- hannnahmichelle
Instagram vs. reality
We’ve all been there. Scrolling away minutes or hours, image after image sliding by displaying tauntingly beautiful people, beautiful bodies, beautiful lifestyles and destinations. It becomes easy while in that little bubble to convince yourself that those images represent that individual’s life. After all, the grass is always greener on the other side of the screen, isn’t it?
On our side of the screen, it’s easy to stare accusingly at our sweatpants, mascara free Tuesdays, off-white teeth and cellulite when we thrust our general mediocrity up against the sparkle of Instagram.
When we scroll we’re bombarded with tailored image after tailored image, whether they’re products for sale, a lifestyle or just overall being convinced that *they* have it all and you don’t. The result is subliminal messaging that you’re not worthy, not enough, not beautiful, not loved, at least not to the perceived extent of what you’re seeing and making up about the person behind the images, bathed in the sparkle of Lightroom enhancement and perceived value through the number of double taps and follows. Well! Life isn’t Instagram, and I like to remind myself as often as is needed that it’s okay when I have unglamorous days, because no makeup and sweatpants days are actually the norm! I get to choose daily how to wear my general mediocrity, sometimes I dress it up in lipstick and heels, other days I brandish my beloved painting overalls and Bob Ross-esque jean cardigan and toss my own glitter. As I’ve spent more and more time in my art, I’ve realized how isolating it can be. So I turn to social media a bit more than I usually have, however this isn’t the same as face to face contact and it’s easy to get caught up in the faces we put forward on our pages. That being said, I do want to look “good” when I post up photos of myself. I also want to do my best to have a polished feed of photos I’ve edited to fit the look I’m aiming to achieve with my art pages. And there’s nothing wrong with this, I just also appreciate the odd reminder that comes up either naturally through my thoughts or because others on social media reference it, that social media isn’t reality. And that’s okay. Just remember that you’re loved, you’re enough, you’re brave, talented, powerful, confident, capable, beautiful and worthy. Everything about you is a blessing and uniquely yours. Rock it, darling.