Half the Story

Hello again and happy Sunday! This past week has been swamped with midterms and I didn’t get a chance to sit down a write this until now. While this post is a little bit on the somber side I’m going to try and keep it as positive as possible! Today I wanted to touch the topic of positive uses of social media, which is quite a hot topic at the moment but also very important to me.

I’ve spent the last week writing papers on eating disorders and Body Dimorphic Disorder, and while I won’t go all psychology student out on you all I will say that media plays a huge role in influencing these disorders and even simpler every day things, such as how we view ourselves and others. This day in age when we all have multiple accounts of different social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., and are bombarded with other peoples ideas on what the ideal life is, it is important to stay true to yourself. This is especially true on Instagram where based on peoples photo galleries it seems as if everyone has a perfect life. However, here it important to remember that the pictures people post have been chosen, carefully selected to create an image of perfection and sometimes even follow a color scheme.

People share what they want to be seen. For instance, if you’re looking at a picture of someone traveling what you don’t see is all the behind the scenes events that went on that day and the feelings that are not being shared. This is good if used in a positive light, but if abused can create feelings of jealousy for others seemingly perfect lives.

If this sounds at all familiar it is because breaking through that social media wall has recently been taking flight in the form of the #halfthestory project. Blogger and Instagrammer @Livinlikelarz recently founded @halfthestory (more can be read on their website: www.halfthestoryproject.com). There is a quote by Larz taken from the website that I would like to share because it encompasses the campaign excellently, Half the Story is a “a social media campaign showcasing the stories we don’t tell,” promoting “social storytelling.”

Personally, I think this is a wonderful project, and so here is my half the story:

 What you don’t see in this picture is all the bloopers it took to actually find the “perfect” picture and the fact that it only looked good in black and white, even though my original purpose for taking the picture was to showcase the beyond beautiful color of the leaves (which I’ll post a color picture of below).  

What you don’t see is the hard week I was just coming down from, the need for sleep in my eyes, and the fact that my hands were still cold from being outside. What I hope you do see and feel from looking at the picture is the joy in my heart I had from walking around outside by myself, listening to Adele’s new song, and finding these marvelous leaves. I wanted this picture to exude the happiness I feel towards the little things in life, such as acting like a little kid and picking up leaves! Hopefully it rubs off on those who look at it.

What’s your #halfthestory? Let me know!

~ Monique ~