Sometimes I feel so very analog.

As much as Facebook, Twitter and blogging have become a part of my life, I can very clearly remember a time when they weren’t. I never had cable growing up and we didn’t get (dial-up!) internet until I was in 8th grade. I will always be most comfortable with the printed word. I still keep a journal because there is something therapeutic about moving pen across paper–and of course, there are things that I think and feel that I’d rather keep offline.

Facebook photos make me feel old, sometimes. I have several Facebook photo albums, the most substantial of which are from my senior year of HS and freshman year of college, when I first got a digital camera. Since then the luster has worn off, and I’ve always been better at living in th e moment than remembering to photograph it for posterity.

I prefer documenting my life with words  because photos don’t capture everything. They present a glossed over image of the past that you can edit to your preference. I like experiencing the full tapestry of my joys, sorrows, victories and failures–no matter how insignificant they ultimately turn out to be. It makes my existence on this small little planet seem much realer and more substantial…not to say that I don’t cherish photos of my loved ones. But ultimately, the things I write say much more about my time with them than any picture.