Stages of using Internet Explorer
One sunny afternoon, I notice the icons on my computer and started reminiscing about the days I used to use Internet Explorer. Starting from playing SpongeBob games to discovering YouTube, it all started with a browser I haven't used in years. Being a sucker for nostalgia, I wondered, "What would happen if I used Internet Explorer in 2019?"
In my head, it's no different from the 5 stages of grief.
DENIAL
As I click on the browser, I feel my heart skip a beat. The words "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage" come up. Maybe I'm not connected to the internet. BUT I AM. I start panicking, but I don't lose hope. I check the router. I turn it off and then on, waiting those 10 seconds like my life depended on it. I run back to my room and reload the page. But those same words reappear on my screen.
ANGER
I've been at this for more than 5 minutes now. When will this work?! I barge into my brother's room. "There's something wrong with the internet. I need you to fix it right away," I pretty much scream at him. He barely looks at me and says he's been gaming for 5 hours. "Internet's fine," he says. I go back to my room in big steps to try again. But the words on the screen seem to be mocking me. I feel like breaking the laptop into pieces. After I reload for the 20th time, I am so mad I'm about to throw the laptop out the balcony. But I don't. It's my brother's laptop after all.
BARGAINING
I try to calm myself down. "It's just a browser, it'll come around in a few." And so, I go back to using my regular browser. I use Firefox for a while and wait for Internet Explorer to come around. But deep down, I knew it never would. After a while, I tried using it again but it hadn't come around. My attitude changed. I was ready to do anything to browse 5 minutes on Internet Explorer for the day. And so, I went to my regular browser to google the answer. Maybe if I need to update or re-install for it to work? I find nothing. It's all gone.
DEPRESSION
I don't feel so good. I feel as if my childhood will be forgotten, much like this dysfunctional browser. I call my friend. Despite having a presentation and 2 exams, he listens. But after I tell him everything, he gets confused. "So you're sad Internet Explorer doesn't work? I don't get it, why would you have it on your PC at all?" No one understands. I realise this is my battle. And so, I hang up and try to sleep. I think of the days I played some SpongeBob tennis game until my dad scolded me. Ah, the good old days! I wonder if they'd have existed had there been no Internet Explorer to begin with.
ACCEPTANCE
As I wake up after 15 hours, I don't feel bad anymore. I think of last night's incident as I lay in bed. Will I lose everything that made my childhood amazing one by one? I guess so. Maybe that's life. I finally start to accept the end of Internet Explorer and let go. But I vow to never let go of the memories it gave me.
Antara wishes to conquer the world someday and bring back an alien from Pluto. To know more about her evil schemes, send an e-mail at: antara56.ar@gmail.com