Tom is scrolling through his Facebook Newsfeed when he does the unthinkable: he deletes the app. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his $600 smart phone. It is fully loaded with every possible avenue of social media – Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr. He smiles knowingly and smashes it to the floor. Today is the day Tom lives for Tom. He has made a decision to simplify his life and eradicate the need for other people’s approval. So, with this in mind, he puts on some blue cowboy boots (he just likes to dance!), an Oakland raider’s jersey (this is a big deal – he lives in San Francisco), and walks out the door.

Once in the cool San Francisco air, Tom receives a plethora of strange looks. He returns these with an incandescent ear-to-ear grin. A grizzly looking man in his mid fifties grumbles, “Fuck the raiders”, as Tom struts past. Tom gives him a thumbs up because he does not have one care to spare.

On his journey he encounters a pan flute band playing a jazzy Bob Marley tune. He stops his strolling and dances feverishly. He lets his entire human spirit shine through unapologetically as he swings his hips and twists his torso. He spins and twirls and laughs. People scoff, roll their eyes, contemplate calling maniac control – but Tom is having the time of his life. He leaves the pan flute band a $20 bill then continues on his way, the rhythm from the music still lending spring to his step.

He stops into a bakery and orders a chocolate-filled croissant dusted with powdered sugar. As he is paying, he notices the cashier appears to be having a bad day. Her eyes are vacant and a grimace pulls on the corner of her lips. Tom decides to go next door to the florist and buys a bouquet of lilies. He returns and hands them to her, along with a post-it on which he wrote nothing but you rock! She smiles with gratitude and he goes on his way. He wanted nothing from her – not her number, not her company, not to make her think about him or remember him, just simply to bring a modicum of happiness to her day.

Tom is a passionate aspiring architect, so he spends some time admiring the various architectural landmarks throughout San Francisco. He ventures to look at the old churches, even goes all cliché and tries to find the house from Full House. This is rendered impossible because they all look the same. Nonetheless, he whistles the catchy theme song from the 90’s sitcom in front of every single one.

It’s so wonderful how much time Tom has to think about the things that actually matter once he stops wasting his thoughts on what others think. He feels as though he has unlocked the human potential that had been hibernating beneath the daily minutiae of his unfulfilling life. He wishes everyone could feel this free and awesome.

Then Tom wakes up.

He sits up in bed, the buzzing alarm informing him he has class in twenty minutes. Architecture 40a: Intro to Stucco awaits him. He gels his hair, making sure it’s exactly how it looks in his profile picture. He grabs a protein bar – he’s trying to make gains- and shoves it in his mouth without even tasting the imitation chocolate and chemically fortified whey isolate.

While on the bus to class, he mindlessly scrolls through his Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, even views some snap stories. He yawns – he’ll probably have to stop and get coffee. He puts his headphones in and listens to the new Drake. Someone plops onto the seat next to him and Tom prays the stranger won’t attempt awkward small talk.

Real-life interaction gives Tom anxiety.

Tom lives in a present stagnancy, with misplaced hopes in a fictitious future happyland where he has everything he ever dreamed of. He doesn’t realize that you can’t procrastinate on happiness. Each day he is given a chance to do whatever the hell he wants and make the most out of his time on earth, but Tom doesn’t understand that – because he is too busy doing what everyone else wants him to do.