As a senior taking Advanced Placement and Dual Credit courses, I was prepared to have more homework than the average student. Was I prepared to have a mental breakdown over a .02 meter difference? Not so much.

In the ever-changing world of technology, many tasks that were once done by physical means can now be done through a computer. Applying for college, shopping, paying bills: the list goes on and on. But when it comes to homework, convenience is overshadowed by frustration.

As I was in my room working on one of my numerous online physics assignments, I could not help but be a little flustered. With all of the formulas, conversion factors and various numbers, I was finding it difficult to focus. After a mind-melting brainstorming session, I suddenly came to an epiphany. Furiously writing and calculating, I put my pencil down and marveled at my final answer: 2.99 meters.

As I hovered over the submit answer tab, I held my breath, clicked the button and prayed for a miracle:

Incorrect.

To say I felt angry is a gross understatement. With clenched teeth, I looked over my work once more, trying to find where I had possibly gone astray, but I came up with nothing. Thinking it might have been human error, I then examined my calculator, scanning for any signs of a miscalculation, a misplaced decimal, anything that could have kept me from getting the right answer. Still, there was nothing.

After a plethora of uneducated guesses, I ran out of attempts, and my correct answer flashed onto the screen for my studying enjoyment:

3.01 meters. I was off by a mere .02 meters.

Maybe it’s a bit overdramatic to say  I felt cheated by my own homework, but that is exactly how I felt. The computer did not take all of my work, all of my formulas, all of the steps I took into consideration. I would have earned credit if my homework were done by hand.

It is a bit silly to expect the ever-changing world of technology to come to a complete stop, nor would I want it to. But homework should remain on paper.