I used to be a picture hoarder. Each time I went to a concert or spent time with friends, I made sure to capture all of our memories in my camera roll. Then, I began to use the app 1 Second Everyday during my junior year of high school and fell in love with the concept. By taking one-second-long videos each day, this app compiles and edits them for you so you can reflect on the past year (or however long you choose) in just over six minutes.
Picture Credit: Widewalls
The app is incredibly user-friendly, but at first, I had to remind myself to snap videos or pictures each day. In between school, sports practice, and family time, I didn’t think there was anything too exciting to document each and every day. However, the beauty of this app is that it conditions you to appreciate the small or ritualistic moments of life. This may include reading time to wind down at the end of the day, having meals with family, or (a personal favorite) videos of my sweet dog asleep in my lap.
Just as I appreciate the small moments of life, this app has allowed me to savor the larger moments as well. For example, when I went to The 1975’s concert, I was less focused on recording every song and more on taking one quick video to capture my one second of the day. Then, as I compiled the video later in the year, seeing just that one second from the concert reminded me of the many other memories and supplemented the lack of footage saved on my phone.
Picture Credit: StubHub
At the end of the year when I compiled my 1SE video, I had a moment of clarity. When I was limited to capturing my day in just one second, I made sure to focus on the special (and often candid) moments between my family or friends and myself. While most of the video was comprised of times at high school, dinner shenanigans, or trips to Ben and Jerry’s, I realized I was less focused on the activities I do and more so on the people I do them with.
Picture Credit: Shutterstock
I definitely recommend the app 1 Second Everyday. Especially as we ventured to different parts of the country for college, it will be interesting to see the memories we make and the moments that stick out the most. While I could go on about how user-friendly and amazingly free this app is, I would like the takeaway to be focused on the mentality and experience I gained from using this. Cherish the memories you make, both big and small, and just remember to keep your eyes up and (mostly) away from your phone.
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