Contrary to a popular resolution “take more pictures,” I personally want to do the opposite.
This past year, I have lived more behind my screen more than I have my entire life. It got to the point where I found myself taking pictures just for the likes I would get on social media. I would then delete that picture from my camera roll I took for the “Instagram aesthetic” because it was clogging my camera storage for all my other useless pictures I wanted to take for the likes.
There was a hard truth I had to face when I decided to make this my resolution. No one cares what I had for lunch, what my latte art looks like or if I’m at a concert. Although these pictures might be pleasing to me, there is no real tangible benefit or personal growth that comes from them. The only thing that happened was that I became more engulfed with social media and less engaged with what really matters.
Personally, I have wasted too much time and money to my Instagram Persona. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I found myself buying coffee just to take a picture of it. Which really means I threw away money because for some reason I thought it was important to "stage" a photo to impress people (many who I don't even know).
Looking back now, it seems like a low point in my year when I spent too much valuable time caring about how people view my life. I’ve recently come to the conclusion that taking pictures for the reasons I was is promoting materialism and quite honestly trying to present myself in an unhealthy way. Anytime I got something new, I always felt the need to post it. This type of narcissistic consumerism is not healthy. It truly became a lifestyle for me that directly correlates to greed, envy, selfishness, and unhappiness.
These tangible items I waste my money on provided me a false sense of belonging. Having the same Kylie Jenner lip kit color as your friend does not define the friendship. It is the memories and stories you cultivate and sacrifices you make throughout the friendship that define the relationship.
This year I want it to be different. I want to be humble and honest about my life. I want to reject and change my egotistical presence on social media by not posting as much. I want to watch the sunset rather than see it through my screen. Be present in the moment rather than staging it. I am going to stop looking for external validation from people via the internet with my pictures. Instead of just living and trying to present that through a ton of photos, Instead of just living and trying to present that through a ton of photos, I'm going to put down my phone, leave my insecurity about my image behind and thrive in this new year of opportunity and growth
