One of my 2023 New Year’s resolutions was to write more outside of an academic context. Shortly thereafter, my daily journal was born.
Each day since January 1st I have made entry, of no required length, that details my thoughts and encounters (and pretty much whatever I feel inspired to scrawl) of the day. If someone were to get their hands on said journal, they would likely recommend I seek therapy… This is not to say that what I write is necessarily concerning or suspicious, but it primarily consists of rants and annoyances that I dump onto the page before I attempt to sleep peacefully.
While reading Ross Gay’s collection of essays, I began to realize just how negative I truly am in my daily reflections. I can confidently say that it is not because I don’t face my own set of delights, but I simply because I find it easier to treat my notebook as a therapist – existing solely for my tirade.
One thing I must commend Ross Gay on is his ability to remix such a negative experience into a delight. He doesn’t do it often, but every once in a while he is left to work a bit harder in order to see the light (something I clearly choose not to do).
With that being said, when I was met with a notification that my iCloud storage was almost full, I was immediately disheartened. I have never come across such a notification and was unsure of how to proceed. I quickly took to Apple support in order to find a solution and was prompted to find the source of overflowing material… My photos.
My mom, my sister, and I have always shared a phone plan – consequently providing each of us with the same amount of storage. In the past few years, they have both run out of storage a handful of times while I have cruised happily with ample space. They’ve often attributed such disturbances with excess photos that lurk in their camera roll.
Unlike them, I hate taking pictures. I would much rather be the person behind the camera than in front. The number of times I have ducked out the way or made an excuse as to why I can’t face the terror of the flash is countless. So how exactly have I run out of storage?
It seems that I have found a reason (and desire) to take pictures.
Since moving to Charleston, I have made a slew of new friends and encountered new experiences that the old me would scoff at. Being in a new space with new people has allowed me to branch out in ways I never thought possible. It began as me capturing these moments simply to share them with my mom who sits 700 miles away. However, in addition to complying with her motherly desire for proof of life, I was sharing pictures that document how happy I am to be in a new space. These images not only capture my surroundings and experiences, but often see myself as the subject in many of them – a previously rare occurrence.
I can now say that the overwhelming 7,000 pictures and videos in my camera roll show me having fun and trying new things (as Charleston has clearly proven to be an extremely photogenic city). I won’t lie and say that I don’t still have a habit of last-minute swerving out of photos or being the first to operate the camera, but I have definitely gotten better.
So I guess running out of storage isn’t necessarily the worst thing to happen to me lately… Sure I will have to find some other way to make room, but that’s only because I have no intention of slowing my newfound friendship with the camera.
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