Why I think social media can be AWESOME

Hi!!! Stayed up wayyy too late last night finishing up my shutterfly book because I wanted to get it ordered BEFORE the 50% off everything deal expired... which was last night. Granted Shutterfly offers that deal & more like every other week so really there's never any REAL pressure BUT I wanted it haha. If you know me, you know I love documenting my life! I just do. I get so excited about something and want to snap a pic of it in hopes of trapping those excited feelings and special moments within a little frame. And for the most part... my pictures do just that for me. I am NO expert and my pictures are far from perfect or non-pixelated (probably not even a term) but to the untrained eye, Jord and I LOOOOVE looking back at our pictures. We've known each other for 10 years now (WHAT?!?) so the memories that are sparked by looking back at pictures are just sweeter and sweeter as the years go by. I'm so grateful I've snapped pics in all our moments together. 

I know what some of you are thinking, and YES I do love to live in the moment and think that it is definitely important. If there are times where pictures seem too forced or inappropriate or it really is just better to sit back and enjoy it, I do know how to refrain ;) But my point is most the time it is hardly a distraction and believe it or not it is fun for us (okay mostly me) to be capturing how I see the world. 

What comes hand in hand with taking a million pictures for me, is I love to share them. (I have this weird perception that well hey I like to see what MY friends and family are up to... so hey maybe they might want to see what I've been doing too?! Basically I'll just pretend that you all care.) If you follow me on social media it probably seems like I am sharing EVERY single picture I take and sharing all the time haha and while I do post a lot there are a lot of pictures that don't get posted. And that is okay! 

I consider myself to be a pretty genuine person. When I care about people, I REALLY care about them and with that comes this funny little intriguing desire to know what is going on in their life. Weird right? Living away from family and friends for the past year the only connection I really had with a lot of people was through social media. (Cause who picks up the phone nowadays to actually call and tell your loved ones about your life?! -Another rant for another day.) I totally loved seeing that my cousins won their baseball/soccer/basketball games or my aunts and uncles spent an awesome week in Hawaii, or my friend painted something new and her shop is killin it and how cute all my friends' baby bumps growing! I love being motivated by fitness accounts and seeing great alternatives for a healthier snack option or also a fun new workout to try for the day. Getting advice on great places to eat yummy food? Yes please. Also pics please of my little nieces and nephews who I haven't had the chance to meet yet! I love having met people through traveling and seeing where they are going to next!! How inspiring is that?! Would I have ever thought of going to Iceland? Probably not haha! But now that I know it is a possibility and I can connect with people to see HOW they did it... definitely on the bucket list. ALSO weird as it seems I've had people come to me asking advice on one thing or another they've seen me post about (I know, I know, what?!) and of course I'm so excited to share some good news!! 

So whats not to like? Here comes the deep dark evil part of social media that traps so many... I think, no I KNOW the danger comes when people get caught up in a little word called comparison. And ya, I can definitely gather how that can make social media seem like the WORST. Coveting is of the devil. Not a healthy way to live at all. If you find yourself getting depressed and down rather than inspired by looking at other people's pictures, I totally think you should delete all your accounts asap! If following a particular account makes you feel bad about yourself? Here is the beautiful thing, you can choose to unfollow. No one (including me) NEEDS to have social media in their life! haha
I don't know HOW to get it across to you but, YOU are awesome. Just the way YOU are. Your life is beautiful and different (as it should be) than anyone else's. Your trials and struggles are NOT the same as anyone else. YOUR accomplishments are sooooo unique and something to be proud of!! Let's get real here by stating the obvious... pictures on social media are often filtered (don't we all know this by now?) haha and we just have to realize that YES there are so many awesome inspiring HONEST people posting about hard things that we could relate with or could help us to get through a similar struggle AND there are also people who like to keep it pretty positive and uplifting as far as sharing goes. I know I do, being vulnerable is scary ha!! You just have to take it as it is and accept that social media is going to be a highlight reel of someone's life. AND LET'S LET THAT INSPIRE US! Don't get down on people for being excited to share about their accomplishments and passions. If you don't like it, you don't have to be there. (Yikes that was harsh.)

I don't even know how to articulate my point with all this rambling haha but basically what I think I'm trying to get across is YOU do YOU. (and not just with social media- because let's get real it gets a lot deeper than that)
For me???
I love taking pictures and capturing what I think are beautiful memories. 
I love sharing these moments and hopefully my friends and family can be excited for me!
I also love staying connected and seeing what is going on in my friends and family's life. 
I love being inspired by creative people from all over the world!
And while it's awesome, social media NEVER takes precedence over real, genuine, human contact haha. Husband comes first. Family comes first. REAL PEOPLE always come first!!! PUT IT AWAY PEOPLE. PUT THE PHONE DOWN. 
BALANCE is crucial, as with all things in life. It's simply a fun little hobby to keep to the side. I share a lot, but I also have a life where soooooooooo much goes on that only those super close to me are a part of. 
So, share the positivity! Share the love. Be kind to others. Be kind to EVERYONE. Inspire! Don't take it too seriously! Share hard things! Don't share anything! Unplug for a while! Whatever! Just do you! Be healthy. Be happy. But, love one another!! 

Haha if you made it to the end of my extremely long random rant, props. I don't honestly know why I felt the need to explain myself (probably cause, America?? Freedom of speech? ;)) but there ya go.  

Also.
Here are a few of the pics I added to my Shutterfly book! Just a HIGHLIGHT reel. ;)