Dumping screentime

*Click, and send.

Picture taken.

*sigh of relief

I posed shirtless, as I did every morning, taking extra care to look good today. To show my abs, my arms and legs I waited for the perfect time when the sun just edges over the opposing building, the supermarket, and strikes the window of my flat. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning, and I stopped drinking just before lunch to dehydrate. To add to the perfection I did a set of exercises for each body part just before taking the picture.

Three hundred and sixty-five days of the “Get Fit in a Year Challenge“ were now complete, and I felt great, and accomplished. It was well worth the effort.

It was Jamie who inspired me.

You see, Jamie was a simple creature and a bit of an exhibitionist. Playing football for a high school team was a great start for him. Jamie was in great shape then, but after failing to qualify for a college team, his willingness to continue exercising wavered, and he started to slack off.

He had been taking pictures of himself daily for a while, and when we both dropped out of college, he had amassed quite a collection.

Even after dropping out, he continued taking pictures every day for a few months and then he posted his miraculous transformation on TikTok, Instagram and even Facebook sending his post trending for a good amount of views.

Didn't matter that he reversed the order of pictures taken, starting slightly overweight, as he is now, to his peak physique months back.

In his own words: “If nothing else, at least I am gonna have a cool montage for my socials.“

A bit unorthodox approach, but I commended his creativity. In his own words: “Well, it's the same thing, just in reverse.“ While I thought it was more or less cheating, I decided to do it as well – but properly. Coincidently, it was my birthday, so what better time to start than then?

I must also add that his transformation montage was later dissected by more perceptive users, uncovering Jamie's simple yet fatal oversight: He had forgotten to keep cutting his hair and someone figured it out, revealing the reality behind the making of the montage.

Nevermind that. Back to the topic!

Or I would like that … where was I? Oh right, did I mention Melissa, my ex-girlfriend? No … oh.

Well, when I dropped out of college and started working in one of the warehouses for Home Depot to save up for the car I wanted – a 2010 Dodge Ram, Melissa broke up with me, stating coldly: “I am not going to waste my time on a drop-out looser working in a shitty warehouse.“

Jamie and the other guys we were hanging with tried to cheer me up, but there was no need. Surprisingly, I felt relieved. Melissa was pretty, and she was always laughing, but we never really connected. She always wanted more from life, and I could never catch up with her ambitions.

Instead of love, I felt constant pressure.

Enough dilly-dallying, time to get ready for work.

Shower to wash the morning sweat away, and get my hair under control with a bit of styling powder.

Almost ready.

Now for the last part, a little bit of pre-work relaxation – a morning social media scrolling session.

Everyone does that. And everywhere – on the bus, during lunch break, or on the toilet, which is my case right now. You save time by doing something that needs to be done and you get to catch up with everyone's affairs through socials. Or that´s the excuse anyway. I'm not gonna lie, it's addictive.

Jamie is up to no good again, posting his weekend shenanigans.

*giggle

Grabbing a coffee, and a walk near the riverside – how romantic. Oh! Joe proposed. Liking that for sure, I can already see the stag party going crazy.

Funny cat videos are trending lately, the sound of them always gets me. I don't get all the corporate meme stuff. Some of my friends from college started taking part-time jobs to get a feel for what is coming after, and now they are all complaining about corporate culture, bosses, money, and pizza parties apparently.

I think my mom would have been ok with me doing the same. She looked so disappointed when I told her and pops about dropping out and getting a job instead.

Dad accepted it, and when I told him: “But with all that studying and all, I wouldn´t be able to save up for a car I want.“ He just smiled and handed me my first “officially legal“ beer – Naked Pig.

Sipping beer and sitting beside him, we came to a silent understanding. When he finished his last sip, and I remember his face - resolute and confident, he said: “Son, you will find what you are good at soon enough, don´t worry. I will talk to her.“

*scrolling down

Memes and funny montages.

Reels with Joe Rogan on a podcast, Jordan Peterson's interview, they always manage to sneak into my Reel stream frenzy.

Fitness gurus advising on how to train properly. Useless mostly, but some of these guys show some new exercise variations, so that´s cool.

Get rich with crypto, subscribe to the program, and reap the benefits – or worse, buy my course on how to become a millionaire. I thought these would get cancelled but it's still going strong.

*scrolling down fast

Avoid doomscrolling, start microlearning. Get a fresh start with a programming course – learn and earn. I am not sure about the programming, but you are right, time to earn.

*beep

Instagram again: Someone liked your picture. Ha, Jamie, of course: “Challenge complete, my man is now shredded!“

Thanks, man. Challenge complete.

Melissa liked your picture.

Melissa commented on your picture: “Looking good Will! Happy birthday and keep it up.“

Oh, snap, I totally forgot my own birthday!

But yeah, … maybe I should keep going. I saved up, I kept eating healthy, and I was focused the whole year immersing myself fully in this new experience.

Maybe it wasn't just the body I was changing. I think I might have changed a little in other ways.

Maybe it was too soon to give up college, I have never given it a second thought and just gave up after failing my first exams.

Gotta run, shift is about to start soon. Better check the mailbox before heading out.

An envelope, with a letter inside.

“Happy birthday William. I know how hard you worked the whole year, and we wanted to help you just a little bit. Drive safe. Love you, Mom.“

Two thousand dollars were in the letter.

Thanks, mom, pops.

I will.