Studying abroad in Florence last year had such a profound impact on my life. It really helped me put a lot of things into perspective and to realize that there was so much more out there yet to be explored. I thought I had a pretty good handle on life after attending college for three years, but I could not be more wrong. Once I left Penn State for four months, I saw how much that culture consumed me in terms of people putting on a front for social media when in reality their lives were just the same as everyone else. I came to the realization that there was no point in faking perfection just to get an Instagram post and that social media should be used as a means to document actual life accomplishments and milestones.
Honestly, I had no idea how much I matured in terms of my social media habits until this past weekend. My friends and I were talking about how we did not take any cute pictures from State Patty's because none of us were on our phones, as we were too busy enjoying the last of this holiday together. In the past, before studying abroad, I would have been pretty annoyed by this. I would have been upset that we did not devote time to taking those Insta-worthy group shots. I would have based the fun factor of the day around the quality of the pictures rather than if I actually had a good time. Thinking about this even more, I also realized that I had not uploaded anything to my Instagram in two months, something that would have previously been unheard of for me. In the past, if this were the case, I would have planned a photoshoot and drove somewhere artsy and out of my way for the weekend just to get a picture. The great thing was that none of this mattered to me anymore and that I was able truly to have fun without people validating the fact that what I was doing was fun.
Another thing that my friend, who I had met abroad and was visiting that weekend, pointed out was how I never used my phone when we were at the bars. I remember how difficult it was in the beginning for me to not use my phone when I was in Italy. I would constantly check my social media during dinners out with my friends. I would care more about what was happening online than in my own life. It even got so bad that my friends created a rule where we all put our phones in the middle of the table during meals, so I would be more present. It's crazy to think about how I went from behaving like this to not checking social media once when I was out with friends in less than a year.
So as much as I still love social media and want to pursue a career in it upon graduating college, it is not as important to me as it once was. I look around and see how so many people in our generation still care more about documenting a moment for others rather than enjoying it for themselves. I am reminded of the person who I used to be and am proud of how much progress I have made. I have finally learned that living in the moment is about enjoying the company of the people you are with rather than your phone and randoms on the internet.
