Okay awesome! Now that I have your attention, I'll keep it quick, but I want to tell you something that everyone needs to hear....PUT THE PHONE DOWN!!!

We have become a society that is completely glued to our phones-any moment that needs to be filled, we reach for it. I'll be the first to admit, I am 10,000% guilty of this. Just yesterday I spent the hour and a half before my flight from LA on my phone, and then once we got home, I spent the car ride back on it as well.

This past week I spent Spring Break in LA with my cousins. We went everywhere--Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Disneyland, the Getty, Venice Beach, Griffith Observatory and so many more places... What do they all have in common? GREAT PICTURE PLACES!!! The weather was great and so were the views, so naturally I whipped out the camera to capture the beauty. But in the back of my mind the little voice said stop! stop! stop! just take in the view instead of through a camera. (Which by the way, can't even begin to capture the beauty of the places we saw.) I love taking pictures, in fact I'm constantly taking pictures..which my brother and sister have pointed out many times. I never saw anything wrong with it, because taking pictures is a great way to capture a moment, a feeling or a memory...and I love looking at them!

But when it gets in the way of the experience, is it worth it?

This was a huge challenge for me over the past week. I really tried to balance phone vs. views. Yes take the picture but then put it away and take it all in. We miss so much going on in our lives by not being present in the moment. When looking around the balcony we were on, overlooking LA, there was not a single person not on their phone, posing for a selfie or taking a group picture. A few people strayed into flower beds in the gardens of the Getty or bumped into people on the path because they were looking down. They missed the migrating butterflies or the small tadpoles in the Beverly Hills pond.

Being home now, looking at the pictures I took-yes they are nice and great to have. But the picture in my mind of the true beauty is so much better. The green of the trees and the mountains, the brilliance of the sunset, the blue skies, the laughter of doing random Buzzfeed quizzes after a long day of adventuring, the warm California air and the joy of being in Disney cannot be captured truly in pictures or texts... it is in moments and memories that we are present.

I know its contradictory to tell you to put the phone down because you're probably reading this on your phone or laptop. But challenge yourself... less screen and more seen. Be present, I promise its worth it :)

Smile :)