If you know me, you know that I love getting personal –- I’ve kept a diary for years, and I’m no stranger to the personal essay. Now that I’m in the last semester of my undergrad (and potentially my last semester of school ever!), I’ve been getting a little sentimental about the goodbyes that are soon to come.
When I’m feeling nostalgic, I’d give anything to remember what a typical day in my life was like back when I was in elementary or high school. While I’m fortunate to have kept such a detailed diary, sometimes I struggle to remember what an average day was like for me back then, the type of day that was forgettable and used as a countdown for the Next Big Thing. What kind of inside jokes did I have with my friends? Who did I sit next to in class? What school assignments was I working on? What floor was my locker on? What moments were full of happiness and fun, but all too soon relegated to my short-term memory?
While some of these things might not be significant enough to capture in a time capsule, it goes to show that I’ll never be this young again. So one of my goals for 2023 is to take note of – and be more grateful for – the tiny things in life that I might otherwise let pass by. The small details which all add up and create a day in my life that I will never get to relive again.
To start this journey, I decided to get my first film camera. At only $35, it’s probably the cheapest reusable film camera money can buy, and I also bought some film from a local camera shop. The thing about having a film camera is that you don’t have unlimited shots like you would on your phone, so you usually have to be more thoughtful with what you’re taking a photo of.
Normally, I’d be tempted to save my film for the “big moments” – celebrations, parties, or things “worthy” of using my precious film for. But I decided to take pictures of myself and some friends sitting on the couch chatting, something we do all the time. And a photo of something one of my professors wrote on the whiteboard. And a photo of my friends and I walking in the snow back from class. And another photo of my bedroom in my apartment. These are parts of my everyday life and I currently don’t even think about them, but the reality is that after this semester, all of my friends will be spread out all over the country and even the world, and I myself will be moving back home far away from campus and my apartment. These seemingly “boring” or “average” parts of my life will soon become parts of a distant chapter, and these photos will be puzzle pieces to help me put the memory back together in the future.
In my diary, I’ve made it a goal to write at least once a week, even if there’s nothing to write about. Before, I’d only write when there was something interesting to remember or something I needed to get off my chest. Now, I’m making more of a conscious effort to describe what I’m doing and how I’m feeling, even if it doesn’t seem noteworthy or valuable enough to spend a whole diary entry writing about. Even though it’s more work for me, doing this has caused me to reflect on my everyday interactions and think about what I’m grateful for.
Although my film photography and my diary entries are currently representative of things I experience every day, I know that I will take these things for granted unless I make an effort to document them. How do I know this? Because at age 21, I already wish I had more photos and diary entries about the everyday parts of my life in the past, and chances are that I’ll feel this way 10, 20 or 50 years from now about my life today!
So, this is your sign to document the parts of your life you might think are forgettable. Because someday in the future, you might wish you hadn’t forgotten them at all.