So there we were: my roommate and I were partaking in the rare, wonderful experience of eating dinner off campus last Friday night. We decided on a restaurant, which will go unnamed, that sells oblong-shaped sandwiches and whose motif resembles a form of underground transportation.

As we ate our sandwiches, we couldn't escape an overwhelming feeling. It hit us when we first walked into the restaurant — like a wave of hot air, suffocating our souls. This stifling feeling, we realized, was apathy — an utter lack of concern for whoever was in the restaurant at the time.

We had apparently inturrupted break time for the two employees that night. As the only two customers in the place, we had broken up the no-one's-in-here-so-let's-slack party. How dare we?

Who works with such indifference? I'm so sorry, Employee X, that I disturbed your break, but my roommate and I are hungry — make me a sandwich. And put a smile on that scowling face of yours while you do it.

So there we were: a couple of friends and I felt like breaking up the monotony of our everyday lives with a game of raquetball. We walked to the Rock whistling, excited just to not be reading or analyzing or interpreting something.

We were stripped of our glee when we remembered the fun new way of getting into the Rock. We each swiped our IDs and struggled with the confusing, annoyingly pretentious computer check-in.

Was this really necessary? It would take nothing to sign my name and tell the person at the desk, "We're going to play raquetball." Instead, the three of us got a patronizing account of how to properly swipe our cards and find the right buttons to push.

Instead of saving time, what that computer really does is run our lives. It's a statement: "LOOK AT ME! I'M SO TECHNOLOGICAL AND IMPORTANT!"

That computer has taken the human element out of relating to people on campus. Instead of a "Hello, how are you?" we're hit with "Swipe the other side, please."

It has, simply, given the Rock a sense of human apathy. It's as if to say, "I, the person at the desk, do not care if you're here. But hey, this computer here does."

We shouldn't let technology make us apathetic or, even worse, lazy. Even if you're behind a desk, checking people in, find a way to make the time enjoyable.

My roommate takes different routes to and from class each day. When she first told me this, I attributed it to her frequent forgetfulness and sporadic personality. Then I realized she's brilliant.

She goes a different way each day to experience as much of Notre Dame as she can. Each new route is a chance to see a friend or to discover a new favorite place to study. It's a way to spice things up, change her pace and outlook on campus, even life.

So don't just point to the computer and say, "Swipe." Don't just put the bread on top and hand me my change.

Don't be lazy with your life. Avoid apathy. Smile more.

Take a different route.

• A Different Route