The sky’s red. I feel the reddish-black filter overtake my world. I look to the side – all I see is plastic. The person in front of me looks like she’s my sister, but the colors aren’t matching up. Maybe I’m in the middle of an apocalypse? Worse. I’m wearing sunglasses. 

Until recent years, my outfit was simply incomplete without my red Target sunglasses. They provided a safe place from the terrorizing sun. They let me take a walk on a sunny day through burgundy-colored rims. The security behind a barrier of plastic allowed me to look up at the sky in comfort. But I couldn’t see. All the colors were dull and safe, but there was a looming darkness to everything – literally. I took off these glasses as I began to question the very nature of the topic I yearned to learn more about: technology. 

Upon being submerged in the world of technological innovation through computer science courses and engineering projects, I loved every second learning more about these disciplines. From creating websites to trouble-shooting error messages, every step allowed me to delve deeper into a whole new world of innovation and convenience. But I was looking at the technological world through a pair of sunglasses, ignoring the flaws that came from all the convenience. This realization struck me the day I discovered an Artificial Intelligence image creator on Canva, a graphic designing website. Gleaming with curiosity, I typed in a few words: cat in superhero costume rescuing cheese. I received that very image in a distinctly literal and dramatic AI generated image. Although the very concept was encaptivating, the image didn’t have the particular cheese I imagined. Or the color superhero costume I anticipated. There was no emotion to the photo, just graphics that came from the soul of a machine. I shut down my computer. 

For years, technology seemed as something that only glistened in gold, and I naively failed to examine how it impacted the cultivation of creativity. The AI image creator, for example, potentially reduces artistic efforts and, although intriguing, can foster an increase of reliance on technology. Stuck looking for a creative essay topic? Thousands of ideas can appear in just a few clicks on Google. The end result could be an adequately creative piece, but the journey would be completely watered down. Could a whole world of imagination and originality be trapped through our yearn for convenience? Suddenly, that random story generator I created a few weeks prior seemed less golden. Subsequently, I began suffering in the sun, testing out the feeling of basking in the sunlight without my favorite sunglasses.

After battling with the dueling sides of technology, I realized the key to containing my imagination was to challenge its limits and take a step back when I feel consumed by all the innovation around me. Although technology isn’t always golden, the merits often outweigh the subtle issues, causing us to lose focus and shy away from the limitations it imposes.

Sunglass-less experiences have allowed me to see past the muted shades that we tend to see when so consumed by everything new. The heart of innovation is creativity, creativity that needs to be nurtured and challenged through personal and external thoughts. It’s easy for technology to constantly flood our vision with its ease and comfort, but we risk our ingenuity. The colors around me glare into my eyes, yet I can see more clearly than I ever have. The sky’s blue now.