Yeap, you heard right! I am a blogger who dislikes social media…what a conundrum, if I may say so myself. First, I have to explain a little bit about my upbringing to understand why I feel the way I do. Now, I know that to most I will probably sound exactly how my grandma used to sound to me. Back in my days…but honestly, that is exactly how my story begins.
Back in my days, we played outside till it got too dark to see and even then, we kept playing. We didn’t have phones, well I mean we did, but they were called payphones or house phones. For those of you completely oblivious to what a payphone was (all of my kids and their friends think payphones are a figment of my imagination) but they were our truth. There was a time that when you were in the streets and wanted to call someone, you stopped at a payphone. You would put in a whopping 25 cents and talked for a few minutes until the operator told you to put an additional 25 cents if you wanted to talk for a longer time.
Yes, in my later years the invention of beepers came around but guess what? We would have to stop at a PAYPHONE to call the person. And we weren’t glued to our beepers (unless we were waiting for that cute guy to page us) but aside from those few times…we just really didn’t care.
My youth was ALWAYS about spending time with my friends.
We went to school together, spend hours after school playing and laughing together and then talked on our house phones for hours afterward. And we rarely ever ran out of things to talk about. We didn’t have access to celebrities or models and honestly didn’t really care to. They were in their circle of life and we were in ours. We were blissfully in our circle of life and every one among us was equal. None of us cared about what others had or how they lived. We were genuinely happy with who we were and what we had. Now that’s not to say that we didn’t have self-esteem issues or that we didn’t have bullies or issues but they weren’t to the extreme that we see today.
Today, everything is a constant flaunt of what others have, how they live, what they bought, how much money they have, and where they traveled to. It is a serendipitous life and frankly, I am calling bullshit. We judge ourselves by how many likes, comments, and friends/followers we have. And for what? Do those people REALLY have a say in your life? A say into what is beautiful about you? What deserves praises? It shouldn’t! We need to get our lives back on track to a time where people were much happier. Where they didn’t wake up looking at how many likes/follows/unfollows they receive. We need to be LIVING rather than DREAMING.
Yes, I have a personal account for Instagram and Facebook but not for the reasons you might think.
I only have those sites to post occasional (maybe once a month) pictures of my daughters so that their grandmothers, family, and my friends in another state can watch them grow up. I don’t focus on the likes, hearts, or comments, I just post to make them happy because they get to share it with their own circle of friends.
But when it comes to sitting in front of a computer for hours looking through millions of pictures of people I have never met or shared a word with…it just doesn’t really interest me. I rather spend minutes or hours with people that truly know me. The me that is ugly without makeup or pretty with some on. The me that colors her hair pink one day and white the next. The me that stops traffic in a busy intersection to let the ducks cross unharmed. Those people are the ones that are worthy of hours of SHARED time. Time speaking together and making memories I can cherish and be grateful for when I am old.
I am so tired of seeing so many amazing and beautiful people getting caught up in the glamour of filters and hating who they are or where they are in life. I genuinely believe that if people got off their phones and lived life a little more, they would be happier. They would accomplish that novel that they always wanted to write. Or discover their new best friend that would love them without the filters. We have become a society that hides our truth. We filter our flaws, we contour our faces? Why? Seriously, why? Yes, you look flawless but where is the REAL you. The beautiful and unique you that so many people would love to meet…in REAL LIFE.
So yes, I am a blogger who dislikes social media but who loves to write.
I love to write about amazing companies, products, and brands that are cruelty-free and/or vegan. Companies that in their own way are making a difference. And writing is my small way to contribute my thoughts of ways we can lessen the horrific lives of animals. To empower you and them through my words.
I am living each day surrounded by the people and things I love. I don’t take people, moments, or things for granted. I want to be remembered as the person that was ALWAYS there for those that needed me. The person that lived life to the fullest. That loved wholeheartedly. That fell but got up. That was a true friend, wife, daughter, and mother. That spoke for those that couldn’t speak for themselves. That was alive every minute of every day despite the flaws, obstacles, and not-so-pretty realities.
Don’t you want to do the same? If so, put down your phone, uninstall your handles and live! Live the best life YOU could possibly live without the worries, likes, follows, or comments of others. Yesterday is a mere memory, today is almost done and tomorrow may never come. The only choice you have is to live this moment… so make it count.
With love,
Corinne
