Breaking News: Girls Who Enjoy Life and Take Pictures are Ruining Society
For some reason, it’s become a trend to hate on girls for taking pictures. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand how hard it is to watch a group of women feel good about themselves, capture a memory they never want to forget, and–God forbid–have fun. It’s honestly infuriating that women can find joy in spending quality time with their friends and documenting it so they can show their future kids all the fun things they did in their 20s.
Okay, that was a little passive-aggressive. Here’s what I really want to say, especially to the girl who’s ever hesitated to pull out her phone and take a picture because someone might have something to say about it: Just take the picture. And don’t let anyone make you feel guilty or embarrassed for doing so.
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I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been feeling sad or lonely, and a simple scroll through my camera roll–maybe a random photo of the beach or a chaotic half-sober vlog with my friends–completely changes my mood. These pictures take me right back to the one time I went to a Dominic Fike concert, or Harper and I’s happy hour dinner dates, the list goes on. They remind me how amazing my life truly is and how grateful I should be to live the life I do.
I am also completely aware of the fact that times have changed. Our parents had scrapbooks and photo albums; we have Snapchat memories and shared albums. It’s all the same idea, just in a different font. Similar to how my mom did with me, I plan to show my daughter photos from my high school prom and videos of my friends and I getting ready on my 21st birthday. That’s my version of the family scrapbook.
We were blessed with the ability to document anything and everything in a matter of seconds, and I don’t think there's anything wrong with taking advantage of that.
Call me a simple girl, but few things bring me more joy than getting ready with my best friends, ranting about life, listening to music, going to dinner, and yes, taking aesthetic pictures. There’s something so beautiful–and honestly, innocent–about a group of women hyping each other up and making them feel good about themselves. I wish I could play a recording of how my friends and I sound while we take photos. We’re loud. We’re chaotic; truly, each other’s biggest fans, and it breaks my heart that anyone would shame us for that.
I’ve had people tell me I’m shallow for going somewhere “just to take pictures”, or that girls like me aren’t ever present in the moment because we care too much about getting the perfect pic. I’m not saying nobody fits that stereotype, but most of the girls I know? That’s not us.
One night, my friends and I went to a fun dinner spot at a hotel in Downtown LA. We probably spent an hour taking pictures. I’m sure our Instagram posts made it look like all we did was get ready and pose. But what the pictures didn’t show? The two hours we spent doing each other’s hair and makeup, us belting our favorite song ‘Been Like This’ by Doja Cat on the drive there, or even that we explored every single floor of the hotel just because we felt like it. Every time I look at those pictures, I am reminded of all of those memories and how much that night brought us closer, even though some may say we only “did it for the gram”.
There was a time when I let people make me feel ashamed for documenting my life. I wish I could go back and tell myself not to listen, because now there’s a chunk of time I barely have any photos from–and it makes me sad. Now? I take pictures constantly, and there isn’t one that doesn’t bring me back to exactly how I felt, what was going on, and how much has changed since then.
If you can take anything from this post, let it be this:
Just take the picture.
Do it for the memories, for your future self, and for the times you never want to forget.
If anyone makes you feel bad about it, that’s a them problem.
