By FLETCHER DEAL

Contributing Writer

The other day I was sitting in my room listening to music on my iPhone, typing a paper on my laptop, while waiting for an update to download for one of my favorite games. It was in this moment that I found myself in a moment of thought. I thought about how lucky we are as a generation, because we have the world at our fingertips. 

I still remember the first computer my family owned; its monitor was incased in the grotesque-looking cream-colored plastic, it took a rocket scientist to turn it on, and it was connected to the outside world through dial-up. 

For those of you who never had to experience dial-up, thank your lucky stars. 

I rarely used this new piece of technology in my house, unless it was to play Solitaire, Minesweeper, or Microsoft Paint. Eventually, as I grew, I became more acquainted with the computer and we got DSL. 

I used it to play more advanced games, research and write papers for class. This object became a portal to the world outside of the Georgia mountains. 

 Back in my room, with my phone at my side, I thought about the beauty that is our technology. 

Today I can find an answer to any question that crosses my mind, I can listen to an artist’s entire repertoire without paying a cent, I can discover a burgeoning filmmaker’s newest creation, and I can tell you in two seconds the weather forecast for the week ahead.

 Aside from the entertainment side of the web, I am connected to the world. 

I can instantly communicate with someone in the next state or in the furthest corners of the globe, I can read the top stories from every major world paper, and I can read the histories of all these foreign places. 

This is the real beauty of the web. This technology creates global thought, it solidifies the fact that we are all on this planet together, and it is up to us to make tomorrow brighter than today. That connectivity is the beauty of our technology.