Live Life for the Memories, Not For Instagram
Hello!
Today I want you to think about putting down your phone, at least after you've read this! I was just thinking this weekend about how much of what we do is shaped by social media. We take photos for Instagram and Facebook rather than for ourselves. We make sure to tell the internet where we are eating without speaking to the person that's actually physically there (I actually don't do this, but I know many that do), and many of us can't possibly go to a party without putting it on Snapchat.
We end up worrying about whether the photo we've just taken is aesthetically pleasing enough, or whether it's going to get enough 'likes', or in my case, whether it'll look good on the blog. Too far into this process and the photo loses its meaning. Today I'm going to show you a few pictures that I've recently taken, and then I'm going to explain why they matter to me. As someone with anxiety, it can be easy to become anxious about whether you look good online, or whether you're being judged. I know I certainly worry about the quality of these blogs when they should just be for me. Perhaps we should all stop worrying about who's looking at those pictures, and treasure the people in them because one day, they might not be here anymore, and then you won't care about how Instagramable the shot was. So, before we get all maudlin, lets get to pictures.
You'll recognise the top image from the post 'I Am Her' but not the second image, because I chose not to include it. For me, the second image will always make me smile because it shows me actually interacting with the photographer. She'd just told me to pose... so I did. What I also like is that you can see her shadow and the photo becomes about friendship rather than just me.
Now, this picture is more relevant to my point. I took this picture of The Kelpies on Saturday afternoon. I was pleased with the shot and thought it would do nicely for the blog Instagram, and it probably will. What this picture doesn't show is that I'd put down my blue Bobble water bottle on the ground so I could get a better angle. I ended up forgetting to pick it back up and I lost it. I'd had the bottle for a number of years and had taken it everywhere. It had been on Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, exchange trips, holidays, sports competitions, hospitals... it was pretty much my side kick, and I was very sad to lose it. So, my pictures of the Kelpies remind me of a slightly mouldy water bottle. And I guess my point is that the memories of the places we see are often not in the photographs, and that sentimental things are not always aesthetically pleasing. When you take pictures, by all means put them online, but remember what happened when you took them. It would be a horrible shame if we forgot all about places because we were too invested in our phones.
Now, put your phone down and enjoy those around you.
Lots of Love,
Sarah xxx
