As I packed all my things away in preparation for a three month stint abroad, I began to ask myself the inevitable questions - "Do I need this", "when did I use this last?" Some things were easy to part with - the ragged shirts from high school, dirty socks, bank statements. Some brought on a sense of nostalgia - letters from old girlfriends, press releases, prior travel journals. Things got tougher when I boxed up the cell phone and the laptop. My connection to the world seemed lost. I began to realize how compulsively I checked the time, the weather, sent text messages for no reason, checked my e-mail. I kept reaching for my pocket and wasn't sure this was going to go so well. Maybe I should have got an international cell plan. The
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