Instagram Imperfect Life

The internet is awash with articles critiquing Instagram users for perpetuating the fallacy of "a perfect life." Accounts that post styled, staged, and filtered photographs of beautiful people and things attract the most followers, but also create the impression that life should and could be so elegant, photogenic, and organized all the time. Although awareness of this phenomenon has given rise to the #imperfect hashtag, the platform has not been overtaken by accounts highlighting the messiness of most people's lives.

I confess that I too would prefer to have a perfectly curated feed of beautiful sunsets, delectable meals, and stylish outfits--all of which have made appearances on my Instagram account. But recently I noticed that my photos have tended towards the exasperated, defeated, and messy aspects of my life. Unsurprisingly, this trend directly correlates with when I started my own business and began a semester of teaching two brand-new courses.

So, in the spirit of public service, I want to highlight these photographs from the rather unglamorous past few months of my life. 

"The dinner of a woman too tired to go to the store..."

"Came home from a long day to hot dogs, wine, and an ice cream sandwich."

Dinner in bed, 60-ish pounds of dirty laundry in the background. [Original caption: "Thank god today is over."]

"Breakfast this morning"

"Maybe we drink wine in bed too much?"

My commitment to my business and to my students has shifted my priorities towards client work and writing lectures, and away from meal planning and laundry. I do not photograph the hours I spend writing and editing each week--though perhaps I should--but I do regularly find myself standing in my apartment, agog at my failure to live up to the standards of adulthood. All I can really do is laugh, snap a pic, and get back to work. 

Do you also begin your days with coffee and end them with wine in bed? Do you also occasionally eat dinner leftovers for breakfast and cereal for dinner? More power to you. Life is hard.