social media is a highlight reel
edited, cropped, framed, filter, captioned, drafted, retouched. it's not real life, and yet, it's a part of it. a really vibrant part that can take on a life of its own. i edited and selected and formatted and posted a bunch of pictures recently to my instagram page - a virtual dump of pictures taken over the past 4 years. a total highlight reel - finishing marathons, my favorite travel photos, peaceful sunsets. Is it a ruse? By the numbers I spend most of my hours in an office- fluorescent lights, swivel chairs, microsoft office suite, create-your-own-salads for lunch.But on my instagram, I'm at the beach, I'm with my friends, I'm on vacation, I'm running and surfing. On my blog, I'm always running and surfing. but i've been creating this virtual collection of pictures and moments for a while, so it's been interesting to reflect on how my life has changed with the media.
evolution
I heard a tiny sound bite from an artist interview on beats one radio recently, that really inspired me. "I don't believe in identity. I'm not the same person I was a year ago. Does that mean I'm fake or does that mean I'm evolving?" It really inspired me but letting me reframe a criticism like "fake" I might use against myself or someone else. online, they say, you can be whoever you want. there's such an intersection for me between the highlight reel and the direction of real life. Like, once I made a simple bio page defining myself like "Hi, I'm Sara, I like running, surfing and traveling", I almost felt fake for not running and surfing and traveling constantly. At some point after, I decided to try to run or surf almost every everyday, and that was the most important thing to me, and it just kind of evolved. I spent some time reflecting and writing about how that's what made me really happy, and I started making a concerted effort to do these things everyday for mental clarity. So is that being fake or evolving?
do it for the gram
i think taking pictures can totally change your life for the better. on the ordinary days, i try to find or see something extraordinary, because i have this little hobby where i can take pictures and share them. in general, i can push myself into or different or scenic experiences just because it will be something to write about or photograph. taking pictures and writing is such a malleable hobby, it gives you a chance to connect with so many new things as a spectator or participant.
social skills
another thing about social media that I do and I think a lot of others, is post like inspirational quotes and mantras. I do it because in my life online, I want to connect with other people. Laugh and the world laughs with you, right? at first, I kind conceded this was fake, but at some point, I started believing the mantras and the stuff I read and posted. What's more, I realized if I wanted to use my voice and my time in real life to connect with other people, it was more expedient to complain less and gossip less and stick to the true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, kind. life imitates art.
I stopped worrying so much about how people perceived my writing or blog or pictures, with the condition I don't want to judge how anyone else uses their voice or platform. Like there's something you can learn from everyone and if you don't want people to look at you and judge you, the simplest thing is not to look at other people that way. social media is a highlight reel. The direction your friends point their camera is the direction of their inner feelings, hopes, dreams, what makes them excited and they think about all day. whether it's matcha ice cream or waves or marathon medals or rooftop bars, what we share what makes us happy and as they say, happiness is only real when shared