So today I was just having a lazy day around the
house, and as usual with lazy days, I got pretty bored pretty fast. That's when
I discovered an old hard drive that my mom had filled up when I was a kid. I
thought it might be fun to take a look and so I spent the next hour and a half
reliving my life as a 10 year old. As I was doing this I came across some vlog
footage I'd made back in 2009 on a class trip to Hama, a city on the banks of
the Orontes River in west-central Syria, long before I even knew what vlogging
was! I spoke as if I had an audience of millions who cared about what I had to
say about the scenery and the observations I made were pretty darn hilarious.
As I sat there in fits of laughter over my squeaky little voice and
embarrassing commentary, a strange thought occurred to me - I couldn't even
remember that day happened before I watched the videos, much less remember the
details of it. But after seeing the videos and pictures I slowly began to
remember it. I could suddenly recall the day, the people I was with, the places
we went to and the things we did. Suddenly it was like I was back there. That
was a happy day, and those videos really took me back. But they also made me
think of something a friend asked me very recently (and this may seem like
a random thought) - why do I take so many pictures? It's become one of those huge questions born out of the modern age - why does our generation feel the need to document everything that happens to us? Why do we take a selfie every time we meet up with people or go somewhere new? Why do we tweet an experience or snapchat our food? People spend a lot of time ruminating on this issue and often even worrying for our mental health as a species.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am one of the
people they worry about! I love taking pictures and videos almost everywhere I
go with everyone I’m with. I love a good selfie and yeah, I guess you could say
I love documenting my life. And today reminded me why. As humans we all have a
certain amount of capacity with which we store memories, and these memories of
experiences and people and places make us who we are. The funny thing about
memories though, is that they can get fuzzy or even sometimes disappear into
the abyss of our subconscious. Losing a memory, even an insignificant one means
losing a tiny part of ourselves, and I never want to deal with that. I want to
be able to remember all the happy moments with the people I care about. I never
ever want to forget.
That’s why I take pictures, make videos, and
write blog posts - so that years from now I can look back on them, relive the
smiles and the laughter, and remember the wonderful times I had.
“Memory” as Kevin Arnold said “is a way of holding onto the things you love, the
things you are, the things you never want to lose.”
So go out, make memories, add
to who you are as person, and take as many pictures as your heart desires. Just
don’t forget to have fun! Your future self will thank you one day.
So snap away!
Until next time,
Bianka
