Snapshots & Memories

I come from a generation of people who captured the most mundane moments through pictures and low quality videos. Many of us 20+ somethings did. 

The babies standing in cribs, a family picnic, family members you've never met, an old house, first days of school, new hairstyles. Laughter. Joy. Peace. All of these mundane moments meant something as much as they simply were reminders of who we once were and what once was. 

When technology advanced, the idea of holding onto memories became more complex and to a degree, performative. What was once about the candid scene of a moment became curation and aesthetic to post online. And this isn’t to say there’s anything wrong with that, from aesthetic Instagram posts to YouTube vlogs, there is still a value in the memory of the moments that are held in them. But with that complex advancement and only seeing the ‘perfection’ of someone’s life on socials it’s created a dissonance for some. 

And yes, we have to take into consideration that social media nowadays has all of these new problems like AI and tracking and all that scary stuff, but listen. Listen. Bear with me because I’m not talking about that right now. To be fair! I’m not even talking about posting pictures! 

The very act of taking pictures and videos just to store and look at later became a dying art. Somewhere along the way it was one of those “embarrassing” and “cringey” things to do unless it was for an audience. And then one day it became this discourse of living in the moment vs capturing said moment. I’m a proud proponent of doing both! Capture those moments so you can live it again and again with every look back. They’re reminders in times like these when it feels hellish that you have had fun and joy and peace and excitement - they’re reminders that you’ve lived. 

To those that don’t like their face in pictures or don’t think it’s worth the time, you are the only you that you’ve got. And time is worth so much when there’s so much out there threatening to take it away. The you in the future will be happy to know that they can look back at how far past you has come. 

I don’t know man, this is just one of those sentimental/thoughtful moments when I realized how few pictures I had with friends. And how often I’d hear them go “I don’t like taking pictures”. As I was writing this I had the impulse thought of “Should I buy a little digital camera??” but lol no, I think my phone works just fine for now. 

Anyway, look at this picture of the full moon I got over a ColdStone. And a flower I took a picture of at the Botanical Garden. Reminder that, life can be pretty beautiful when you step outside your comfort zone. (The hardest thing in the world for me to do.)

But yeah, look back on your old memories, make new ones, and I’ll see you in the stars. 

💫