Yesterday I had an emergency right in the middle of chemistry class. My computer wouldn’t turn on. I felt like a parent whose child just called from school with a broken arm.

Right before my next class, I had a friend book an appointment at the Apple store, right in the middle of class. I left as the professor entered the room. We exchanged glances. He, seeing the worry on my face, asked with concern, “What’s going on?” I simply said, “Emergency, see you later!” After realizing that I made my excuse sound like my friend just died, I explained that my computer just crashed and the only available appointment was during his class. Now with even more worry in his eyes, he said, “Oh, go. Go!”

As I sprinted towards my car to make the appointment, I realized how much value we give our technology, almost as much importance as a child or good friend.

We’re dependent upon our computers. I sat up last night thinking about how I was going to survive the next week and a half while my baby was being repaired. Would I find time to work on my papers in the library? Could I deal without email at my fingertips all the time?

Good thing I have a BlackBerry and an iPad. And I take most of my notes by hand but still, there are those times that I sit down, think about getting on to check the news, my email, Facebook, or Blackboard and realize that everything has changed.

However, now I’m excited for the new challenge. I love writing on paper. I love my penmanship. I love the idea that for a couple of weeks, I have to live like everyone else did twenty years ago – going to the library to work on a paper, hand-writing drafts and notes, being relieved of the constant updates that show up on my dashboard. Being separated from my computer could turn out to be a liberating experience!

Of course, there are things that will be hard to get used to. Anyone who has had a computer crash knows exactly how I feel. I look with envy at those who tote their laptops around campus, and cringe when I see one outside of a case.

I want to tell them to take care of their precious child. Seeing someone set their computer in the grass is like watching Britney Spears hold her baby in her lap in the front seat of the car.

I want to scream, and caution people. But I know it’s not that big of a deal.

I will survive the next fortnight.

I will push through without my computer, and trust that the experts in the Apple hospital can fix my little one. It may come back a little altered with new parts and possibly a new hard drive, but I’m confident that I can make it my own again. And thankfully I can restore its personality with ease. I have an external backup.

But be warned, if you’re not backing up your work, and not taking care of your computer, it may die on you. And don’t be surprised when I call out to you on the boulevard while you toss your computer around like a frisbee. In fact, don’t be surprised if I accidentally call you Britney.

Take care of your stuff or you’ll be stuck like me writing hand-written notes in every class and working on your cursive again like you’re in grade school.

Michael is a sophomore majoring in communications studies and religious studies.