As inspired as today's Vlogbrothers video has made me feel -- going without electricity for just one day? I could totally do that -- I actually don't think I could do it successfully. It's my privilege, and I'll talk more about that below the video embed. But perhaps it was even easier to do this in 2007 than it would be now -- when phones and tablets and apps didn't literally run our lives.
And these are the things we muse on both at Vlogger Beat and on Vlogbrothers Rewatch -- an ongoing series of articles in which I document my admittedly questionable decision to rewatch every single public upload on the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel from start to "finish." Using this playlist, I'm going in chronological order, one video per day, starting from the very beginning. When will I stop? Ideally, I will catch up at some point, but only being in April of 2007 makes me sort of question whether or not this series will ever actually end. One way to find out, I suppose.
Back to the original question: Could I go an entire day without using electricity unless I absolutely had to? It would have to be on a weekend, since I work from home. I could read by the light coming in from the windows. I could use the front door instead of the garage to take my dog for her walks. If I had to, for the most part, I could make it work.
Realistically, though, it just wouldn't be feasible if you cut out things like refrigeration. My dog's insulin needs to be chilled. I need to have my security system armed at night. I could go on, but the point is: privilege. I have more of it than I often realize. And I wish I didn't have to depend on it as much as I do to survive. But here we are, all of us, just trying to live the best way we know how.