It all started yesterday. Suddenly, with no warning, everything went pitch black. It was 8:30 at night, the sun had already set, and nothing would turn on. Not a light bulb, not a street lamp, not even the wifi or internet connection sent from a satellite a hundred miles out in space. Every form of internet and electricity was gone in a matter of seconds. 

A family out on a late-night walk was left in the dark stumbling around to find their way home with no help, except for the dim flashlights on their phones. A group of friends who had ventured into an unknown city were left stranded miles from home with no google maps to direct them back to their small familiar town. Without any internet connection, nobody had a way to call for help. Nobody was safe. Any crimes would be 10 times easier to get away with. Most people got no sleep that night. They were up all night wondering what could have happened, and what would happen next. 

As the sun rose the following morning people tried their best to continue living their lives normally. Adults went to work. Students went to school, although it was difficult to take a step back from all of the advanced technology they usually used, they made it work with the sunlight and a simple pencil and paper. 

While having no technology for the time being people started to talk and socialize with the people around them. One woman stopped to talk to the barista at her local coffee shop, a young girl she had ordered from for years yet never bothered to learn a thing about. Hundreds of people who would normally be in their dark rooms playing video games or watching tv got out of their house and went for a walk or played catch with their siblings.

As the week went on people started to get used to their life without the internet. While everything felt less safe at night and most people missed their electricity, some people felt a great sense of relief. People stopped worrying about who liked their picture on Instagram and started enjoying the little things like going on a walk with their dog, visiting their grandparents and hearing all of their insane and interesting stories, or simply spending time with friends and family. 

A full week after everything went out people started to think it might never come back on. Then unexpectedly everything came back on. The news was buzzing with information from all over the world about a global blackout. Nobody could explain what had happened. It was the biggest mystery anybody alive would ever experience. 

Shortly after the power came back everything quickly got back to normal, but nobody forgot the small things they realized were so important. From then on more people spent time outside and with friends and family. Less time was spent online. Everybody seemed to be happier. Something that at first glance sounded terrifying ended up not being bad at all. In fact, the blackout was exactly what the world needed, a week to be fully in the real world and spend time with the people around them.