Choeunchan Lee, Week 12 - Capturing Time
Nearly every time I open the camera app on my phone, a warning notification pops up on my screen
saying “Iphone Storage Almost Full.” Although I am aware that the photos app takes up more than
80 percent of my storage, I still refuse to delete photos or videos from the past years.
I find it meaningful to document my experiences—whether big or small—through the lens of a camera.
It’s almost as if it gives the power to “time-travel” since you are able to capture, or trap your memories
and revisit them anytime you desire. No matter how long the photo or video was taken in, you are able
to vividly re-experience those memories.
However, I do acknowledge that it is dangerous to dwell on the past. Being obsessively nostalgic about
old memories could cause one to form serious regrets and yearning to go back to the old times. This
severely hinders an individual’s opportunities for growth as their view is limited to the past, which blinds
them from seeing the amazing, fantastic, wonderful, marvelous future possibilities that are laid ahead!
This is demonstrated in one of my favorite movies titled About Time by director Richard Curtis. In this beautiful movie, the main character Tim inherits a power from his
father to travel back in time. Throughout his life, Tim utilizes this special power to recover his mistakes,
\ such as going back in time to perfect his conversations with Mary(a girl he wants to bag); however, no
matter how many times he rewrites the past, he continues to feel dissatisfied. Instead, he only grew to
become fixated on fixing his mistakes, which hindered him from truly enjoying the present. Even when
his father passes away, Tim abuses his power to meet him again only to realize he is powerless in
changing the death of his father.
The power to replay cherished memories can provide momentary joy; however, it is crucial that one understands how to let go of the past. Just like how Tim begins to view life as exciting only after he halts his power usage, it is important that you appreciate the present moment and forgive yourself for imperfection.
Hi Eunchan, I agree that dwelling on the past for extended periods of time never really ends well, yet looking back on the past can remind you of the amazing memories behind you to prepare you to think optimistically for the future ahead. Similarly, I have over three thousand photos, yet I never hesitate to think that I might end up deleting any, other than unnecessary screenshots. No matter how regretful or sorrowful, it’s important to remember past memories and mistakes to ensure that the same mistakes are not made in order to create everlasting memories. I’ve never seen the movie _About Time_, but I might give it a watch because I’m interested in how the main character Tim progresses through all his struggles and his inner thoughts that lead him to want to travel back in time to make changes in the past. I've once heard in a movie that even though you can change the past, you won’t be able to change the results, and if someone has died, they will end up dying one way or another. I agree with your idea that capturing memories is crucial, yet excessive dwelling is unnecessary and can have unprecedented consequences.
ReplyDeleteHi Eunchan! I absolutely relate to the feeling of exasperation and indignation that comes every time the full storage notification comes up. Yes, it means that my photos are no longer synced to iCloud, and yes, technically I could transfer my photos to a computer and not lose them, but I still keep them all on my phone. The primary reason for this is that, once my photos are on my computer, I know that I will never see them again. I will never again open the album and I will forget how important those pictures were to me. Having them all on my phone, from the pictures of my desk and homework during a late-night study session or the blurred pictures of my friends and family, allows me to frequently look back on those moments when my spirits need to be uplifted, reminding me of life’s ups and downs.
ReplyDeleteI agree, though, that endlessly regretting past mistakes or longing for a past time that is long gone is also detrimental. There have been many times when I would lay awake at night, plagued by memories of my past blunders, unable to forget about them and wondering what I could have changed. Although I don’t have Tim’s powers of time travel, I look forward to watching About Time and hopefully preventing the same downward spiral of regret that Tim becomes trapped in from happening to me. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Eunchan! While I am quite guilty of having a full camera storage, I never really go back to look at some of the older pictures I took. Despite this, I never delete them because I keep thinking that I would be throwing away something precious–which may be somewhat true–and that I just need to wait for the right moment to put the picture into some sort of use. I’m not sure if my actions are driven by nostalgic intentions or just pure hoarding.
ReplyDeleteI love how you brought in an alternate source of media to help with the cohesiveness of your blog. Did you have your Argumentative Writing Cap on by any chance? I think your writing style was quite engaging and fun to read in general.
Anyway, thanks for the reminder. I think I’ll go look at some of the older photos in my camera roll as I wait for some time before submitting this comment.