I was recently scrolling through social media trying to find a picture of someone to share with a friend. I went to my friend’s account and realized she had deleted hundreds of photos from her social media account. When I asked about why those photos had been deleted, she said, “Oh, I’m not in that relationship anymore.” It made me pause. I began scrolling through my own account and, sure enough, layered deep in my social media accounts were photos of friends I’m not as close to anymore, celebrations with my ex-husband, and pictures of old neighborhoods I’ve lived in. Should I go through and delete those since they’re no longer relevant? Or are they?

Friends, don’t delete your history. Literally, you’re allowed to – sometimes a good social media purge feels great. Get rid of photos, unfriend folks who don’t bring you joy. But figuratively, don’t delete them. People, places, homes, animals, and jobs, all have lessons to offer. I’m not saying they’re all happy memories, but they are your memories, YOUR history. If I deleted all of the photos of my ex-husband, it would mean deleting hundreds of photos that include my children, growing up, beautiful vacations, and fond memories. Sure, some memories I would rather not think of, or be reminded of, but every experience has taught me a lesson. Some of these photos or memories remind that I loved and lost. Some remind me that I’ve triumphed over hardship and won important battles in life. Many remind me of the most important reason I have persevered – my children, my worth, my mind, and my heart. 

I’m not in charge of your social media content. Thank goodness, because I can barely keep up with my own! All I’m encouraging is for you to consider what you’re actually deleting when you hit “trash” on all of those photos. Can you purge the reminder, but hold onto the lesson? Can you acknowledge that you’re a whole person worthy of beautiful memories and difficult times? Can you allow yourself to be fully human – someone who lets the lessons sink in vs. shying away?

Here’s to non-curated content. Content that allows us to show up messy, fully human, mistake-making people just trying to do our best. 

If you have friends who might also love these nuggets, doses of humanity, and encouragement of imperfections, send this to them, won’t you? 

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