My Glass House Diary| Episode 1: Real Life Bullshit, on Instagram
I’m calling out more bullshit in my new blog post/ podcast than Nancy from Stranger things! Boom.
I’m Anysia Lane and you're listening to My Glass House Diary , Chapter 1: Real Life Bullshit on Instagram
We’ve just moved home to STJ post hurricane season. Service and internet is spotty at best from the far corner of my balcony so you can all have a good laugh at the thought of me waving my phone all around trying to upload this podcast.
You’re welcome!
This new year I’ve been seriously thinking about a topic that I think needs to be called out. So that’s what I’m doing. New year, same me, more candid and not apologizing for it....I guess... ehh I’m still working on it but here goes nothing.
This has been an affliction in my head for a while now but I finally decided I’m calling bullshit on the whole thing.
Over the holidays we mingled with friends and family as one does over cocktails or joints whatever your preference. From different corners I heard echoing comments as we sipped our bubbly. Their life looks perfect, have you seen their Instagram?
Which promptly brings me to
Bullshit number 1:
Instagram is a manicured business model that users utilize to project a likable “image” to gain attention, connection, work potentials and a following.
Okay brain decode that for me please...
For everyone who has been oggling all over Instagram at other people photos and thinking/ believing that that persons life is “perfect”.
This is the big one folks, I’m calling bullshit!
This might be hard for those of us who utilize Instagram for business/life to admit but we took that photo 10 different times and obviously chose the best one, added the perfect filter on VSCO and hash tagged all the right shit. Your life isn’t perfect, my life definitely isn't perfect and neither is there’s. I promise you. Everyone chooses their best shit to post and so do you! That’s the whole idea right? Take 100 photos at Christmas and post the best 5. Like those 5 photos actually represent the dysfunctional Christmas chaos where your grandma sputters racist comments at the dinner table? Doubt it. That is literally a snapshot of someone’s “selected” holiday photos. Then, we do this over and over and before you know it we’re all scrolling endlessly through only the best shit and thinking everyone else’s life looks, perfect.
No one is looking at the behind the scenes, pimple on the chin, baby that wouldn’t stop crying, crap all over the table at the restaurant before you edited it out, real life shit. We’re all looking at the tailored version and it’s bullshit.
We don’t need to be putting our own lives down because we’re looking at someone else’s “ fake perfect” life on Instagram. I am quite literally speaking to myself here, by the way, but really guys come on! We’re all thinking it, I’m just saying it. And yes I’m probably not the first to say it but it’s the first time I’m really talking about it in my social circles so I thought, new year, same me, but I’m pulling back the curtain and calling bullshit on the whole thing and desperately trying to push back my vanity and be real too in the process.
Now that doesn’t mean I don’t love Instagram. I myself use Instagram for personal and business opportunities obviously, and plan to continue if I don’t get ousted after this post. But I’m tired of not posting pictures of my life because I’m worried they’re not good enough. Which leads to me only posting the best shit like I spoke about before and lately having hundreds and hundreds of photos but not posting really many at all.
This is where I am stuck, I’m wanting and waiting to connect with you all more and struggling with how to do that. I find myself withdrawing from social media because it has turned into work and worry and there for withdrawing from connecting with you all in the process. I don’t want that so I guess I’m trying something new. I’m still going to post photos of my business and personal life, whether people deem it “perfect” or not but stick with me here, I’m really really really going to try to post a whole lot of the real shit too. The on the fly video, maybe double chin for a second there, nearly perfect shot of the real perfect moment. I’m not saying I'm going to be seamless at first but I'm going to give it a real solid effort because I think this is what I need and what instagram needs as well.
So I’m writing this post and I’m letting you all in, inside my life. Hopefully this will inspire me to post more often and just be more in the moment. So Please comment below, haters and all I guess. I want to know what you think and I want to talk about this with you guys but please try and be kind.
I truly believe that instagram and social media as a whole is a beautiful venue.
I think it is a fantastic tool for connecting with people from all walks of life, culture, arts, specialties and from around the world. It is a free business tool and if you choose to use it professionally you can even get paid. Which brings me to my next bullshit
Bullshit number 2:
Business account are different from personal accounts even if sometime they might look the “same”.
People use Instagram for business, I’m sure you all already knew that but I just had to say it out loud. A lot of what we see on instagram is a perfect work projection of a brand, athlete, blogger, artist, designer, entertainer, model, homemaker you get the jist. Those instagramers are creating a portfolio if you will, of their businesses. It’s important to recognize the difference when you’re oogling and thinking their life looks perfectly posed, It probably definitely actually is!
Like photos of babies sleeping with perfectly placed products around them all tagging their endorsers, Or taking a minute to plug new business opportunities like reminding everyone to buy our new single Hues of Blue when it comes out on iTunes wink wink. See what I did there, I told you I’m an asshole.
Boom I’m even calling out my own bullshit!
And you know what, that’s okay! If people want to utilize the best free advertising global connectivity tool to their advantage to showcase their business on a world scale than more power to them! Just be honest enough with yourself to recognize the difference and beating yourself up basically looking at “ads” on Instagram.
Which brings me to my final bullshit for now,
Bullshit part 3
If you’ve been putting yourself down or have been feeling stuck, envious, inspired, or just plain board with your life while looking at someone else’s life on social media make a change!
Honestly, please stop beating yourself up about where your at and start focusing on where you’re going!
Start by looking at all those assholes “like me for example, on Instagram who are trying life outside the lines. Try researching places where your favorite things exist, try looking up something or someone you’ve always wanted to see, shit try getting really baked and just imagining what would really make you happy.
Whether it’s a job, place, state of mind,
being more skilled, more educated, or whatever.
And then just think of the very first baby step. Grabbing a sketch pad at the store and keeping it in the kitchen for a quick draw every day for example.
If you want to make an improvement in your life YOU are the only one who can do that. A Big thing like changing your career path and finishing your degree path or small thing like wanting to meditate more or learn more about wine. You have to set the first step and stick to it. Keep it small and consistent at first and with in time you’ll be surprised at where that next step takes you.
I’m not saying I’ve got the perfect formula believe me I’m still working out the kinks but this is what I’ve been trying and liking the results.
For example, I started saving my Saturday night tip money from Watermark at first growing toward my dream of world travel.
It could literally be whatever you want! That’s the beauty of life! It’s create your own! You get to pick. Even if your circumstances are not ideal at the moment, you still get to choose to do something even if it’s small at first, that makes you happy.
And it snowballs, spoiler alert, I won’t make you wait till the end to find out..remember I’m calling out the bullshit. I promise if you set up your new fave thing and a small attainable goal and just start chip chip chipping away before you know it that little thing will be ready to level up and you’ll be happier in the process because you’re doing something no matter how small that YOU like! And that little piece of happiness is just that something great that’s yours to hold on to and feel good about. To be inspired by and to feel momentum behind you moving closer to your goal, dream and becoming an asshole on instagram who post too many photos of things they like in their life.
Now, I know there are some people out there that will think that I’m saying just because their life doesn’t look like “mine” its not “perfect enough” for Instagram. You got me wrong, instagram spans every event in our lives, from home to food to work to play. I’m speaking to the masses and directly to those who oggle other people's Instagram accounts and thinking that’s so cool, I wish I had that assholes life.
So here’s a photo of me looking less than perfect... real and unapologetic. I’m turning over a new leaf or a new side of the camera if you will. I’m hoping to be more candid and have more connection. Here’s to hoping this doesn’t backfire Haha
This is a group of photos my lovely sister took of me in NYC. Two that are “postable” the other three are the real behind the scenes shit like hiking up your skinny jeans in Time Square or getting the angle / pose wrong lol put the last one in for good measure just so you know I’m serious.
I’m going to start tagging my real life moments and starting my own movement. This is my way of sticking with my own little goal and keep myself honest. If you too are ready to pull back the curtain on your real life moments hashtag #myreallife on a post and I will as well. Let’s take over this hashtag and create at least one place on instagram that we can for sure scroll and oogle at everyones actual real life photos!
Cheers assholes,
Anysia
-AL
