The summer after my college graduation, I lived in a tent for three months. After selecting a tent in the consignment section of a local mountaineering shop, I packed my backpack with essentials and flew across the country to Seattle. I met up with a friend in Bellingham, and then we took a ferry across Puget Sound and drove onto San Juan Island.
From the ferry terminal, we drove through the small town of Friday Harbor, and continued through the pastoral countryside for five miles and then turned left onto a dirt road. After following the road for half a mile into the woods we had arrived to a plot of land with a handful of tents in the middle of nowhere.
That afternoon, after setting up my tent and unpacking, I was instantly restless. I had no cell phone reception, no running water, and no computer. At the time, I was still using an actual film camera. While I was waiting for the other residents (all recent college grads) of our little ’shanty town’ to get home so I could meet them, I sat in the vestibule of my tent and sketched my feet for two hours.
The first week living in shantytown was rough. It wasn’t easy to be so disconnected from everything. I eventually grew to like the analog lifestyle and ended up having some great adventures that summer. One of the big lessons I learned from the experience is that it’s possible to exist without technology. For three months, my technological diet consisted of 30-minute PC sessions at the local library and limited cell phone use, when I could find reception on the island.
Today, boy, have things changed. Now my life relies heavily on technology. I use the Internet for everything. I haven’t looked at a paper map, CD, or roll of film in years, yet have no problem getting around, listening to music, and taking pictures. I generally think technology enhances my life and that things are more efficient.
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