Self-Deprivation #1

Today – Monday, 09 – 09 – 2019, by 10:45 PM, I started the Self-Deprivation Challenge. This Challenge lasts for about five days; Monday through Friday. Such assignment is noted as, “Think of one thing you do every day. This could be taking pictures, social media, flying a kite. This must be something that isn’t required (i.e. school, chores, etc…), but something you choose to do on a daily basis. For one week, do not do the ‘thing’ you’ve chosen…”

The initial assessment is to see if I can resist not participating in the “thing” I’ve chosen. I gave up photo editing on the VSCO app (p.s. I’m not that type. The app is pretty good quality) and posting my photography on Instagram. Before today, I partook on this activity every day- large amounts of time. I found photo editing relaxing; despite I didn’t get much attention from media.

This challenge was based off a book I & my peers are reading in English Class, Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse). Written by our English Instructor, she noted: “Oftentimes, we don’t know what we have until it is gone- we need to be deprived of it before we can realize how attached to it we are. In the spirit of the Samana and Siddhartha, we are going to give up near and dear to our everyday life; IF YOU CAN…” which I’m most positive on; yes I can.

Today, when I opened my Instagram app, I felt the urge to take a photo. However, before I was fully tempted, I controlled such feelings, put them aside, and saved the ideas for future inspiration and reflection.

Ø  Samana – a wandering holy man; ascetic life (mostly recognized in Hinduism)