I live in a generation where friends are measured by the amount of likes on an Instagram. Where concerts are enjoyed behind the lens of a camera. Where friendships are tested by the responses in a group chat. Where love is not measured by what you do but by who you share it with on Twitter. Where family is connected through Happy Birthday reminders on Facebook, and the fear of missing out is all-too-real because we are constantly aware of what people are doing without us.

My generation is wrapped around social media. We are so focused on the idea that we are loved if we have likes and we are living and breathing if everyone can see it on twitter. But social media is not living. My generation is forgetting what it's like to live and to be and to feel.

Life does not happen in a highlight reel of perfect moments perfectly captured and mastered with brightness effects and contrasts. Behind those Snapchat stories are tears of lonely nights without friends. Life happens when you absolutely break down in the arms of a best friend. It happens when you have that first kiss and suddenly everything you know changes. It's when you fall in love so carelessly and freely that your perception of the world will never be the same.

It's when Mom comes to visit you at school without warning. It's hour long face-to-face conversations about nothing. It's endless daydreams about plans you'll never make happen. This is life and we are missing it because we refuse to show anything but the perfect selfie on our #selfiesunday.

I challenge my generation. I challenge you to put down the phone and listen and feel the music. Be in the moment with the people you are in the moment with. Go on a drive with your best friend and sing every single Taylor Swift song you're too afraid to admit you like. And I challenge you not to share these moments. I challenge you to keep it a secret from Twitter, Facebook, even Instagram. Live this life, it is so much bigger than trying to find the best caption to get you the most likes. I'll admit, I fall victim to the curse and blessing that is social media. I am drawn in by likes and shares, but I also remind myself that life is bigger than that.

But I challenge you to really connect with life and those around you. Connect with who you are. Connect with what you have right in front of yourself. How are we going to enjoy life when our phones are enjoying it for us?