Do you remember the way photos used to be taken in the 90s? As a child, I remember my parents being perfectionists with photos because they didn’t want to waste film. Film?! If you thought, what in the world is film? Isn’t that how movies used to be played? Well folks, YES, yes it was. And that’s the way photos were taken way back when too!
During my elementary school years, if I wanted to “borrow” the family camera, my parents would get a $5 disposable camera so that I wouldn’t damage their camera. Back then, it was about capturing the most important moments, not just the best angle of your plate at a restaurant — that would be a waste of film! What used to matter was when mom or dad just bought a new car, when a friend just came back from a trip across the country, not a drink from your favourite cafe, your selfie face when you wake up, not even a hand of freshly manicured nails. For goodness sake! What are we doing these days?! We’re wasting film! We’re wasting time! So yes, I’m an old soul who lives in a modernized world filled with resentment of how some people overuse their social media.
I admit, I’m guilty at times because I use my phone at times I know I don’t necessarily need to. Thankfully, that’s decreasing because I rather save the image in my internal memory instead of my phone’s memory. This means that the next time I’ll go to my safe haven, Starbucks, I’ll remember that the drink is just a drink that’s meant to be enjoyed, not a drink in a cup that has the logo on it to show off to my friends and family to tell them I’m “drinking a drink at Starbucks”. I love it – the drink and the cafe itself because of its atmosphere, but it’s definitely not worth snapping and exposing to the world what i’m drinking anymore. Not a fan of tea or coffee? Fine. How about the book you’re currently reading? The running shoes you just bought? That piece of furniture you just built? Who cares y’all. This old soul wants to capture moments that matter. So what are these moments anyway? — These are moments that only happen once in a lifetime, the time you spend with family at a park you spent an hour to drive to for a picnic; the cake you baked with your mom and custom iced with the icing set she just bought you; the fish you caught with your dad after waiting 2 hours to catch something “worth keeping”.
Friends, these are moments that matter. Moments that last. These moments have occurred and I want the cake one to occur soon (it’s been over a year since my mom had brought home an icing set…soon Ma!) I grew up going to parks and having picnics on a blanket or if we were lucky we had a picnic table; my brother LOVES fishing! Quite frankly it’s the only thing he gets super excited about to actually wake up early!
Moments that matter are only visible if we take the time to see what matters most to us. Is it the tulip garden that just blossomed? Is it the house you just bought? Is it the ice cream sundae you’re about to indulge in? Is it the keys to your first car? Is it your friends in your first car taking a road trip? Ask yourself: Am I taking pictures to show off what I have, or am I keeping the images for my own review in the long run? At the end of the day, it comes down to one’s perspective. Treasures are what we make them; take pictures of who and what you love and preserve the moments. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, so moments that matter are key to making a day count. What are you counting as moments that matter?
-LIFEISABEAUT ❤
L I F E I S A B E A U T 