Memory dividends
My wife and I fought a lot about my photo habit (or lack thereof).
Whenever we went out or met friends, she wanted to take so many photos. I was the opposite.
I was proud that I was one of the rare few millennials who didn't want to take photos. That was my identity. I wanted to "live in the moment" and despised any interruptions to my experience, and 17 identical selfies were an interruption!
This created a lot of tension between us. My wife was complaining that I didn't care, and I just wanted her to leave me alone.
Several months ago, I completely changed my worldview about taking photos. This happened because of Google Photos. Every couple of days, it throws you a highlight from the past. While this was annoying at first, I started going through them closely.
Was my hair that long?
The day we accidentally ended up surfing!
Taking my parents to lunch.
My favorite dog from down the street (who went missing several months ago).
Every day I started reliving those memories. It brought joy, nostalgia, and the Sunday melancholy that I began to like.
I realized that memories paid dividends for years and years. And it was all because I captured them as photos.
Ever since then, wherever I go, whatever I do, I don't forget to snap a picture. These are not artistic. I don't care if my hair is terrible (my wife does). The goal is to capture the memory so I can get paid in dividends.
My favorite dog in the world who went missing. We used to call him “Hondha Bawwa” (Good dog)
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