It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?
Social Media has now made it so that everyone out there on the internet, both friends, family and strangers alike can see the most glamorized version of our lives, they can see what we choose to portray. What results in turn is that everything gets somewhat sugar coated, people only see the pretty colorful pictures, the moments that are perfectly captured on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter , they don’t see the tears, they don’t see the frustrations, they don’t see the hardships.
This is something that I’m realizing now more than ever. Every time I catch up with a friend, talk with a family member, or mention something about my time in Barcelona people think it was a fairytale, like a dream. They recall the perfectly edited pictures I’ve posted, the beautiful images, videos and adventures I shared on Facebook. They think it was a year of adventure, a year of happiness, a year of perfection. And while yes, it was pretty wonderful, there were also times that weren’t good (in fact they were pretty bad). There were moments where I looked up the next plane I could possibly take home, there were moments in which I thought there was no possible way I could keep going, no possible way I could survive living abroad, it just wasn’t for me. There were nights in which I cried myself to sleep, panic attacks galore. But people don’t see these moments, people only see the good ones, the picture perfect moments that we choose to show them and in turn they think it’s all picture perfect.
however, things aren’t always as they seem….
I used to look through Instagram, seeing people’s incredible photographs and details of their new lives and experiences traveling, and I’d envy them. “Wow, look how lucky they are. I’d love to do that some day”. And then I did, and boy was I happy… but then I became one of them, one of those girls who portrayed the picture perfect moments. Have I posted one too many LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY LIFE! pictures on my social media accounts, of course I have (haven’t we all) ? Have I flaunted a new life that isn’t all that it seems?
I’m tired of glamorizing my life from a distance, and that’s in part why I created this blog. I wanted to share all the pieces and parts of living abroad, both the good and the bad, because there’s a surplus of both. While I don’t want to seem ungrateful for being fortunate enough to have the experience of living abroad, I want to be realistic. Because the reality is … it isn’t all what it seems to be. The thing is, no one has truly got this whole life thing figured out (even if they try and pretend that they do).. all we do is wake up each morning, put one foot in front of the other… and do our best.
That’s so true x
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I appreciate realism. I read blogs not to find a fantasy and certainly not for something to envy. I want to learn all I can of others’ experiences. In some cases, including anything with travel, I might be using your and others’ experiences to choose a destination and plan. Please show us anything significant. “The good, the bad, and the ugly” all go into life.
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I wrote a very similar post just yesterday! I like reading about real experiences, as good or bad as they may be. There are so many imperfect moments we all face.
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Very true.
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So true…
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Truth! Here’s to putting one foot in front of the other 🙂
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So relatable post to me & must be to more people. Feels like you put up our feelings in your post.
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Reblogged this on Mike the Psych's Blog.
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Very true. Thanks for keeping it real!
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word! I just came back on fb after a year. As far as im concerned i missed out on nothing.
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exactly, what I’m realizing is that it’s nice to share.. but there is such a thing as oversharing. Also sometimes we lose chunks of our lives because we’re so plugged into the computer.
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even though I am back on fb , i am doing it only for blog traffic, but i will not put it as an app on my phone again. i limit it for once day checks on the pc only.
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