Do you know what's getting me through these days?
Photos and videos.
I look at old photos, old blog posts, and most of all, old videos, and not only do they make me laugh, and cringe, and feel beyond blessed, they also give me hope for the future.
I started recording my everyday life in one-second increments in 2016, and even though I never completed it that year, I still really love looking back at the video of 2016. Despite never having recorded the last 6 weeks of that year, I still remember it way better than the unrecorded years before. I've recorded every year since, and I discovered something that blew my mind.
I always thought that we fall in love with the (seeming) perfection we see in the highlight reels on social media.
But now I know better. What we really like to see is people live their everyday lives.
We all have our special moments. You know the ones: graduations, weddings, baptisms, anniversaries, birthdays. Some families have them every year; others only every few years. But what all of us like to see is what people go through every single day.
We love watching people brush their teeth, bicker with their spouse, get annoyed during their grocery run, stop short at a spectacular rainbow.
We want to know that other people feel just as insecure, scared, and inferior as we do.
We don't want to see people's highlight reels - we have magazines and movies for that.
What we want is real life.
Now, more than ever, we want to connect with people who are going through the same stuff we are going through.
And you know what else?
An important part of feeling connected is recording our own stories. Even if we think it's boring because we're stuck inside, I believe that it's more important than ever to make a record of this exceptional time. Take photos of your messy living room, the board games you've played or the dishes you haven't washed; document your 5-days-unwashed hair, your outfit that consists of your oldest PJ bottoms, your man's oversized tee and your daughter's unicorn hat.
Take a photo every day of the same plant for 14 days in a row, just so you'll remember that there was a time in your life when you spent hours every day staring at the same plant, and that this simple action helped save the lives of your fellow countrymen.
Even though some of us may feel that they want to get through this time as fast as possible and forget all about it, I still believe in trying to make the most of every day.
Quite honestly, I enjoy knowing that no-one can drop in unannounced, and that watching countless hours of Netflix is suddenly not considered a waste of time, but an act of social responsibility!
Let's document this crazy time for ourselves, and our kids and grandkids.
If they're lucky, they won't have to go through a pandemic like we do, but it's important for them - and us - to learn from this challenging time.
Plus, the memes that are being created right now are gold.
Stay safe!
xoxo Miriam
Good morning and happy Friday, Miriam! Thank you for your continued blogging, it really helps to connect with the outside world every day. And thank you again for your dedication to the work you do every day.
ReplyDeleteWe were just introduced to Tiger King last night by one of our nephews.... LOL oh my goodness, so funny it is almost surreal. Have a good weekend (rain here, will you have some more snow?) Elaine & Ken
The forecast says no snow but sunny and temperatures above 10 during the day! I hope they're right 🤞☀️
DeleteI watched the entire show in one day and I never do that. I couldn't look away! The people are completely ridiculous, but it's SO entertaining.
Writing helps me to get through my days (and pass the time), I'm glad you enjoy reading!
Have a great weekend!
Yes to all of this!! A friend of mine started a journal because her friend's history teacher encouraged doing so because "this is a moment in history and journals are primary sources." I love that. Document, document, document!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading disturbing accounts of healthcare workers being fired for going public about what it's like working on the front line with PPE shortages and other areas that are in dire need of improvement. You'd think that history taught the leaders that censor never works long-term - but there you are.
DeleteMakes it even more important to keep a record of it.