Utah is a beautiful state and Drew and I both agree there is never enough time to explore when we visit. My impression is even the people that live there feel that way because on Saturday there were families hiking, small group mountain climbing, mountain bikers and trail runners out and about finding new places to enjoy their perfect playground. We felt right at home and talked extensively about the ways we would spend weekends out West. In general, the people of Utah seem to place a high priority on active, healthy living and recreation which is something I can respect and slightly envy as we made our way back to good old Greenville, South Carolina.
Now it may seem that Drew and I float off to different places on a whim without a care in the world, but it’s not quite that glamorous and I’d like to shed some light on the perfectly curated, edited world of social media and how we interact with it. Something happened as we made our way through the Greenville airport that grounded me quickly--
Delicate Arch
As Drew and I walked through the terminal headed to baggage claim (after my bag repeatedly didn’t fit in the overhead compartments and thus was checked…..annoying and a result of my poor packing), someone yelled, “hey Drew!” A friend of his had spotted us and asked where we were headed and we explained we just got back from a short trip to Utah to hike and enjoy some cooler weather. He responded with the comment that I’m slowly starting to develop a whince towards.
“I follow you on Instagram and I’m always jealous of where you are and I think to myself…..I really need to travel more…..”
Drew replied in his normal, humble demeanor and we asked him some questions about newlywed life (his was one of the 4 weddings we attended the past 5 weeks) and were off to baggage claim.
What’s my point you may ask? The point is, Drew and I had long stretches of roads without cell phone service on this trip and we spent a lot of time talking about social media, technology and where it all fits. You see a picture here and there on facebook and instagram, react to is as you choose and keep scrolling, but there is more to it….
I’ve talked about this before, but social media is one of the most time-consuming, censored, curated, inaccurate, convenient ways to keep in touch with people you know, and don’t know. The potential for a lot of good is held in our hands--literally at our fingertips, and yet it is almost inevitably going to take precious time, contentment, and reality instead.
I’ll give you a practical example. While in Utah, I had a specific clothing brand that had “sponsored” (given me free product in exchange for a post or tag in a post) some pieces for me to wear. Granted, I love the brand and am thrilled to wear and share it-- I don’t consider it a chore by any means. With that being said, this photo conveys one thing, but I know another.
Outdoor Voices is an incredible brand with very high quality recreational clothing that just so happens to be cute as can be.
Social Media:
Drew and I adventurously scouted out a beautiful spot to romantically watch the sunrise with nobody around and contemplate our lives on the edge of this canyon wearing designer athleisure clothing on our four day jaunt to Utah over Fall Break.
Reality:
Drew, 65 other people, and photographers drove to this lookout to snap their sunrise shot. I waited in the car because it was COLD, waited for Drew to text me 5 minutes before sunrise, RAN the quarter mile to the spot, enjoyed the sunrise and then sprinted back to the car in the workout clothes I would have saved for a while to purchase or asked for as a Christmas gift (teacher's salary).
So there you have it….as I share in future posts about our trip, you need to know that some of our most memorable moments weren’t photographed, or documented-- like Drew making a million jokes about how small my bladder is and my agonizing at the apparent lack of ANY civilization or bathrooms for miles on end. Or the security debacle at 5:00 am in which I was frisked due to the protein powder and cream of wheat in my bag that APPARENTLY violates a new food regulation that couldn’t be overlooked until a call was made to get approval for me to proceed…..on second thought, I think Drew snapped a picture of my pat down….but you’ll never see it.
Bryce Canyon, Utah
You can probably gather that while I have one foot in the door of social media and the potential that it can have for business and personal interests to collide…..I will always keep one foot firmly planted in the understanding that it’s a whole lot of good lighting, editing, and airbrush.