Being addicted to your cell phone is something many people suffer from. This was definitely true for me until a couple of years ago.
I always wanted to be on my phone, listen to music, text, call, and simply waste my time. I spent about 8-9 hours just aimlessly scrolling when I could have used my time more wisely than being dependent on my cell phone. I would’ve never thought that traveling to Mexico would have opened my eyes to realize that there is so much more to just being chronically addicted to my phone.
For the past four years, I have been traveling to Mexico every winter with my family to Rancho San Miguel in Jalisco. My very first time traveling to Mexico was in 2021. I was enthusiastic about traveling to my family’s home for the first time, but that was before I knew what I was in for.
Before we arrived, my mother advised me that I would not have any service whatsoever, and I got very upset because I could not utilize my phone as I had intended. I immediately told my family I wanted to return home to the US, but of course, we didn’t.
The thought of no service overwhelmed me since I had nothing to expect from the ranch. I imagined a ranch in the middle of nowhere with nothing else to do.
As soon as I arrived at my family’s ranch, it was the opposite of what I had imagined. It was filled with many other houses that I later discovered were owned by family members I had never known I had. I spent 3 and a half weeks there, allowing me to see the place, explore it, and create closer connections with my family.
Even though it is a small family-affiliated ranch, there is so much to do, such as going to soccer every Sunday, quad riding, walks around the ranch, daily posadas until Christmas day arrives, Quinceaneras, working with my cousins, family gatherings, horse riding, and helping at my aunt’s store where I usually get my necessities.
As I kept going yearly, I eventually got the hang of it and knew what to expect, so it became less overwhelming for me. I ended up loving it so much that I didn’t think twice about not having any service. I now consider it one of the best places where I can be and one of the most eventful experiences that I get to live in. Even a normal day where there is nothing special going on is a priceless moment that I do not get the chance to experience all the time.
One instance was a random Tuesday when my grandmother had scheduled a get-together with all the family the week before we were leaving back to the US. Every family member that attended this day gathered a variety of plates, such as homemade sopes, pasta, crepes that were filled with corn and meat, pork and candy tamales, as well as homemade bread.
My aunt, who had tagged along with us by luck, had left a couple of games so all the family could play. One of the games we had was the Loteria and the Uno cards. It was such an enjoyable time bonding with everyone, full of laughter and filled with smiles. Not one phone was in sight, just the simplicity of living in that precise moment with one another.
I have realized that living in the moment and enjoying the people and the experiences is what matters most, not just being devoted to my phone. From time to time, it takes being at a distance from a screen to perceive that living in my present is something that I need to cherish a lot more. Being off my phone helped me reconnect with the world around me, especially building a better relationship with my family.
The perspective of life in Mexico compared to life in the States was an eye opener into cherishing my own life and what I have. Being able to experience how my family lives in a completely different environment there compared to our life here gathered an even more humble aspect. Bonding with my cousins also made me realize how easy I have it compared to them. Learning more about what they have experienced working at such a young age trying to survive in a place where they deal with poverty created a want to support them in ways where I have offered to send them necessities they would want or need.
Limiting the habit of using technology diminishes when staying at my family’s ranch, which is why I have learned to be more considerate of the outside world. The idea of living in the exact moment has had a significant impact not only when I’m in Mexico but also when I’m back home in the States such as being more productive in offering more time to my friends, family, and myself. Instead of relying on my phone when there is nothing to do, I’d go and bond with my little sister, take her to the park, or even just look for plans with my loved ones to avoid the usage of technology. Having said that, this has helped me reach out to what I wouldn’t and lost the desire to use my phone all the time.
Paying more attention and valuing my world summoned a revelation that life isn’t just about focusing on what’s going on in a device but what is happening at the moment. I managed to decrease the usage of my phone and started to plan out other activities where I do not have to involve my phone. I have been reassured to be aware of what surrounds me in my life because as much as I might not want to believe it, not everything in my life comes by a second time, and neither do the moments.
