July 13, 2025: The Empty Gallery

It’s a regret of mine.

I have almost no pictures from high school or college, only scattered snapshots in my mind.

The jobs I worked. Friends I made. Late night get-togethers and early morning meet-ups. No cameras. No smartphones. We were fully engaged in the moment and blissfully unplugged.

Today, the scene is reversed. Everything gets recorded. At events, a sea of phones rises to capture it all. Young people will one day have a visual log of their lives that makes me a bit envious.

But there’s a downside. When unsure what to do with our hands or hearts, we clutch the nearest distraction: the black mirror in our pocket.

In awkward situations, we retreat to the glow of a screen. Even at milestones, we’re busy filming instead of simply feeling. It becomes an easy escape when connection calls.

Technology isn’t the villain; it’s just a tool. And I remind myself these days to simply look someone in the eye. Being truly present might not always fill my camera roll, but it nourishes something deeper.

I’m challenging myself to sit quietly in waiting rooms without checking email seven times. These opportunities are everywhere. Boredom can be fertile ground for creativity or unexpected conversation.

In many cases, the phone shouldn’t be my first option. The best stories are sometimes unfiltered and unposed.

Not every memory should be saved to the cloud.