If you were to peruse my Instagram account right now, you'd find a lot of fun photos of me doing things I love with people that I love. But if you looked a little closer, you might notice that there are some pretty big gaps in the times those pictures are posted. There's one for Thanksgiving, but then nothing for a whole month until Christmas. Another big gap until my trip to New York, which earned a picture each day, but that's followed by another huge break in posts until the most recent picture. So what happened in between? What's with all of the gaps?
Social media — Instagram especially — can be a fun form of entertainment. It helps us connect with people and share important moments in our life. So what's the problem?
If we're really honest with ourselves, what are we posting that picture for? We're doing it for likes, right? For cute comments? So people will see how cool we are, how awesome our life is? Probably not so that they can see our struggles or our bad days or our mistakes.
Instagram is a highlight reel.
What happened in all those spaces in between my Instagram posts? Well, life happened. I cried, I prayed, I spent a lot of time in cars, I was bored, I went back to class, I ate some gross food in the cafeteria. I went to bed too late and had to get up too early. I didn't know what outfit to wear, I ran out of soap. I studied and stressed for tests, I did laundry, I baked cookies. I watched movies with my friends, I called my mom, I sat on my bed and wondered what I was doing with my life.
What were those moments? Apparently, they weren't Instagram-worthy; they weren't highlights. But does that mean they weren't important?
Sometimes we spend so much time scrolling through somebody else's Instagram life that we forget that they have the same real life moments as we do in between, so many things that never make it to our screens. Their lives are also made up of tears and prayers and class and driving and laundry and every other little thing that happens in the gaps between Instagram posts. Even if their Instagram makes it seem like they have it all together, they have just as many non-highlights as you do.
It's okay to have a highlight reel, to celebrate the best moments in your life and to capture them and share them with the world. But don't forget that the moments that will never make it to Instagram are just as important to your life and to who you are. Don't forget that life is more than likes and people thinking you're perfect. And stop comparing your life to someone else's on Instagram. They're going through the same crazy life as you.
Not every moment in life can be a highlight — that's what makes it life. And we're all doing this life thing together.
Instagram can never be as cool as that.
