Ah, pictures. Some people shy away from the camera while others jump in front to be the star of the photo. Whether it be a video camera, a professional camera, a Polaroid, or just your smartphone, it is so important to take and share pictures.

I was always that kid that covered my face when my mom went to take pictures of me. My routine consisted of ducking out of the way so that I avoided every video or picture taken. The number of times my family called out 'Just one!!' is too many to even count.

However, I wish I would have let them take just those few pictures. You never know what is going to happen in life, and who you will lose. When I lost my grandmother, my heart was broken. I, of course, have lots of pictures with her, but I wish I could take back all the times I denied taking more. I would give a world to have an extra album or two of photos and videos with people that are no longer here with me.

Sometimes when you go out with friends, they all start complaining. "Get the camera out of my face!" or "Another picture/video?" But honestly, ignore them and keep doing your thing. Your friend could move to a different state, you could get injured or sick, or you could even lose touch with said friends. Why wait to take pictures and videos until it's too late?

I can honestly say I am that friend/family member/coworker who loves to take pictures and videos. I love being able to look back at days that made me smile, memories I don't want to forget. It's so much fun to go back and find an old flash drive, plug it in, and see hundreds of pictures you forgot you even had. It becomes you sitting there laughing and smiling, even reconnecting with the people in the pictures when you send them screenshots and say, "OMG, remember this?"

If I disappeared tomorrow, I would want someone to take a look in my camera roll and snap memories to understand the life I lived. I would want them to laugh when I laughed, smile when I did.

I would rather have a thousand candid/crappy pictures with no explanation than very little pictures from the places I've gone or people I've shared my time with.

I would rather fill my phone with endless videos of my friends and I singing, random things I find funny, or my family at our gatherings than try to look back and find nothing at all.

If someone were to ask what my story was, I would want to be able to make an entire slideshow of pictures and videos that have made me who I am today.

Yes, I take a lot of pictures and a whole bunch of videos, but it makes me insanely happy.

Always be that person that takes way too many pictures or videos, and be entirely proud of it.