Your Aesthetic is Not Your Identity

Everyone is trying so hard to curate this perfect 'vibe' online. We spend twenty minutes staging a photo of a coffee that is getting cold just to show people we are 'that girl' or 'that guy.' But while you are editing the saturation and picking the right song for the slide, you are missing the actual experience. You are performing a version of yourself for a crowd that is barely even paying attention. It is exhausting, and deep down, you know it feels empty.

What happens when you stop caring about how it looks and start caring about how it feels? You start eating the food while it is hot. You start laughing at a joke without thinking about how your face looks on camera. You start wearing clothes because they make you feel confident, not because they fit a specific internet subculture. There is a massive level of freedom that comes with being uncurated.

When you get offline, you realize that your identity is way more complex than a bio and nine grid squares. You are a human being with quirks, messy rooms, and complicated feelings. That is the good stuff. That is what makes you actually interesting to be around in person. People don't fall in love with aesthetics; they fall in love with energy and presence. You cannot fake that through a screen.

Try going a whole weekend without posting a single thing. Don't even take the photos. Just live it. Notice how much more present you are in your conversations. Notice how you stop comparing your 'behind-the-scenes' to everyone else's 'highlight reel.' You are allowed to have a life that is just for you. You don't owe the internet a front-row seat to your existence.

Build a life that is so good you actually forget to check your phone. That is the ultimate flex. When you are truly winning, you don't feel the need to prove it to strangers. You are too busy enjoying the reality you have created. So, put the camera away and just be. Your real life is much more beautiful than any filter could ever make it look.