For a long time my partner and I have been talking about filling our walls with photos from our travels. We wanted to live with our adventures, but have not seemed to find the time to pick out our favourite images or have them mounted.

Today I had printed, a canvas of one of my favourite photos of this journey – a sunrise shot taken in the early days. I will hang it with pride as our first piece of personal experience art. It will serve as a reminder to surround myself with the things I enjoy in life – not just upload it to that intangible anonymous residence known as the Internet.

Setting myself a task for each day has reinforced to me that I can do anything I put my mind to. It has been a tough but enjoyable journey. I have found extra time in my day. I have found joy and beauty in partaking in simple things. I have been motivated and I have discovered parts of myself along the way.

I don’t know if we are necessarily worse off than our parents for all the introduction of technology. I’m sure they think we are, as we will with our own children. We will look back and reminisce about the days when we: called on the phone, didn’t have a computer, smartphone, or iPad and there were times in the day where you just weren’t accessible. Just as our parents tell us unbelievable stories like having a dirt floor or shock horror – no TV, I’m sure the world pre-Facebook will intriguingly horrify our next generation.

One of the biggest things I will take away with me from all of this is that we have the right to choose. We do not have to feel as though technology rules our lives. For some they might choose Pintrest or Facebook – for me Internet banking is high on my list! Maybe the key – as with everything – really is in moderation. We are not at the mercy of the technology demons. You do have the right to choose the level of involvement, distraction, connection and disconnection.

I will still smell the books, it will always be something I treasure. Like the last generation that hold on to the record players, perhaps in the future it will remind me of a time gone by.

I will Internet bank, I will cook some meals from scratch. I won’t take my phone into the tea-room every day. I will save the encyclopaedias for my children and learn to sew some more. I will Google and Wiki but also go to the library. I will continue to write letters and to take photos. Facebook, even on this – the last day – I am still undecided about you.

As I look at the sunrise canvas I am reminded that as each day dawns we are in control and we have the chance to grab life by the horns and run.