Sep
5

If I could say…

by Sofia   -   in Random

Perception and your viewpoint is everything when looking at life. We got to talking with some friends about how different people view social media. What is acceptable and what is not. What seems inappropriate viewing from one place may seem normal from the other. I think that what we portrait on, say our Instagram accounts, does not only say something about us but it says something about most of the feeds we like to follow. I have noticed that I feel comfortable posting similar context to the people I love following on Instagram and it seems completely normal and in my eyes how ” everyone” uses the platform. But from a different viewpoint it looks very different. Perhaps too many stories, too many pictures, too many selfies, not enough selfies, too many pictures of coffee cups or too much pink or too fancy clothes or not enough fashion. Some post pictures of their amazing half naked bodies and on my Instagram they pop out as most of the people I follow don´t but on their feeds they are probably just one of many with similar pictures. You know how it goes. I may see a picture of pretty pastel cake boxes on my feed and the people I love most on Instagram would all love it and you might wonder why someone would even think of posting it ( if you think you might also love it then follow the amazing Milan based chocolatier & pastry shop Marchesi). But it´s a reminder that before I judge someone on Instagram because they are adding certain type of context I must look in the mirror first. Why does it bother me, where is it coming from, why do I even care or do I actually even give the time of day and just wonder for the sake of wondering ( like I wonder why someone wants to tattoo their pretty face although it does not really make a difference in my life)? Always worth it to look where the thoughts are coming from and why do I think this way. 

Some people find me annoyingly sweet or void of real thought or depth on the blog or social media ” as Sofia, not everyones life is like yours”. Well thank heavens it isn´t. We are all different. I make it my priority to do things in life that are important to me and to focus on people that mean a lot to me. I make it my priority to find joy in the littlest things and to cry my eyes out when I´m sad. I make an effort not to whine about small stuff. Sometimes I do. But mostly I try to see the silver lining.  I talk about the things that make me sad and I show it but only to those who are near to me. I do share the joy with everyone though. The little happy moments as I love being included in other people´s happy little things on Instagram. Those little squares inspire me. You do the same from your viewpoint, your mindset, your aspirations. I find some people infinitely negative on social media but I understand that some find them comforting or even funny. ” She is just like me!”. ” How annoying, no one should be as happy as she is, she is not even perfect, how dare she think like that!”. 

It is as relevant as always to remember that how we like to portrait ourselves on social media is not who we are in real life, not 100%, but it does tell a little something about us. As well as not wanting to share a thing does. It is a personality thing, a taste thing, a mindset thing and yet again it also tells about who we follow and who we like to follow and how they share their life. But what is true about every single account, even the ones with pictures of puffy morning eyes and laundry in the background, is that social media is not anyones life. Not the real deal, not the full story. The sad stories and the high points do not come through as they truly are. The feelings people feel and the lives they truly live may seem rosier ( or darker). What we can be absolutely certain about is that every single feed has a real person behind it who feels, who struggles, who has sad days, who has amazing moments. The endorphins, the low points, the love and the lust. None of it really shines through in full colour. 

On that note, after a dreamy vacation I must get off this bed and on with real life and start doing laundry. Lots and lots of laundry. And empty the dishwasher. And what on earth will we eat today? Can I get away with not cooking? Did anyone actually take their vitamin D this morning? I should really go for a run… And there you go. You get a picture of my toes peeking from under the duvet as the laundry pile… it does not look good on my Insta feed. My red running face has nothing to offer you. But I did get some pretty new embroidered napkins. Maybe you would like to see those…

Lattemamma

p.s. Some of the photos I shared on Instagram from over the weekend. Just some things or moments that caught my eye. Some beautiful scenery and a few pictures were I thought quite selfishly I looked happy and half decent as opposed to most taken of me where I looked like someones grandmother. But none of these include the laughter, the jokes, the conversations, the exhilaration, the looks we gave to our spouses or they gave us ( in good or in warning), the sentimental tears, the offence we may have taken of what someone said or the compliments we cherish in our hearts for a long time to come. There is no friendship, no love and not even half of the amazing things I experienced during the holiday in those photos. Yet for me they include the memories behind them and for you they probably look like a lovely holiday by the Riviera. And those grilled langoustines? Well they tasted just as delicious as they look in that picture!