So you're disappointed that you didn't get an aesthetically pleasing photo for Instagram. You're "grieving" due to the fact that your whole day was based around this one outing that would've completed your newsfeed. Oh, how could you be so stupid to let anyone touch their coffee with latte art before you take a perfect picture? Don't you find it sad how most young adults in this generation have to capture a moment through a tiny lens and talk about it on every social media platform? I am just as guilty of this as most people my age are.

After visiting England this summer, I remember waiting for my flight back to Seattle while looking through my iCloud. I became extremely unsatisfied with the lack of photographs I had to show my mum. We were on the sofa, scrolling through only a few of the memories I had bothered to capture during my holiday. I became increasingly upset the more I thought about how much I neglected my social media on this trip. I apologized for not getting my phone out more and all she could say to me was, "Do you know why you didn't take more pictures?"

"Because you were living."

I contemplated this statement. Was she right? Did she give me a "wake up call" to the reality of how consumed I was of making every moment look "perfect"? Maybe it's OK not to have something to look back on for every detail of our lives? Maybe our iClouds and Google Drives should know less about our adventures than they do. Is everything we go through actually meant to be shown to others through screens and not descriptions?

You do not have to prove to people that you went out today or that your brunch was #yummy. My best friend once told me "the best memories are not uploaded to Snapchat," and after thinking back, she was completely right. Would a bride take a selfie or post a story during her saying "I do?" Did her fiance live stream their proposal? No, because they were invested in the moment, not worrying about showing all of their followers or mutual friends.

We are too busy living through a phone screen and not taking in what the world has to offer. Look back through your gallery right now and see if you can remember the conversation you had while eating that "#Yummy" brunch. The best lenses are your eyes, and the details come from your mind, not millions pixels on a screen.

I challenge you to look up. See what periods in your life you didn't "snap a pic" of. Maybe you'll figure out what or who truly makes you ecstatic to be alive. Never regret not taking hundreds of pictures just because you wanted to live. Let yourself have a life. You will regret being able to look at the "perfect moments" but not remember the conversations or little details of these memories.

Stop capturing the moment and let the moment capture you.