But you see, I really wanted to make a photo collage.
[I got rid of one picture - a day I was sick and wearing a sweatshirt - so that I could have a rectangle. Symmetry>accuracy.]
In case anyone is interested, here are a few conclusions/random thoughts I had while doing this:
The eyes are the window to the soul, or to the crazy. It was so much easier to take pictures of myself [read: pictures of myself that I could easily accept] if I cropped off the top of my face. I can't tell you how many of these pictures feature crazy / is-she-drunk / is-she-about-to-kill-someone stares. But you never knew. Until now.
I need to make more cardigans and jeans. This is not a very exciting conclusion, but it's a fact. These are the two main categories in my wardrobe that are still RTW, and I wear them a lot.
I'm a terrible blogger. By this I mean that I've only blogged 15 of the 39 things I wore throughout the month. What is the statute of limitations on blogging? Is it weird to blog something I made three years ago?
Social media can be really bad for your brain. This part was actually very real and not so great. My routine would be that I would snap a few pictures on the way out the door in the morning, then post one when I got to work. After that, all day, a steady stream of Instagram notifications meant my phone was constantly glowing, constantly delivering those tiny surges of validation. And honestly, I think I got a little addicted to it. Checking my phone was like a lab rat pushing the dopamine lever. [By the way, there are a ton of articles about how social media appeals chemically to the dopamine receptors in our brains: here is one.]
I don't normally post on a such a regular schedule, and not necessarily every day. So I really think I was conditioning myself to want it. It was much different than just absently checking the feed in a down moment. Eventually I had to put my phone away because it was really interfering with my attention span.
Has anyone else ever experienced this? And if you did Me Made May, did you learn anything? I probably won't do it again, but it was interesting to try.
All your outfits are fab! I know what you mean about getting a bit addicted to the praise though... I figure just enjoy it for May, but give it a rest come June! :)
ReplyDeleteLOVE your yellow dress (top right). I really struggle with the picture taking... maybe cropping is the way forward. I tend to wear the same outfits day in day out so I think replicating extra versions of staples (jeans / cardi!) would be great for me too.
ReplyDeleteLove the Morris over the striped dress. Addiction is why I don't want to get into Instagram. I fear it takes away the ability to live in the moment for a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your thoughts about Instagram. I find that when I post a picture of something after work, for example, all night long I'm checking Instagram looking for the likes and comments. It's such a strange thing to have to think about and contend with! And if you get fewer likes/comments then you expected, you might wonder why people didn't like it and might start to doubt it, even if you previously loved it. Social media is really weird.
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing your outfits every day - it inspired me to buy a few patterns and I'd check if I missed a day! I understand that it's tough to keep up long term, though.
ReplyDeleteDUDE. On the whole statue of limitations thing: I have this niggling thought EVERY time I walk past my closet for at least the last year that I ought to go in and dig out ALL the things I've made and not blogged, and just shoot photos and share them. Because I feel like they're the stuffed animals that didn't fit on the bed, you know? And I bet they're sad about that.
ReplyDeleteLet's give it a hashtag and it will officially be an official thing: #lostgarmentblogproject (or whatever).
Oh, and we can talk another time about the IG validation dopamine thing. I actually stopped posting halfway through the month because I was making myself a little nervous. Like, more nervous than usual, and my IG issues border on suburban FB addiction levels. So I am all kinds of hearing you on that one.
ReplyDeleteI love all of these- I didn't get to see all of them and now I have! Thank you for this. Also, I couldn't agree with the social media thing more. Its turning out that the trick to being an awesome person is to minimize your exposure to technology- this deeply goes against time wasting efforts and my marketing obligations. But if they're obligations are they really connecting. My conclusion: twitter and instagram. My favorites will take the priority. Also, that STAR WARS DRESS. So jealous. Don't let Jeremy see you in that.
ReplyDeleteWhat did you use to make your photo collage???
ReplyDeleteIt's like you are reading my mind! Lol - social media praise addiction is for serious. I decided a couple months ago that I was only going to check my social media accounts once per day (instagram and facebook mostly) b/c it was sucking all my life/time/soul away. It actually was great! I was able to read more books, actually sew things, and do other neglected stuff like cleaning the house. Recently I've found myself slipping back into checking it more, so thanks for bringing it up - I'm glad to know I'm not the only one :)
ReplyDeleteI gave up on the selfies after Day 3 and switched to a daily journal instead. I found that much more meaningful and it allowed me to get way more out of MMM than just a "like" on instagram. With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed all of your photos!
ReplyDeleteI had to delete all social media apps on my phone (including blog lovin) because the constant surfing and checking things is part of the reason I STILL have tendinitis. You know it's bad when you hold your phone too much. Instagram is the only thing I allowed myself to keep, but I unfollowed a bunch of people so I'd have less temptation to scroll through every. single. new. picture. Uhg (hangs head in shame).
I have all the push notifications turned off on my phone because otherwise I am a total addict. It's bad enough when I check it constantly anyway, but the little dopamine rush when I got a ping.... too too addictive.
ReplyDeleteI say there's no statute of limitations on blogging, IF it's something you have something to say about. In fact, time passing might be a good thing. You might have more to say about how wearable or not something is. I love it when some bloggers do follow up posts of a make a year or two later. I want to know how those things hold up in the real world!
It looks like you had lots of fun posing for those pictures! I know what you mean by 'crazy eyes', I make strange faces half of the time (my mom most of the time, lol). You have the sort of wardrobe I'm still aspiring to have. I have quite a few own makes, but they don't make a wearable wardrobe. I'm being tough on myself and my recent makes are all things that fill a gap, like cardigans, so I'm getting there step by step. Have a nice day, Tilia
ReplyDeleteYour outfits are so fun and cute! I totally hear you on the IG thing! For me, I am transitioning from a work situation that was super social, which was awesome for an extreme extrovert like me, into one where I work either with one other person (and feel like I'm talking too much, even when I'm trying not to talk at all), or I work completely alone (and talk to myself like a crazy person). So IG really feeds the need I have to be in contact with other human beings. BUT, it's so bad for my workflow to be interrupted by phone notifications every 5 minutes, and I don't want to be one of those employees that's always on her phone, so I'm working on leaving my phone all the way across the room while I work so I'm not tempted to check it, especially during high-volume social media interaction times like MMM. I'm definitely more productive that way, although it makes for a very long and boring day. :)
ReplyDeleteWow! They are absolutely stunning and amazing! I love them all. Very fabulous! :)
ReplyDeleteWow! They are absolutely stunning and amazing! I love them all. Very fabulous! :)
ReplyDelete