John Green's recent video on
[Vlogbrothers](https://www.youtube.com/vlogbrothers) got me thinking a lot about
why I take photos and the impact that social media has had on my journey in photography.

<youtube src="8gdJiNqP35k" />

I first got into photography when I was young. I was obsessed with taking photos
of anything from my toys to the breathtaking scenery of state parks. Most of the photos I took were distorted gibberish: random fragments
of trees and stuff lying around in my back yard. However, back then photo quality did not matter to me,
the important thing was that I was preserving, capturing, and
digitizing something real and breathtaking. Back then, photography was a tool
allowing me to archive and remember the past: a way of stamping reality. John Green in his videos said
"I sometimes fell like something isn't really real unless I've documented it,
 as if my memories and even my life will just slip past like the clouds through last night sky".  

I lost interest in photography shortly after I started middle school. The only photography that I
did was for social media. Apps like Snapchat and Instagram demand a constant stream
of photos to bombard your friends with. This is how I slowly learned that 
photography is a "cropping of reality". I frequently found myself searching for that
right moment to take a photo and turn it into a Snapchat story. This is not 
a huge issue, it is okay to share your experiences with people you care about; however, we 
need to recognize that we present a polished version of ourselves on social media.

Despite acknowledging the vast distance between photography on social media and reality, it is 
hard for our minds to quantify the stark differences between these worlds.   
I take issue with people who do anniversary posts where they 
share senior ball or vacation pictures annually with a short caption.
These anniversary posts aim to artificially inflate someones appearance on social media
when in reality their lives are quite normal. In response to the negative aspects of social media, there is a current trend
to ditch social media. Although "comparison is the thief of joy",
quitting social media is not the only solution. Only following close friends, limiting app usage,
and only using messaging centered apps are all great ways to reap the benefits
of social media while avoiding most of the negative consequences. 

Enough of my social media tangent, lets get back to photography.
I recently got back into photography as an artistic hobby rather than a means of
archiving events or creating content for social media. 
As a programmer, it is exhausting to write code for forty hours a week at work
and then program even more as a hobby -- this is a perfect recipe for burnout.
Photography is a great way to spend free time since it is intellectually simulating, yet not
super rigorous and tiring. Photography encourages you to get
out and explore new places. In photography you are always learning, growing, and improving.


