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It has been a while since my last Tuesday Tea post. With all the busyness of summer, my wedding, honeymoon, and now working on my first bridal expo, my mind has been a million places, but not always where it needs to be. I started my Tuesday Tea posts as a means for me to slow down during the week, have a cup of tea (and I really do drink a cup of tea as I write these!), and put some thoughts out there into the world about any topic I feel is important to share. Today that topic is social media. I feel that this one is relevant to anyone who has any social profile, goes online, and likes to interact with social media.
Social media is a construct, it truly is. We all know that the images we share and see online are curated, planned, culled to pick out only the best of the best, posed, professionally edited, and shared to show the best image possible. Social media hasn’t truly been a sharing platform for a while now, it is more of a place where we only post the most perfect aspects of our lives. There is very little true sharing going on. I’m not that kind of blogger. I am a professional photographer, but I am not going to Photoshop my images to take away the beauty of what is truly there. I feel that the world is an amazing place and it doesn’t need to be faked to be beautiful. The same goes with photographing other people and even myself.
I’m not a model and I’m far from perfect. I’m short and I have very wild long brown hair that I don’t straighten or blowout every morning for photos. I don’t have the body of a fitness guru. I’m very far from being the perfect social media model, but I’m relevant.
I truly believe that social media is a place where we can share some truly amazing and wonderful things. Life is not perfect; it is messy, and complicated, and sometimes sad. But it is also beautiful, loving, and creative. I also believe that we have reached a point where we recognize the pitfalls in social media; the always perfect posts, the comparison, the competition, and the constant striving for a perfect life.
There is nothing wrong with sharing these wonderful things online. But lets be a little more real and open about the work and the struggle that goes on between that perfect photo and blog post. Those amazing photos and moments take a lot of planning and even more work. They’re not at all easy. Lets share the sad, the not so good, and the out takes that go with all of the good.
For a little while now I have seen other Instagrammers and bloggers post incredible images, and wished that I was on that “level.” Then I realized that I never could reach that exact point, because I’m not willing to hide what is real to me. Sometimes I like to share imperfect photos because of the memory or the people or the place that made them special. I love fashion, but I don’t make perfect fashion images because I’m not trying to sell clothing or unnecessary material items to my readers. It won’t make me insta-famous, but maybe it will reach some people and have a positive impact. And that is my true goal.
I am going to continue to share posts about how to live a lovely life, not because life is perfect, but because it isn’t. I will share my travels because traveling, being immersed in diverse cultures, trying new things, and seeing new places is a truly wonderful experience; not just a photo op.
I work so hard creating a happy life, not because it comes easy to me, but because it doesn’t. Well-being takes constant maintenance and it doesn’t come from the perfect clothes, hairstyle, house, vacation, career, or life. It comes from finding happiness within yourself and being thankful for what you already have.
Social media is a beautiful thing for so many reasons. But it is only a tiny fraction of the real world. Don’t let the comparison game take away from your happiness. And remember that the best things happen when you’re not online.
Social media is an amazing tool. Let’s use this power for creating good.
