True Tragedy: A Student Explains the Pain of Cracking a Smartphone

"What’s broken can always be fixed. What’s fixed will always be broken." A member shares their heartbreaking ballad about a cracked smartphone screen.

Nothing is more frustrating, more irritating, more inexplicably annoying then when you have cracked the front of your smartphone screen.

It is everyone's dreaded mistake; just to slip up once and crack that precious pane of glass.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this pain is just a daily reality for my poor self. I am now at the point in which taking 'front-camera' pics are no longer an option. Yes, the crack goes directly up the right-hand side, in front of the lens.

The day it happened, I was left in pure shock. "Why did this happen to me?" I cried out to the sky, as if someone, anyone could help. But no one could, leaving me to wonder what I did wrong to deserve this.

Ever since that fateful day, my music playlists have consisted of nothing more than sad, depressing music, which was probably even worse for my broken little heart, now more "broke" than my precious screen.

I used to look down upon people like this; people who carelessly destroyed their phone as if it were a piece of dirt. But after becoming one of 'those' people, I urge you all to treat us with kindness and mercy.

I want to tell you that after breaking my screen I didn't become broken too; but I'd be lying to you, and myself for that matter. This being said, there have been a few things to help me along the way with my grief: my SBA (Screen Breakers Anonymous) meetings for example, as well as my trusty dog Cracker (even if he is just a daily ironic reminder).

It’s been a full three days since it happened, and I'm managing better than I thought I would to my—and everyone else's—amazement. Now, instead of sadness, I just feel guilt and anger. I don’t know how long I can do this before permanent damage to my soul is done. The other day I yelled at my pet rock Smash, and I swear it hasn't spoken to me since the incident.

It's safe to say I'm still a bit shattered about the shatter. I’m at breaking point. I don’t even know how long I can keep myself together. I mean, for goodness sake, I couldn't even keep an iPhone screen together. I guess I'll just have to stop myself from exploding into a million pieces.

Congratulations to Matthew for winning this week's writing challenge: What's Bugging You? Matthew wins a $50 Westfield gift card for his submission. For your chance to win, check out our latest writing challenges in our Competitions section. Also, be sure to follow this guide on how to win the writing challenge!

Photo: iStock.com/praetorianphoto