Realness on social media.

Recently, my friend and I were talking about the never-ending dilemma social media presents us with; the dilemma of, "Does this 3x3 square look like perfection? Because GOD FORBID we be real with each other, and let one another think that our lives are anything less than macarons, perfectly applied makeup, and expertly arranged vignettes in our homes."

I sincerely detest that mentality.  I have definitely been guilty of cropping my photos just enough to exclude the messier half of my dining room table, or rearranging my makeup so it's casually strewn on my vanity with some sparkly jewelry.  I've come to realize, realness on social media is very important to me, because without it, we all tend to live in a false sense of reality, competition, and (if we're honest) sometimes jealousy!

I get it, we want to put our best foot forward.  It's like when someone comes to our house, we typically tend to make sure everything is in its place.  That being said though, I never want to put up a facade that my life is some pretty sequence of perfect moments, because that's not reality.  I fully understand that it's important to hang onto the good moments - I love perusing my friends #OOTD's, and your expertly put together floral arrangement makes me smile (peonies + roses + hydrangeas = my personal favorites).  The thing I've come to grasp though is this: those moments are less than 1% of reality.

One of my favorite quotes is by Theodore Roosevelt, "Comparison is the thief of joy."  It's so easy to lose our joy when we scroll through the endless feed of "perfection".  It's part of the reason why I've begun trying to find ways to implement this new hashtag in everything I do.  I want to choose joy, because like I said, life can be messy.  I don't ever want to live with a false sense of reality, and as I've began to publicize my life more, I have found a deep rooted desire to make sure I'm real.  So yes, you will see sparkles and flowers scattered amongst my social media feeds, but you will also see real life.  Real life is oftentimes raw and gritty; it can be messy and beautiful all at once.  Realness on social media is very important to me, because without it, we all tend to live in a false sense of reality, competition, and (if we're honest) sometimes jealousy!