Here, on this blog, starting May 2021 and ending August 2022, I wrote as often as I could a recap of my months. I love this format, this publishing interface (WordPress), but eventually found out that the audience is both invisible and an unknown. Over time, it made me uncomfortable.

I shifted to Instagram "stories" — and then monthly photo dumps inside of a "post" — after I realised I need a deeper sense of intimacy when writing these than the public internet could provide. I wanted these monthly recaps to be a way to grow closer to the friends/acquaintances around me.

Stories were great. They are ephemeral.

Monthly posts were great too. It allows me to share up to 20 photos and/or videos at once in a single post. What's more — I get to add detailed captions on each photo (unfortunately, not videos — unless I run them through the Edits app, or the Create Reels feature on Instagram itself). I love explaining what's going on or why I love this moment so much. Without this context, I usually find posts to be for vanity/close friends only — who anyway are already aware of what's going on.

However, Instagram does have its quirks. The two grandest of those have begun to hit me:

• I expect likes/comments to come my way, and feel disappointed when I don't receive "enough."
• I sometimes curate photos that I otherwise wouldn't put in the search of, perhaps, ✨ aesthetics. ✨

While I always maintain that these are records/documents of how my life is progressing – a reminder that helps me battle those two psychological quirks – I do see fatigue setting in. Perhaps a part of it is also owing to my perfectionist nature. I now am trying to use Unfold to create collages of similar photos/moments, for starters.

I've been journaling in private, too. But that is a very specific need/use-case, of course.

I hope I'll find the drive, balance, and the right medium for these monthly recaps. In time…

Ah, anyway, I'm not quite sure what the point of this post is. Guess I just wanted to ping the wider web for a brief second, and let them know I'm still kicking.

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