It's been said time and time again that what you see on social media is not real life, but still it's hard to dissociate between the two when most of us spend a large portion of our days scrolling through beautiful images of people living their 'best lives'. But when facing hard times or life changes, this is so important to remember: Social media is full of people smiling through their bad days and editing happy-looking filters on their pictures because they feel the pressure to do so just as much as you do.
For me, graduating university has been a massive life change and I don't think it's discussed enough how much of an emotional impact it has on a lot of people. It's the first time in your life that you had no clear direction of what step to take next and we're almost programmed not to discuss it with anyone out of fear of looking like a failure compared to our peers. For the years that you're a student in university, you have a clearly defined identity based on your course, your society or your lifestyle and most of us also have an idea of where we'd like to be in five years time. When final year is over and you leave the close friendships that you've built over those years, some people will go travelling and some people will find their graduate job and some people may be stuck somewhere between - but the grass is always greener on someone else's Instagram story.
I've never written a blog post talking about something personal so this really doesn't come naturally to me but World Mental Health Day got me thinking about how many issues we're probably all facing together without even realising it and how important it is to be open and honest with each other so we can support the people around us. So, if I'm honest, I have no idea what I want to do next and it's quite daunting.
Social media can be an amazing tool to help us grow. Instagram has massively helped my self-confidence and allowed me to meet some amazing girls who truly inspire me. As people are becoming more raw and honest, we all need to encourage the conversation that's emerging and let ourselves off for not being perfect all the time. Instead of always chasing the next goal, take a look back at how far you've come and appreciate where you are. Breathe. And remember, behind every perfectly filtered Instagram picture could be a person that's just as lost as you are, so let's keep the conversation going.
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On a side note, my blog has typically been a place where I write about basic fashion and lifestyle topics. However, as I grow and evolve I feel like this page should too. I have archived or deleted most of my old posts and, although I'm not going to promise to post every week, I can promise I will be posting far more openly and honestly 💛
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