A few months back, I wrote an article condemning people for spending too much time on their phones. While I still hold true to this belief, I also believe that there are exceptions for several of these cases. We often don’t know the entire story and simply assume that people are outwardly addicted to their phones. Sure, there are people who never look away from social media sites, but honestly, we can all be like that at times. On the other hand, there are people who view their livelihoods on their phones. They are checking emails, scheduling meetings and even running businesses all off a device that can fit into their pocket.

This technology truly is amazing, but with that being said, it is also constantly criticized. Not only is the technology criticized, but its users are also closely scrutinized. The question that I get most often is, “Why are you always taking so many pictures?” Sometimes, people will straight up tell me that I have way more pictures than I will ever need, and that there is no need to take more.

First of all, no one can ever have too many pictures. I understand how some people could be annoyed by the constant presence of a camera, but they may not have any idea why the pictures are being taken. Why would a college girl take a seemingly normal picture of her friends while walking to class? Why would this same girl take a picture of her outfit the day that she unknowingly wore crazy colored mismatching socks. This is also the girl who will take a couple hundred pictures at a formal event when everyone else only takes 20.

I am that girl. I am the girl who has a terrible memory and wants to capture every part of this wonderful life. I am the girl who wants to look back on these pictures and recall the amazing stories behind them. Not only do I want to have these pictures on my phone to look at whenever and wherever, but I also want to go to the store and print several copies of each one. I want to hang these pictures on my infamous wall, make scrapbooks for my friends and simply give a picture to a friend when he or she is having a rough day.

So, yes, I do have a couple thousand pictures (maybe not quite 10,000) on my phone, and I am not ashamed of a single one of them. People may rudely comment on the obscene amount of pictures (*sidenote: my phone is out of storage and I have maybe 4 apps -- the rest are pictures…), but I don't mind because each picture is a valuable memory that I cherish. Not only will I disregard their negativity and appreciate my photos even more, but I will also continue to take pictures with pride. The negative side-remarks and comments are temporary, but my 10,000 pictures and memories will last a lifetime.