Favorite Instagrams of 2018

It's been a tradition on my blog to share my favorite Instagrams from each year as a way to reflect on the time that has passed. 

To see posts from previous years: 2015 / 2016 / 2017

The good: I pick my favorites based on the feeling each image brings for me. It’s about a memory. Things that I’m proud of. Moments that I don’t want to forget. Moments that I’m proud of. Moments that signified something special to me. Moments that mattered. Hamilton. The museum of contemporary art. Rome. My backyard in Gilbert, Arizona. Surviving my first winter in Chicago. Paris. An Airbnb in Chicago. All of these moments seem disconnected and fragmented. But to me, they represent milestones in my life and they are truly connected. 

The not so good: We spent a lot of time on the app in 2018, myself included. As a creative, we get jaded or we play the comparison game, probably more than we’d like to admit. We stop being as creative as we can be. We think that others are way better than we are and that we’ll never get to where they are. This comparison of where we are in each our journeys can be really difficult to navigate and I'll be the first to admit that I have felt this way many times. 

What I make of it all: I'm committed to staying focused on my own unique and individual journey. It’s about making meaning. It’s about the story we tell ourselves. Why we do what we do. Why we show up every day. Why we continue to share on social media when there are so many reasons not to. I share because it’s the way I express myself and tell my story. I want others to see how I view the world because I believe I have something valuable and of worth to share. That’s how I make sense of it all. 

How about you? What were some of your favorite Instagrams of 2018? Why do you use social media and how will you tell your story in 2019?