These days instant gratification is so important to our society. We demand to have what we want, when we want it. The signs are all obvious. Cell phones and wireless internet keep us constantly connected with others, digital cameras let us see our pictures right after we take them, DVD movies let us jump to certain scenes without having to wait to fast-forward. These are just a few examples, of course. I think all of these inventions are significant and very useful, but they may have damaging side effects.

My reasoning: being instantly gratified all the time makes us impatient and less able to cope with those things we can't have right away. Basically, it's like being spoiled. For example, where I lived during high school (where I call home), it only took 5 minutes to drive to the beach, maybe 10 minutes on a bad day. Now that I am in Pensacola, however, and live at the University, it takes 30 to 45 minutes to drive to the beach! It drives me crazy, and only because I lived for so long with only a 5 minute drive. Examples like this can be found all throughout our lives.

Patience is an important trait, because the simple fact is we just can't always get what we want. And this fact becomes harder to deal with as more and more aspects of our lives can be immediately satisfied. As we all buy and use the latest and greatest technology, we must be conscious of its effects on us and must always remember to have patience.