I often see photos on social media that depict striking scenery from the perspective of a boyfriend, taking a candid shot with one hand while being led towards a body of water, or mountain range, or European square, with the other. You know the ones. Feeds are also flooded with photos of perfectly manicured lattes in cafes around the world, unspoiled sunsets, and smiling, unfettered faces. These posts are adorable but staged for perfection, utilized to elicit feelings of wonderment and perhaps even envy. And I am guilty of all the aforementioned. Well, except the social media boyfriend ones. Jason would have none of that.
So what about the gritty and silly parts of travel, the pieces purposefully omitted or brushed over so as to not lose that perfect social media aesthetic. The trudging-through-an-airport-with-a-broken-suitcase-wheel story, or the smell-so-vile-there’s-no-way-you-can-contort-your-face-into-anything-resembling-a-smile photo.
These moments aren’t exclusive to a specific locale, or even to a specific type of travel, and they happen to everyone. So why don’t we hear about or see them?
It’s incredibly easy to etherealize experience and idealize places we don’t know, disillusioning ourselves by using travel and exploration as a form of unhealthy escapism. Everything is perfect and lovely and Instagram worthy. Once again, guilty.
So let’s not. Let’s cut ties with this constant enchantment and allow those blooper moments to ground us and make us laugh. And let’s talk about them! Let us soak in experience for experience sake, not for likes or comments. Only then will our outlook on what travel should be – a perspective that exists because of cultivated social media posts - evolve into what travel can be – which is whatever you want.
in the spirit of the above and to kick-off the long weekend by hopefully eliciting a few laughs, i wanted to share some of the silly moments that my co-explorers and I have been lucky enough to have captured on camera.
That time we snorkeled…
…and our faces were so smooshed in our protective gear that we looked like, well, this.
…or that time we purposefully got Meta all over Iceland.
that time we walked towards the bloody gate…
…or that time in barcelona when my “bedroom” was an extension of an elevator shaft.
i would love to hear about, see photos/videos of, and commiserate over some of your travel stories and bloopers! comment below or use the contact form to email me. hoping you all enjoy and make the most of the long weekend, whether you’re traveling, exploring, or staying close to home.