“Selfies are narcissistic.” “No one wants to see what you ate for dinner.” “You clearly posed for that ‘candid’ picture with your best friend.” I hear this all the time. People think that you need to get out from behind the phone and enjoy life. Go and do something interesting instead of taking pictures of yourself doing it.
I disagree completely.
I feel like you should take as many pictures as possible. Take selfies, post pictures of your food, pose with your friends (furry or human), save that sunset. Why? Isn’t it vain? On the contrary, I think it’s part of making memories. These are seven reasons why you should take all the pictures you can, selfies included.
1. These are your friends.
Friends don’t stay in your life forever. Some of them stick around for a long time, but you never know when you’re not going to have them close by anymore. When I went to college, some of my closest friends from high school all went in different directions. One of them lives in Massachusetts now. I was blessed enough to bring one with me to Greensboro, and she is currently studying abroad in Scotland. Another close friend attends school three hours away from me. I even had a friend that didn’t leave the area near our hometown, but went to school in Raleigh (an hour and a half away from Greensboro). Even since I arrived at college, my friend groups have changed. All I have are fond memories, my pictures of us, and hopes for happy reunions in the future. If I didn’t have all the pictures, I wouldn’t remember half the shenanigans we’ve gotten into! Plus, if you don’t take pictures with them, how else would people see what you’re doing?
2. This is your family.
I have two younger sisters in high school right now. They turned 16 last summer and they’re starting to drive soon and I don’t know where these tiny munchkins went that both suddenly got taller than me! Pictures allow me to not only relive the moments I had with them in the past, but stay connected with them now. Texting them is great, but seeing them is just one step better. It’s why Skype and Facetime have become so popular – seeing who you’re talking to is just better. For me, seeing them – even if it’s just in a Snapchat or a posted picture on Facebook – means that I’m still in their life, even if I’m far away. That’s a really cool concept.
3. This is your home.
When I left my hometown for college, I didn’t think much would change. I felt like my hometown would always be the same way I left it. Surprise! Time doesn’t stop just because you left. People move on, places move and change, businesses come and go. My hometown has a water tower they paint with the current graduating class every year – when they changed it to 2015 instead of 2014, I just stopped. It was time for the next seniors to celebrate their graduation. It’s also spooky the first time you go back to your high school and you realize you don’t know some of the people walking around. So capture the moments you have of your home. Your school, your room, your favorite teachers, your favorite hiding place, even the trees.
4. This is how you stay connected.
Like I already sort of touched on, pictures allow so much connection between you and someone far away. I get to see every accomplishment my sisters achieve in school. I get to live vicariously through world traveling friends as they see the world. I even get to see the small accomplishments like “I can cook for myself!” and “I cleaned my room!” from everyone. I get to see members of my high school chorus and theater getting into college. Taking pictures and posting them to social media allows a certain kind of connectedness between people who don’t see each other as often as they’d like. And likewise, it means people can share in your own accomplishments.
5. This is how much you've changed.
Most anyone you talk to will insist that they hate their middle school pictures. They’re gross, disgusting, etc. But for me, it’s intriguing to go back and look at them next to current pictures. I’ve changed so much! My hair has grown, my face has thinned, and thank goodness I don’t have braces anymore. You forget how far you’ve come if you don’t pause to look. This doesn’t just work for middle school pictures either! You can track progress if you’re losing weight, growing your hair, remodeling your house, or even making a craft project. Pictures are a way to visually see the difference you’re making.
6. These are your memories.
You’re taking a life changing trip to New Zealand. Are you not going to take pictures every step of the way to show your friends when you get back home? You just got engaged. Are you going to choose not to take pictures because it’s not important? The answer is no, you’re not. You relive these memories every single time you look at a picture. You share these memories with loved ones. They even capture moments that you forget about in the heat of the moment. Even the little things that may not have much meaning now may mean a whole lot later. Pictures have a way of capturing precious moments that few other things can.
7. These moments are fleeting.
The reality is, eventually, things are going to change. Some things will no longer be the same as they used to be. Change isn’t a bad thing, but it can be difficult. For me, pictures help you remember how things used to be and even appreciate how they’ve changed. You’ll always have something to remember the experience by if you take a picture. This doesn’t just go for family, home, etc. This also goes for college things. You don’t always have the same group of people around you – everyone comes and goes, graduating or transferring or new freshmen. Something is always changing. But when you’ve got pictures you have ways to appreciate the old and choose to change or stay the same for the new.
That’s why I’m constantly taking pictures. Even if I’m the only one who ever sees them, I can enjoy the memories that I had watching "The Hobbit" at 2:00 a.m. during exams or drinking a Starbucks Frappuccino on a rare (or not so rare) 70-degree day in December. After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. I’ll just keep collecting those thousand word stories.
