Let me paint a picture for you. Close your eyes. Actually don’t, you have to read this.
Okay, you’re out to a birthday dinner with a huge group of friends – serious stuff.
Swapping stories, enjoying a hearty meal, and laughing at everything.
Suddenly, the urge to sing Happy Birthday overcomes everyone and as the choir breaks out into spontaneous song, you hear, “WAIT! WAIT.” Confusion. What’s happening? We were having a good time.
Then you hear it: “I need to record this! Start over.” Based on a true story, 100%. This isn’t the Blair Witch Project; I just recounted an actual event.
I am definitely a snob when it comes to recording everything in life; perhaps I am hypocritical, but I don’t understand the need for a hundred photos and a documentary’s worth of video footage per day.
Believe me, I love making little skits and doing stupid things with my friends on Snapchat or publicly proclaiming I went to an event on Instagram just to show off a little.
What I cannot sign off on is interrupting natural flow just because you want to be able to “put this on your spam account.”
Photos and videos should be taken at opportune times; this rings true for vacations as well, even if it isn’t meant to be posted.
When my family went to British Columbia, my father swapped his glasses out for a camera lens. He took pictures of absolutely everything and while we now have a nice album of vacation photos, I can’t help but feel like he experienced less than I did by framing a picture of the mountains while I sat there and took them in.
Next time you’re doing something fun, put the documenting aside. See how it changes the moment if you experience it for your own selfish and short-term enjoyment.
