Over my freshman year summer, I spent time with one of my high school friends by going out to eat together. When I told her that I make photo albums, she responded, "You really like tangible memories." I never thought about it, but it's true. I do.

I absolutely love printing pictures out and sticking them into a photo album. This tendency comes from my mother, who did the exact same thing for so long. She enjoys reminiscing about the adventures and stories. I didn't know this until I started printing photos, but my mother has about seven photo albums of me. I helped her organize these photos into a somewhat chronological order. I had forgotten about the memories I had: missions trip, family trips, amusement parks, middle school graduation, mall trips, high school, club getaway, and movie nights. For every photo, it was fun being transported to that moment, remembering exactly what happened during that time.

A photo album feels official... ex-best friends, estranged family members, suitemates. These people can all go in a photo album. You get to choose who goes in and who doesn't. Although I could leave all my photos on my phone, there's something about turning a page that makes me happy and eager to see who I placed next in the album. It is exciting to see the older memories too. I looked at a picture taken of my middle school award ceremony and thought, "What kind of style is that?" I also feel privileged to see all of the people in these albums, some of whom I don't see often. My cousin, church friends, high school best friends, and family are people with whom I actually spent a lot of time.

For each photo album, I have a routine. I write the date (and time if necessary) on the back of every photo. I place them in chronological order and then slide the photo batch into the photo album. I get the albums where I can write notes on the side, so I annotate each photo with my own thoughts on the memory. I get the photos printed at Walgreens, where they have sweet deals.

As a thank you present for my mom, I made her a photo album of my high school memories.

What do you do with your photos? Do you also make photo albums?