When I drive with friends around Omaha, I am often surprised by how many of them use a GPS to get almost everywhere.

Even some of my friends who grew up here are unable to place certain streets or navigate to certain places.

I think we have collectively come to rely on GPS apps excessively, and we need to start knowing our surroundings.

After 20 years of living here, I know Omaha.

Give me a neighborhood, a street number, a store, a school; I’m getting there.

Part of this may be because of my dad grilling me about directions when I first started driving, or the fact that I get so annoyed with the Apple Maps voice interrupting my drives that I’d rather go without it.

I used to think it was the familiarity that comes from being in a place for so long until I moved to Glasgow for study abroad and knew the city within a month.

All I did for my first few weeks in Scotland was walk around.

I would get to something I wanted to see, pull my phone out, and try to figure out how to get to another thing I wanted to see.

I walked in circles, noting when things looked familiar or when I needed to turn around.

I had no time limit or places to be, so I was free to go down any odd street or take the long way just because it was the way I knew.

Now, almost three months in, I can confidently say that I know this city well, all because I took the time to get to know it and allowed myself to wander.

One of my friends came to visit a few weeks ago, and I showed her around all of Glasgow without using any navigation.

Knowing your way around and being able to show this skill off feels powerful.

It also helps with being present, as I was able to hold a conversation and catch up with my friend rather than constantly checking my phone for directions.

This is not me acting like Ellen DeGeneres, laughing at teenagers who don’t know how to use a paper map.

GPS is a valuable tool, and I use it very often to find new places to visit or restaurants to eat at, see how long it will take me to get somewhere or, of course, to get somewhere new.

The issue arises when we depend on it to get us everywhere, even places that we’ve been multiple times.

With all the assistance we receive from technology, we have lost the ability to do something integral to our wellbeing: figure it out.

I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten lost—on foot, in my car, in Omaha, in a foreign city, with my friends or on my own—but I am living proof that I have always found my way back to where I needed to be.

When we get lost and figure out our way, we are exercising and expanding our abilities.

When we rely on an app to bail us out, we are depriving ourselves of a chance to learn both our surroundings and what we are capable of.

As a Creighton student, you need to get to know Omaha.

This is a great city, but it’s like a new friend: it will not open up for you unless you take time to get to know it.

Once you stop treating Omaha like you’re a visitor, you will start noticing how lovely it can be.

Get to know the major street names and neighborhoods.

Visit the local parks on the weekends. Go out to eat somewhere that’s not the Old Market or Blackstone for a change.

Talk to an Omaha native about what they like about it.

Wander around and get lost, then find your way back on your own.

Start knowing where you are; you will not regret it.