Moments

So the other day, as I wrote an e-mail to my best friend who is on her mission far far away in Bolivia, I began to reminisce about the memories I had with her - in high school, in college, during summers - and I began to leaf through pictures that I have that date all the way back to when we were 16 (that is 6 YEARS AGO, AH!) until just before she left on her mission last September - I couldn't believe the difference, but I also couldn't believe the amount of pictures that I have during those years! My friends and family have always commented (and when I say commented, I mean made fun of me) on how many pictures I take - no matter what occasion or circumstance it is - I have always taken a lot of pictures - until, that is, I moved here! I still take a fair amount, ya know, snap one here and there when I actually remember my camera AND its charged - not a small feat, mind you - but it made me realize something deeper about myself - when I was 16, and even when I was 20 in college, I felt like the pictures I took, especially the volume of them, represented the importance of that event, or trip, or instance. I thought that in order to remember how significant that moment was in my life, that I needed 10 -12 images to capture it. Now I realize, not only do I not need 10 pictures, but I don't really need any - that the most important moments in life are actually those that don't usually call for a camera to be whipped out - or when they do, sometimes the most "imperfect" shot depicts the perfect moment - and sometimes, that one picture can remind you of a million memories you had that night, that week, that month. Sometimes it can remind you of all the moments you have shared with that person. Just that one can be powerful. It may sound silly - well I guess it is, actually - but I really believe its true. Images can document our lives, or we can allow people, places, events, and memories to become what defines us. And every so often the two mediums collide and allow us to do both.

For example:

{playing flashlight tag at Shelby Farms after hours :)}