What is a photograph, really? By book definition, it is a recording of light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material. It has been a way for people to capture defining moments in their lives for centuries and is used more widely today than ever before. We take for granted our ability to capture just about anything within seconds. Many of us college-aged kids document just about every part of our lives through photographs. Taking photos has become such a normal part of our daily routines that we often don't even realize it. However, though we have this ability on hand at all times, many of us forget just how important it is to capture certain moments, preserving little snippets that will live on forever in the form of pixels.
I'll admit, I'm an avid picture-taker to the point that I'm often told that I take too many (true that!). I love capturing just about every special moment in my life because to me, it's documenting memories that I can look back upon and smile. There are memories I would certainly not remember as well now if I hadn't taken any pictures then. I realize it can get annoying and time-consuming at times, but I look at it as a way to show just how much these events and people mean to me. One day we will all be elderly, and won't we want to have some actual documentation of our lives to visually look back upon? Especially of our younger days? Even the most causal of photos will become treasured gems when we look at them again years down the line. Like I will always remember every detail of my high school Rock Ensemble concert where I beamed with joy on the stage, my first college formal where I had an amazing night with my friends and my date, my sorority bid day where I cried tears of joy, etc, all thanks to photos.
They say that you photograph the aspects of your life that you treasure the most or are afraid of losing. That, I feel, is very accurate. When decades have passed and we have settled down into our steady lives, it will feel so nice to flip through old photos from our younger days and be transported back in time to that particular event. A picture is just that, a visual time machine that preserves the moments in our lives that have made us who we are. This is why I believe you should always take photos. They are meaningful and ever-lasting. Even if the people in them change, you'll always have the evidence of those better times. So please, take those extra moments to snap those extra photos. One day, you will be glad you did.
