Bailey Tries... 30 Day Instagram Challenge
If you know me well, you know I’m not great at taking pictures or having my picture taken. In fact, it’s a running joke that my college experience was solely documented by my best friend. All of my memories are viewed through her camera lens because pictures occurred to me as an afterthought. Now, this is strange because I adore pictures. I love looking at old photographs and what a great way to put an image to something long ago but for whatever reason I always forgot to pull the camera out.
In this modern world of constant cameras, I have worked harder at documenting my big moments… those things I want to look back on when I’m 80 and if I’m honest… I’m TERRIBLE!!! To be semi-creative and have a decent concept of balance and aesthetics, I am completely unable to capture what I want which might be why I’ve never put much effort into it in the first place. But I want those memories… those treasures so I knew I had to be intentional.
I got in the habit when dating this great guy to document “us” not for anyone else but so I could have the memories of these wonderful adventures we went on and let me tell you…I don’t photograph well, as a taker or sitter, especially when it's the spur of the moment but I’m so very happy to have a folder full of memories on my phone that matter to no one but us. I came across one of those pics the other day and it got me to thinking… Why don’t I take more pictures?
Like many, I think I’ve somehow got the idea in my head that it had to be great to be worthy of documenting (i.e. adding to social media) but there is beauty in the magnificent AND the mundane. So, I wanted to put forth an effort to document more but for the sake of creativity however I wasn’t sure where to start. But just a few seconds on Pinterest gave me a plethora of challenges to choose from which is exactly what I’ve done this month.
I’ve posted more on my social media accounts in the last few weeks than I have in the last few months and I tried to approach it with the concept of being creative. Not artistic. Not glamorous. Not fake or filtered. Just a fun creative outlet like journaling or paint by number. If you’d like to see the full extent of this challenge (or any of my other antics) you can check it out on my social and remember to snap a picture next time for you and no one else.
Here are a few of my favorites thus far...
Day 2: An Animal
This is my parents’ cat, Percy. He’s the only animal I’ve ever found that hates me but to be fair he likes sitting in the rain and rolling in the dirt so he’s not normal.
Day 3: What You Wore
Could I show you a nice and lovely outfit that I wore? Of course but what fun is that? This is the perfect attire for a fun girls’ Spring Break trip that includes a freeze warning and hurricane force winds. So. Freaking. Cold.
Day 6: Hands
My first, uninteresting idea was to do the quintessential coffee in hand pic that everyone has done on Instagram but I wanted this challenge to be creative and fun not a copy of what is expected. So, here’s a picture of my purple hands in the midst of a Raynaud’s episode. I forgot my gloves… it was like 60 degrees outside. My body thought is was -60.
Day 16: The Weather
A Mississippi Summer can be hit or miss in terms of weather and it’s always surprising but getting to see beautiful blue skies while surrounded by fluffy white clouds was and is a joy!
Day 19: Something Blue
Blue is not typically the color I associate with the Gulf of Mexico but on this day all I could see was blue… even the plane! This might be the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life and definitely outside my “original” comfort zone but the views were beyond gorgeous. I also learned that a shift in physical perspective can often create a shift in your mental perspective which I’m learning to love!
Day 21: Something That Makes You Feel Safe
This nearly 100 pound ball of fur makes me feel very safe. The fact that his brother is bigger makes me feel even safer.
Day 23: Artwork
Not my picture but a friend’s but I just had to include it. Mississippi is fortunate to have so many wonderful museums and artistic places to visit and the Lauren Rogers Museum in Laurel, Mississippi is no different. If you’ve never been PLEASE add it to your list. They have some “regulars” in their collection but they often bring in collections that fit a theme or are from one particular artist.
This piece was part of a showing on textile art and while this style isn’t something I aspire to have in my home, this piece captures my soul. It is essentially a timeline woven together. Each piece added, day by day, and while it may make some feel a bit melancholic at the passage of time, I like how the individual pieces, light and dark, tiny and huge, messy and neat, are all put together to create something that is quite beautiful and very intriguing… much like our lives. What a delightful visual for how God weaves together all the bits of our lives to create something beautiful for His glory.
Day 24: Something That Makes You Smile
Recently, I came across this pamphlet from the early 2000’s about our church’s senior adult ministry, Joy Club. What makes this so special is the picture of my grandmother, who was their resident nurse. She would take blood pressures and stick fingers to check sugar levels. This is her in her element and exactly as I remember her. (Also, she would kill me if she knew I put a picture of her out for the internet to see!)
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