Mirror outfit pictures. My friends holding their latest Sonny Angel pulls. Goofy selfies taken in 0.5x. Outstretched arms holding coffee cups. These are the kinds of things that populate my camera roll.
I used to think I needed some sort of occasion to take pictures. Whether it was a vacation or a day where I’d put extra effort into my hair and makeup, pictures were meant to document things out of the ordinary. I considered my everyday life too mundane to be worthy of my phone storage. Though, as cheesy as it sounds, I’ve realized that life in itself is the occasion.
When you are a student or work a job, the general monotony makes it difficult to “romanticize your life.” I honestly think social media is partially to blame for this. Carefully curated feeds and meticulously planned day-in-the-life vlogs warp our perspectives. Sometimes I catch myself falling into this trap of comparison too. It’ll feel like other girls constantly have these action-packed days, while I spent half of yesterday binge-watching Modern Family.
The truth is, if we stop and look around, there’s so much to be excited about in our normal college student lives. With the onset of the “photo dump” trend on social media, I started taking more pictures. They were less carefully positioned and less idealistic. Rather, the pictures I took became a reflection of what my life actually looks like.
Scrolling through my camera roll reminds me of all the little things I’ve done. The gazillion coffee shops I’ve been to (I’m scared to know how much I’ve spent on vanilla lattes), the general admission concerts I’ve waited hours for, the study dates, and the brunches all come back to mind. Millie Bobby Brown says its “just ridiculous” to take pictures of your food but I definitely think otherwise.
Taking more casual pictures has helped me to look at my days through a different lens. I truly feel so grateful to get to live in LA and experience all that I do. Pictures aren’t just fleeting snapshots to me anymore; they are memories tangibly captured.