When I heard her essay, I couldn’t believe she was so into analog, and didn’t want digital technology being really involved in her life. I couldn’t believe it because I am so knee-deep in technology in my everyday life it’s almost like I’m being suffocated by it. Susan Chang said she met her husband over the internet, and now they live in the country. I’d also want to live in the country when I finally get enough money to move out, however, I doubt I could live without my cell phone and computer.
I really like how Susan describes things, for example, the line, “We live in the country, where dial-up is standard and sometimes progress just puts its feet up and takes a nap.” And what she writes isn’t an entire essay of her life, she doesn’t talk about her childhood, what toys she got, or birthday parties, etc. Susan just writes how she lives her life, that she lives it in analog and wouldn’t have it any other way. She goes back to what she said in the beginning as well, about the smudges, whispers and crackles that we hear in old movies, records, and so on.
I admire that in her, I wish I could live in analog. Sadly though, she wasn’t born in 1991, so she wasn’t bottle-fed technology like most teens today have been.
For Rittenberg’s essay, he is very good at flashing back and forth to his past, and what his father told him. “Tomorrow will be a better day”. I can relate to what he’s saying, about how his relatives and such went through World War 2 and have a bleak outlook on the future. But worrying about the future only wastes time, it’s best to look forward in optimism, like Rittenberg. I like how Rittenberg talks about the illnesses that occured, and adds that we found a vaccine for the disease. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel, and I believe the same as he does. I also believe that after something terrible happens, something good is guaranteed to follow.
