This decade the internet and I grew up together. In 2000 we were just kids. I was still drawing pictures with crayons and Google wasn’t even a verb yet. But by the time I was 11 I had my first cell phone, at12 I had my first computer, and I snuck onto MySpace at 13.

By the time I was in the ninth grade, technology and I were going steady. My Oakland public high school gave us laptops instead of textbooks. I loved that because I could quickly email my teachers for help, and instantly send my homework.

My generation depends on modern technology in school, to keep in touch with our friends, to listen to music, and to express ourselves. But one of the biggest paradoxes of the last decade, was that while it was more or less mandatory to have a life online, no one had figured out how to balance the digital world with real world responsibilities.

By the eleventh grade, my sweet relationship with technology became dysfunctional. I was falling asleep in English class every other day because I’d be up ‘til 4am chatting online. Ironically, the same teacher who yelled at me in class is now my friend on Facebook.

I knew I had to do something. So my senior year the internet and I signed up for couples counseling, and decided to spend some time apart. I cancelled all but one of my social networking memberships. And now that I’m in college, I chat a lot less and use the internet in more resourceful ways.

As 2010 approaches, I’ve decided the internet and I are better off as just friends. I’m curious about analog technologies, like film photography. And I’m even excited to send hand written letters and postcards to my college friends over the winter break.

Technology will forever have a place in my life. But if there’s one thing the last decade has taught me: it’s that sometimes you need to log off.