I love taking pictures. I think that a picture is worth a million words and that capturing moments is a great way to remember them.

With that being said; I follow a lot of people on social media who live in gorgeous places (ex. Maui and Australia), and I get jealous. I get jealous because it looks like every single day they are at the beach or on the top of a mountain, and I want to be able to do that. I want to go hiking every day or take a swim in the ocean just like them. And on top of that, they use these beautiful filters that make all of their pictures look magical, and of course, they match. I love it when someone's Instagram feed matches; it gives my mini OCD joy. But it also makes me sad because I long for an Instagram that matches like theirs.

Was that not the most ridiculous statement ever?

"I long for an Instagram that matches." Oh Mylanta, someone slap me.

My life's worth is not based off how well my Instagram matches or how amazing my pictures look. But that is what society has kind of turned into. We take one million pictures just to get the "right" one, then we go and edit it and post it with some cute caption. Then we sit around and wait to see how many likes it can get.

LIKE, WHAT?

And the craziest part is that the picture I just posted doesn't even describe how I am feeling right now. Yeah, I just posted a picture where I am smiling so wide, but deep inside I am sad. Sad because my life isn't like all of the other people's I see when I scroll through my feed. I compare my life so much to someone that I don't even know. I desire to have a life like theirs so bad. But then I have to go and stop myself.

Those pictures are just a snapshot of someone's life. They are the highlights. They are the little snippets of an average week. That's how my Instagram is. It looks so happy and fun, yet I am not happy all of the time. I struggle with life, school and so many other things. I don't constantly get to do the fun things that I post about, there are a lot of days in-between the posts. So please, don't go wishing you had someone else's life. Their social media may give off a perfect feel, but no one's life is perfect.

I encourage you instead to stop comparing yourself, go out and live your life with purpose. You are in charge of your own life. If something isn't making you happy, cut it out. That could mean a job, friend or something about yourself even. Do what makes you happy because why would you want to be anything less? Maybe even get off social media and enjoy life without a phone interfering.

Go be you. Go be HAPPY.