The Most Valuable Resource

By: Connor Lenahan

I do not have cellular data overseas. This means that any and all activity on my phone depends on whether or not I am currently connected to the internet or not. This is, obviously, through WiFi.

I have realized something on this vacation. WiFi is the most valuable resource on the planet. Not oil or water or food. No, it’s wireless internet.

If some devious super villain suddenly got control of every modem on Earth and offered to return service after being paid a ransom of 15 trillion dollars, almost all of my friends would empty their checking accounts to this maniacal mad man. I am not above this, I would have a cashiers check ready within microseconds.

I have not gone through the withdrawal I expected I would with having an occasionally inoperable phone, but this is most likely due to the time change – by the time anything of consequence happens in the US it is already 1PM in London/Dublin. Half my day is gone before I can start having my hands shake at the Twitter refreshing not currently not happening.

My judgment is impaired by the availability of WiFi. If there was a restaurant that served expired eggs as their primary meal, but they offered a strong wireless signal, I would probably give them a favorable Yelp review, and I’m not joking.

I only have another day left overseas until I am back to being focused on my iPhone’s screen more than anything else. Is this healthy? Not at all. Will it feel amazing to do again? Absolutely.

Why? Because all of Boston University’s campus shares a wireless network. That’s the most beautiful thing on Earth. My school prioritizes correctly, as WiFi is the most valuable resource on the planet.

Connor Lenahan (@ConnorLenahan) is a sophomore at Boston University, majoring in journalism.