Worked on photography blog post

blogContent/posts/photography/photography-in-the-age-of-social-media.md

@@ -1,35 +1,44 @@
 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 photography.
+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
-of random trees and stuff, only a few photos turned out decent. However, back then it did not matter 
-the quality of the photos, the important thing was that I was preserving, capturing, and
-digitizing something so real and breathtaking. Back then photography was a tool
-for archiving the past: a way of stamping reality. John Green in his videos said
+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 split past like the clouds through last night sky".  
+ 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 merely a "cropping of reality". I often found myself searching for that
-right moment to take a photo and turn it into a Snapchat story. I don't see this 
-as a huge issue, it is good to share your experiences; however, we 
-have to recognize that we present ourselves at our best
-on social media.
+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 
-post senior ball or vacation pictures annually with a short caption like "missing the beach".
-Although we subconsciously know that people's lives are not always like their Instagram photos;
-it is hard for younger impressionable people to make this distinction when scrolling through
-a massive feed of photos portraying people at their best. That is why to this day 
-I prefer using Snapchat over Instagram. Snapchat is more personal and conversational capturing day to 
-day activities where Instragram is a more polished refined version of someone's desired
-appearance.
+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.
+
 
-While on an internship  I found myself once again getting back into photography.
-This time around I find myself doing this more as an artistic hobby rather
-than an attempt to document my experiences or find something to post on social media.