Analysis Of My Technologically Challenged Life By Monica Wunderlich

Can you imagine how children do not seem to have any problems in learning how technology works now? It happens that almost every kid has their own laptop, cell phone, iPads or any other electronic devices. Who does not want to live in this world where doing homeworks and making your job much easier, right? If children nowadays are too lucky to have and learn these things while they are young, most of us grew up and experienced the life without technology. In "My Technologically Challenged Life" by Monica Wunderlich, she talked about the different struggles she had experienced in her house, school, workplace, and her car due to the lack of technology.
In the essay, Monica Wunderlich wrote, "My Technologically Challenged Life", she talked about the struggles in her life due to the absence of technology. She first talked about her struggles at home where her parents don't really believe technology exist. They use a

rotary phone at home to communicate with others, but for them this phone is giving them a hard time because it doesn’t have any buttons to use for dialing numbers and to add it up, Wunderlich is embarrassed to have it because her friends have the "normal" phones. Second, she discusses how she and her sister struggled doing their essays and other homeworks for school because of not
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having a computer. They tried different methods like asking their friends to use their computer and persuading their parents to buy one which didn’t work. Next, she stated how her work does not have the most up-to-date equipments. They were still using the glass thermometer which taking too much of their time and the manual pressure cuffs that makes it impossible for them to get the exact result. Lastly, she talked about her car struggles being not technologically advanced. She complains how her car doesn’t have a GPS, how she needs to roll her windows down manually, and how the "check engine light" always pop up in every three weeks. In the end, Wunderlich can still go through a day without technology, but as for her own convenience, she is trying to learn how technology works even if it takes her awhile to figure out everything (Wunderlich 194-199).
First, Monica Wunderlich described how she struggled at home, having only the rotary phone as their way of communicating with others. She stated in the essay that "Reaching an actual person was difficult the old way because of the physical impossibility of being able to push 1, 2, or 3 when a phone possesses no buttons" (Wunderlich 195). This passage that Wunderlich wrote is demonstrating how hard it is to communicate with others using an old phone. Rotary phones are not as bad as they seem to be and yes, it is an old model, but at least you have a phone that you can use to call somebody. I also understand when Wunderlich said that she was embarrassed having the rotary phone while her friends have the regular phone because high school days is the time where we want to have the newest gadgets because usually our friends and classmates tends to brag about the things they have and as a result, you will end up envying them and you will hope that you also have what they have.

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Second, Wunderlich described how she struggled at school without a computer. She said, "So my sister and I resorted spending hours at our friends' houses, because their parents were
nice to them and bought computers" (Wunderlich 195). In this passage, Wunderlich started to compare her parents to her friends' parents just because she did not get what she wants and this is showing a disrespectful act to her parents. She need to stop whining and try to understand her parents situation because one of the reasons I know why her parents was refusing to buy one for them is because they can't afford it due to financial problems. I know how hard it is not to have a computer if you're a student, especially when your teachers demands you to type in your essays or homeworks before submitting it to them, but back then, computers are so expensive and only rich people can afford to buy it. Computers are indeed a big help for students because of the fact that you can access the internet and you can easily find everything you need to find. Instead of complaining about not having a computer, asking a little help from your friends who has one is the best way to finish your essays and homeworks.
Next, She talked about how she had a hard time at work because they do not have the most advanced medical technology in their facility. In the essay, she said "Using manual equipment is hard not only for us but also for the nurses" (Wunderlich 197). This passage indicates how the manual equipments they are using is making their job more difficult for all of them. I totally agree where Wunderlich is coming from because imagine having no technology in medical fields, what will happen to those patients that is hoping and depending their lives in technology or those people that need big surgeries? Having her talked about using the glass thermometer is already a dangerous thing to use because of the chemical it contains inside and how it can harm the patients as well as the nurses. How good would it be if technology was
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discovered before the existence of these dangerous equipments for patients, right? I never
worked at a hospital or a clinic but I've already seen in person or in movies how patients can really benefit from these technologies we have right now. I am just glad how big the contribution of technology is today in saving more people's lives.
Lastly, she discussed how devastated she was about her car because of not having the most advanced features in it.

She stated in the essay, " The only technology is the 5 billion standard airbags for when I do something really stupid" (Wunderlich 198). Wunderlich is telling us that the airbags are the only advanced technology in her car and nothing else. To me, Wunderlich is being sarcastic and complains about how her car doesn’t have a GPS and how her windows are not automatic. It doesn’t make sense how these things can cripple her life because there are more important things out there than aiming the most advanced car. Wunderlich has been already lucky enough to own a car and go to places without the hassle of commuting or walking. If there is no GPS on your car, learn how to find the directions on your own and if you want the most advanced car, then try to work harder so you can buy a new one. I know everyone wants to have the latest car or gadgets , but people just need to be contented with what they have and not whine about the things they don't

have.
In conclusion, technology has a big impact in everyone's life, but we can never hide the fact that technology can also make an individual become greedy because of the benefits it can offer to each one of us. I still believe that having the technology is much better than living in a life without it. We should all be grateful that this was invented and is now playing a huge role in

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making our life more comfortable. Technology is the answer to our struggles at home, school, work and car because with technology, everything seems possible and easier.
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Work Cited
Wunderlich, Monica. "My Technologically Challenged Life." The Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition. 8th ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 194-199. Print.