someone they don't even know.
Life is so funny sometimes. Even in the oddest or stickiest of situations, something good can be drawn from the experience. In this case, it was Lori. If it wasn't for this extremely unusual and unfortunate incident, I probably never would have met her. I also wouldn't have gotten home that night, or, if I did, I would have had to inconvenience one of my friends to come and pick me up and then chance leaving my car unattended in a questionable neighborhood. I don't know what I did to deserve the treatment that I got the other night, but I must be in check with karma. Lori was my little glimmer of hope that day.
Sometimes, I feel ravaged by life out here—the constant struggle to survive, the competition, the extremeness of it all; but she truly brightened my day, and I felt compelled to tell the whole world about her.
A lot of people would probably agree that Los Angeles isn't so deserving of its title, but every so often, someone or something comes along to prove that miracles do happen, and that angels do in fact, exist. You just have to believe.
~Alexx Calise
So, I manage to get it 4 blocks down the street to an Autozone on Pico Blvd (Of course it's the weekend, and there are no repair shops open. There would be no story otherwise). I'm pissed, I'm freezing, and I'm a girl. What the hell do girls know about fixing cars? Well, a lot apparently.
I thought she was just a cashier or a phone operator, but I was way off. Lori asked me to pop the hood to see what the problem was. The next thing I know, this girl is on her hands and knees in the freezing rain, fixing my car. I told her that there was no need for her to do all of that, and that she'd gone way above and beyond the call of duty, but she just smiled and said she was used to it. After all, she rides her bike to and from work every day, despite the torrential downpours we've been having here lately.
I was so impressed, and so grateful. If it were me, I don't know if I would have been so selfless. I don't do well with cold weather (I am a Floridian after all), and I sure as hell wouldn't be so willing to dig around under the hood of a stranger's car knowing that there's a dead rat lurking around there somewhere.
Well, for the next 2 hours that it took to fix it, Lori and I joked around about the "hood rat," and talked about life, relationships, and her love of cars. I found out that she's in mechanics school, she's a violinist, and she grew up with good Southern values (her father was from Texas) despite living her whole life in California. I knew that a regular mechanic would have charged me an astronomical amount of money for the amount of labor that went into repairing that damn car, but she didn't ask for anything. I could tell that all she wanted was to talk to someone and do what she loves to do most: fix cars. Never have I met someone so kind, and so willing to help someone they don't even know.
Life is so funny sometimes. Even in the oddest or stickiest of situations, something good can be drawn from the experience. In this case, it was Lori. If it wasn't for this extremely unusual and unfortunate incident, I probably never would have met her. I also wouldn't have gotten home that night, or, if I did, I would have had to inconvenience one of my friends to come and pick me up and then chance leaving my car unattended in a questionable neighborhood. I don't know what I did to deserve the treatment that I got the other night, but I must be in check with karma. Lori was my little glimmer of hope that day.
Sometimes, I feel ravaged by life out here—the constant struggle to survive, the competition, the extremeness of it all; but she truly brightened my day, and I felt compelled to tell the whole world about her.
A lot of people would probably agree that Los Angeles isn't so deserving of its title, but every so often, someone or something comes along to prove that miracles do happen, and that angels do in fact, exist. You just have to believe.
~Alexx Calise
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Mem-or-ies!
Wassap rawkers!
How goes it? Everything is going great here in LA. Just having some trouble believing it's already the end of 2007, geez :)
This has definitely been one hell of a year. Released the album, moved out to the City of Angels, licensed "Morning Pill" to MTV/VH1 networks, in the process of recording the follow up...whew. My New Year's resolution is definitely to take some more "me" time. Well, I say that now...
Anyways, just wanted to give you all a quick update. I just finished writing and recording a brand new song with my producer, Luigie Gonzalez (A BALLAD OF ALL THINGS...), which is as a of yet untitled. It's probably one of the most thoughtful and beautiful works I've ever written, and it really showcases my range, which has improved drastically by the way thanks to my awesome new vocal coach, David Coury (Menudo, Lance Bass). Check him out, he's the bomb diggi-tay!
Luigie and I will also be working on yet another song, entitled "No Rompes Mi Corazon (Don't Break My Heart) over the next few weeks as well. I guess I was inspired by the whole Menudo resurgence :)
Thanks so much to everyone who voted for the song for the next AC vid by the way. I'll have the results of that very soon! We'll be shooting the vid out here in LA next year, so if you just so happen to live in or around the area during the time of the filming, we may just need your lovely mug(s) ;)
A message to all you AC diehards out there:
If you're looking to be more involved with the Alexx Calise cause (hehe), then join the AC Police. In exchange for helping to spread the word about your fave chick rawker, you'll receive free schwag, and you may even get to sit in .. AC recording and rehearsal sessions. For more info about this, please send me a message saying you're in it to win it.
Well, I hope you all are having a fantastic holiday. I'm really grateful to have all of you in my life! You make all of this possible.
Love Always,
AC
How goes it? Everything is going great here in LA. Just having some trouble believing it's already the end of 2007, geez :)
This has definitely been one hell of a year. Released the album, moved out to the City of Angels, licensed "Morning Pill" to MTV/VH1 networks, in the process of recording the follow up...whew. My New Year's resolution is definitely to take some more "me" time. Well, I say that now...
Anyways, just wanted to give you all a quick update. I just finished writing and recording a brand new song with my producer, Luigie Gonzalez (A BALLAD OF ALL THINGS...), which is as a of yet untitled. It's probably one of the most thoughtful and beautiful works I've ever written, and it really showcases my range, which has improved drastically by the way thanks to my awesome new vocal coach, David Coury (Menudo, Lance Bass). Check him out, he's the bomb diggi-tay!
Luigie and I will also be working on yet another song, entitled "No Rompes Mi Corazon (Don't Break My Heart) over the next few weeks as well. I guess I was inspired by the whole Menudo resurgence :)
Thanks so much to everyone who voted for the song for the next AC vid by the way. I'll have the results of that very soon! We'll be shooting the vid out here in LA next year, so if you just so happen to live in or around the area during the time of the filming, we may just need your lovely mug(s) ;)
A message to all you AC diehards out there:
If you're looking to be more involved with the Alexx Calise cause (hehe), then join the AC Police. In exchange for helping to spread the word about your fave chick rawker, you'll receive free schwag, and you may even get to sit in .. AC recording and rehearsal sessions. For more info about this, please send me a message saying you're in it to win it.
Well, I hope you all are having a fantastic holiday. I'm really grateful to have all of you in my life! You make all of this possible.
Love Always,
AC
Silverchair Rawks Arse!
My Silverchair Concert Review - November 20, 2007
I think I can honestly say I saw the best concert of my life the other night at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. It's not even because Silverchair has been my favorite band since I was a little kid. Believe me, I've seen bands that I love on records attempt to perform live, and fail rather miserably. While most music aficionados would probably deem me sacrilegious for saying this, I do believe this band is almost the Pink Floyd of the new generation.
Just to let you know how much these guys freakin' OWN, I had general admission floor seats, I couldn't see a damn thing about 95 % of the time, and they still managed to make me laugh, cry, and scream in a matter of an hour and a half. I paid $40 for my ticket, but I would gladly have paid $400.
What I think was so special and different about this show was the fact that their set was actually orchestrated and structured like a set should be structured (I imagine that the band learned a thing or two about orchestration from their work with acclaimed arranger Van Dyke Parks). So often you go to a concert and a band runs through their set list mindlessly, with some obligatory stock banter in between songs. It's another night, another city, another drunk, heckling audience. There's just no show.
Not these guys, though. They have theirs down to a science. It started off with an ominous, slow-rolling train sequence, and then the band erupted onstage with the title track of their most thoughtful and innovative effort to date, Young Modern.
Lead singer Daniel Johns knew just how much to speak to the audience, just how they'd react when he slid up and down the scales with his guitar and with his voice, or when he sang a line a tad differently than how you hear it on the record. They jammed on nearly every song, made weird, funny noises on their instruments, and as a band, were tighter than a mosquito's tweeter (Well, they have been together since they were about 10-years-old, but still, that's pretty tight).
At one point during the performance, Daniel even told a really horrible, long-winded joke that managed to involve a joint, a koala bear, a lizard and a crocodile. I couldn't tell you what the hell it was about, if it made any sense, or if it was even funny, but I had to laugh at the way he acted out all of the characters, and how Paul Mac played little ditties on his keyboard to imitate the sounds of them walking or climbing about. In his thick Aussie accent, Daniel even made a well-received Outkast reference, shouting "What's cooler than being cool? Ice cold!"
As a musician myself, I was most impressed by Daniel's perfect pitch (and I mean PERFECT), astounding guitar-playing skills (don't even get me started on the arsenal of pedals and sequencers this guy must have to make all those crazy sounds), and fondness for and execution of Indian scales. And what can I say about Ben Gillies (drums) and Chris Joannou (bass)? Not one missed note or accent, not once did they step on Daniel's toes or play TOO LOUD (all of you vocalists know what I'm talking about), not one complaint whatsoever. I was rendered speechless, and believe me, I ALWAYS have a lot to say!
I honestly have not seen this kind of showmanship from any of the contemporary artists that are out today. I actually felt special being in that audience. They spoke to me in a way that few artists have managed to. Even if you don't like anything this band has ever done or you've never heard a lick of their material, you will come out at least appreciating them for their musicianship, attention to detail, and superb live performance. Final verdict: Silverchair RAWKS!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Halloween update!
Hey guys,
As many of you probably already know, I'm out here in California recording some new material and playing a few intimate solo acoustic shows. I've been receiving a lot of emails lately from fans asking if I'm okay and away from all of the horrendous fires that have been going on throughout the state, and I just want to assure everyone that I am, indeed, alive and well. Thousands of less fortunate Californians, however, have lost their homes and everything they own in the blaze. I think it's very important that we all band together and try to help all the poor people who have been affected by this disaster, so please visit the American Red Cross website to find out how you can do your part. I'm also working on a few things myself for all those who are in need now...I will have an update on that soon.
In other news, I've been keeping very busy, and I've really been enjoying my time here in LA, playing such historic places as Pig N Whistle, Cat Club and Rainbow Room, and recording with some of the best in the biz (Luigie Gonzalez, Cristian Delano). I will have my next track, "Good Enough" up soon, so please keep checking back.
Also, don't forget to vote for me for the Blender Battle of the Bands contest. We're in the finals now, and you're the only ones who can help us score a homerun! If you haven't voted yet, you have until November 14, and you can vote up to once a week! Just click here to cast your vote!
Thanks so much to everyone who's come to support me at all my shows. If you haven't seen me in action yet , you still have some more opportunities. Come out and say hi. I don't bite...hard!
Oct 31 - Cat Club on the Sunset Strip at 7 p.m.
Nov 8 - Rainbow Room on the Sunset Strip at 8:30 p.m.
Nov 10 - Cafe Europe on Santa Monica Blvd at 9 p.m.
Hope you're all doing well. Thank you all very much for continuing to support me. Your kindness does not go unappreciated or unrecognized! Keep it RAWKIN'!
Peace,
AC
As many of you probably already know, I'm out here in California recording some new material and playing a few intimate solo acoustic shows. I've been receiving a lot of emails lately from fans asking if I'm okay and away from all of the horrendous fires that have been going on throughout the state, and I just want to assure everyone that I am, indeed, alive and well. Thousands of less fortunate Californians, however, have lost their homes and everything they own in the blaze. I think it's very important that we all band together and try to help all the poor people who have been affected by this disaster, so please visit the American Red Cross website to find out how you can do your part. I'm also working on a few things myself for all those who are in need now...I will have an update on that soon.
In other news, I've been keeping very busy, and I've really been enjoying my time here in LA, playing such historic places as Pig N Whistle, Cat Club and Rainbow Room, and recording with some of the best in the biz (Luigie Gonzalez, Cristian Delano). I will have my next track, "Good Enough" up soon, so please keep checking back.
Also, don't forget to vote for me for the Blender Battle of the Bands contest. We're in the finals now, and you're the only ones who can help us score a homerun! If you haven't voted yet, you have until November 14, and you can vote up to once a week! Just click here to cast your vote!
Thanks so much to everyone who's come to support me at all my shows. If you haven't seen me in action yet , you still have some more opportunities. Come out and say hi. I don't bite...hard!
Oct 31 - Cat Club on the Sunset Strip at 7 p.m.
Nov 8 - Rainbow Room on the Sunset Strip at 8:30 p.m.
Nov 10 - Cafe Europe on Santa Monica Blvd at 9 p.m.
Hope you're all doing well. Thank you all very much for continuing to support me. Your kindness does not go unappreciated or unrecognized! Keep it RAWKIN'!
Peace,
AC
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
I'm Not Dead!
Que pasa rawkers?
How's everybody doing? I know many of you have been wondering where in the world I've been hiding, so I just wanted to let you all know that I am in fact alive and well. I've just been hard at work in the studio recording some new tracks (which I'll be posting very soon) and beating up A-list celebrities. Hehe, just kidding. :)
Also, some grand news for those of you (in LA that is) who'd like to see yours truly in the flesh! Now don't get excited, it's not what you think…sorry! I'll be playing live this Saturday, Oct 20 at Cafe Europe on Santa Monica Blvd at 8 p.m., Saturday, October 27 at the Pig N Whistle on Hollywood Blvd at 10 p.m., and Thursday, November 8 at the Rainbow Room on Sunset Blvd at 8:30 p.m. Please come and say hello. It would be nice to have some human interaction since I've been locked away in one studio or another for several weeks now…
In other news, I'm still a little unsure of what I should be for Halloween. I was thinking I could be Britney Spears and not wear underwear…but that's so overdone these days. All kidding aside, if you can give me a better idea of what I should be, I'll gladly award you with the pride of knowing that you outfitted me for Halloween! Also, drop me a line and let me know what you're going to be. I think the best costume I ever heard about was a Mormon. You know, black tie, white button-down shirt, backpack, and bicycle helmet…how awesome is that? Well, I hope you all had a rawkin' weekend and you're not causing too much trouble. I'll be holding it down in LA for ya'll. Til then, take it easy and keep it RAWKIN'!
Peace,
AC
How's everybody doing? I know many of you have been wondering where in the world I've been hiding, so I just wanted to let you all know that I am in fact alive and well. I've just been hard at work in the studio recording some new tracks (which I'll be posting very soon) and beating up A-list celebrities. Hehe, just kidding. :)
Also, some grand news for those of you (in LA that is) who'd like to see yours truly in the flesh! Now don't get excited, it's not what you think…sorry! I'll be playing live this Saturday, Oct 20 at Cafe Europe on Santa Monica Blvd at 8 p.m., Saturday, October 27 at the Pig N Whistle on Hollywood Blvd at 10 p.m., and Thursday, November 8 at the Rainbow Room on Sunset Blvd at 8:30 p.m. Please come and say hello. It would be nice to have some human interaction since I've been locked away in one studio or another for several weeks now…
In other news, I'm still a little unsure of what I should be for Halloween. I was thinking I could be Britney Spears and not wear underwear…but that's so overdone these days. All kidding aside, if you can give me a better idea of what I should be, I'll gladly award you with the pride of knowing that you outfitted me for Halloween! Also, drop me a line and let me know what you're going to be. I think the best costume I ever heard about was a Mormon. You know, black tie, white button-down shirt, backpack, and bicycle helmet…how awesome is that? Well, I hope you all had a rawkin' weekend and you're not causing too much trouble. I'll be holding it down in LA for ya'll. Til then, take it easy and keep it RAWKIN'!
Peace,
AC
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Technologically speaking...
Another rant in the key of awesome…
In so many ways and on so many different levels, the human race has defied logic and superceded even the greatest of expectations. Every day there’s a new technology, a new antidote, or a new discovery that propels us toward a brighter new age and brings us one step closer to god. We’ve tested and stretched ourselves beyond even our own comprehension. We’ve even discovered how to think without thinking and how to do without doing. The question is though, will all this knowledge and power kill us or make us stronger? Will Rome fall again?
While I firmly believe that knowledge is power, I also believe that it is poison. We’ve become too smart for our own good (or too big for our britches at least), and because of this, we’ve become lethargic. It’s almost as if we’ve already discovered everything we need, or care to know. Just think for a moment. The entire world is at your disposal. Anything you can dream of is right at your fingertips. You don’t need to know how to read, write, or even formulate a sentence at all because of your trusty Spell Check (which I’ll admit to using while writing this essay). You don’t need to make a trip to the music store to buy an album because you can download it in its entirety instantly. You don’t even need to interact with another person physically because you can chat with them via email and instant messenger. Did you ever sit and think that you never EVER have to leave your house EVER again if you don’t want to because you have everything you will EVER need right there?
This has created some serious social ramifications. We no longer know how to communicate with each other anymore. I see this especially in today’s youth. For example, having discussions with people my age sometimes is like pulling teeth. I’m not talking deep, existential conversations either. I’m talking light conversation and small talk--simple communication. So often I feel like I’m the only one doing the talking and making the effort to get to know the other person. I don’t think that they’re being rude or aloof necessarily. I really do believe that they just don’t know what to say or how to act in social situations because they’re not involved in them often enough and they don’t allow themselves to be. They’re just always plugged in to one thing or another—the iPod, the cell phone, the computer. Hey, I’ll admit that I am to some degree as well. I’ve even experienced cell phone and internet withdrawal once or twice.
I’m definitely not innocent. With everything so readily available to us, we needn’t expend as much physical or mental energy to do anything. It’s so much easier to solve a problem using a calculator; it’s so much easier to shop online as opposed to actually going out to the store, and it’s so much easier to gather an opinion of your own after reading someone else’s superfluous, long-winded and completely biased blog entry :)
Because people no longer have to expend energy or do anything that requires any physical movement, they become lazy. Quite often, it starts to show on the exterior. While this is an entirely different discussion altogether, I’ll briefly touch on the subject…
According to obesityinamerica.org, approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese and 9 million are extremely obese. While low physical activity obviously isn’t the sole cause of obesity in America, it is certainly attributable to the 400,000 deaths that occur each year because of it.
I’m not sure what the answer is to all of this. I’m not sure we should continue on this technological pursuit, but I don’t necessarily think we should slow it down either. Growth is part of life. We’d be selling ourselves short and we wouldn’t be achieving our full potential if we rested on our laurels for even a moment. We have an astounding learning and knowledge capacity that no other creature on Earth possesses; it must have been given to us for a reason. Why not use it, right?
Let me clarify before I’m accused of being provincial or “old school” that I think technology is absolutely wonderful and extremely beneficial in many ways. For the first time ever, we can communicate live with others from across the globe and we can perform the most arduous of tasks with the simple click of a button. However, I think it’s also misused, and it’s become a crutch to some. Without it, they wouldn’t know what to think or how to function.
I believe that in order to progress socially-speaking, we simply need to unplug once in a while. I’m not saying go back or nature and live amongst the natives. All I’m saying is go pick up a book, hang out with your friends, take a walk, or, if you’re just so damn computer-addicted, get in your car, drive to the local Starbuck’s and plug in your laptop there because at least it’s an excuse to get the hell out of the house. All kidding aside though, we must be able to talk to each other. Not online, not on text messaging, not on the cell phone, but face-to-face. Try it sometime. You might find that you’re good at it or, better yet, that you enjoy it.
~Alexx Calise
In so many ways and on so many different levels, the human race has defied logic and superceded even the greatest of expectations. Every day there’s a new technology, a new antidote, or a new discovery that propels us toward a brighter new age and brings us one step closer to god. We’ve tested and stretched ourselves beyond even our own comprehension. We’ve even discovered how to think without thinking and how to do without doing. The question is though, will all this knowledge and power kill us or make us stronger? Will Rome fall again?
While I firmly believe that knowledge is power, I also believe that it is poison. We’ve become too smart for our own good (or too big for our britches at least), and because of this, we’ve become lethargic. It’s almost as if we’ve already discovered everything we need, or care to know. Just think for a moment. The entire world is at your disposal. Anything you can dream of is right at your fingertips. You don’t need to know how to read, write, or even formulate a sentence at all because of your trusty Spell Check (which I’ll admit to using while writing this essay). You don’t need to make a trip to the music store to buy an album because you can download it in its entirety instantly. You don’t even need to interact with another person physically because you can chat with them via email and instant messenger. Did you ever sit and think that you never EVER have to leave your house EVER again if you don’t want to because you have everything you will EVER need right there?
This has created some serious social ramifications. We no longer know how to communicate with each other anymore. I see this especially in today’s youth. For example, having discussions with people my age sometimes is like pulling teeth. I’m not talking deep, existential conversations either. I’m talking light conversation and small talk--simple communication. So often I feel like I’m the only one doing the talking and making the effort to get to know the other person. I don’t think that they’re being rude or aloof necessarily. I really do believe that they just don’t know what to say or how to act in social situations because they’re not involved in them often enough and they don’t allow themselves to be. They’re just always plugged in to one thing or another—the iPod, the cell phone, the computer. Hey, I’ll admit that I am to some degree as well. I’ve even experienced cell phone and internet withdrawal once or twice.
I’m definitely not innocent. With everything so readily available to us, we needn’t expend as much physical or mental energy to do anything. It’s so much easier to solve a problem using a calculator; it’s so much easier to shop online as opposed to actually going out to the store, and it’s so much easier to gather an opinion of your own after reading someone else’s superfluous, long-winded and completely biased blog entry :)
Because people no longer have to expend energy or do anything that requires any physical movement, they become lazy. Quite often, it starts to show on the exterior. While this is an entirely different discussion altogether, I’ll briefly touch on the subject…
According to obesityinamerica.org, approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese and 9 million are extremely obese. While low physical activity obviously isn’t the sole cause of obesity in America, it is certainly attributable to the 400,000 deaths that occur each year because of it.
I’m not sure what the answer is to all of this. I’m not sure we should continue on this technological pursuit, but I don’t necessarily think we should slow it down either. Growth is part of life. We’d be selling ourselves short and we wouldn’t be achieving our full potential if we rested on our laurels for even a moment. We have an astounding learning and knowledge capacity that no other creature on Earth possesses; it must have been given to us for a reason. Why not use it, right?
Let me clarify before I’m accused of being provincial or “old school” that I think technology is absolutely wonderful and extremely beneficial in many ways. For the first time ever, we can communicate live with others from across the globe and we can perform the most arduous of tasks with the simple click of a button. However, I think it’s also misused, and it’s become a crutch to some. Without it, they wouldn’t know what to think or how to function.
I believe that in order to progress socially-speaking, we simply need to unplug once in a while. I’m not saying go back or nature and live amongst the natives. All I’m saying is go pick up a book, hang out with your friends, take a walk, or, if you’re just so damn computer-addicted, get in your car, drive to the local Starbuck’s and plug in your laptop there because at least it’s an excuse to get the hell out of the house. All kidding aside though, we must be able to talk to each other. Not online, not on text messaging, not on the cell phone, but face-to-face. Try it sometime. You might find that you’re good at it or, better yet, that you enjoy it.
~Alexx Calise
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