500 Pictures

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.”
― Marc Riboud

Four years ago, I moved to Sweden to do my master degree in information security. It was a bold decision because Sweden and Sudan couldn't be more different in every single thing. In hopes of capturing my journey, I created a private Instagram account, and I kept posting pictures since the first day I arrived in Sweden back in 2016. Today, I have 500 pictures on my account that paint an astonishing memory lane.

Every time I look through my Instagram account feed, I see memories from the past few years. Such memories are essential to anyone, they form our personal history and contribute significantly to our personal development. In times of need, a picture can be more effective than a thousand words. Just as people avoid bad memories and try to eradicate them, we treasure good memories and hold on them for dear life.

I made so many memories during the past four years, and Instagram has been the best place for me to go and relive those memories. Yes, I could have kept them on my computer, I could have kept them on my phone, and I could have printed them out and hung them on my walls. I could have done all of these things. However, there is something unique about being able to scroll through a feed that presents you with your memories in chronological order along with your friend's comments and reactions.

This year has been a rough one. I stayed at home most of the time, isolated from friends and family. I thought going through these months would be a breeze given my aptitude for solitude and living alone, but man I was wrong. Being able to go through these pictures and remember things I did or places I went to have been a great help. It also functioned as a great prompter for me to call my friends and family and connect with them from afar.

I took over 100,000 pictures in the past four years, and I will keep taking pictures for as long as I live. I highly recommend you do the same. You won't regret it, I promise.