When Did Everything Become a Photoshoot?

Pre-warning: I am griping again

Everything now has this pressure to be aesthetically pleasing all the time thanks to the internet.

And listen, I get it. Trust me, ya’ll, I grew up during the golden age of Instagram. Pinterest is probably one of my MOST used apps, and yes, it is a problem sometimes.

Romanticizing your life and making things “pretty” can be fun. It can even be motivating. Lighting a candle before you write. Making your desk space whimsical. Using the good pen. Brewing coffee in your favorite mug. I’ve even written blog posts about fun ways to romanticize your writing process.

There is something lovely about being happy with your appearance and space.

But lately?

It feels like we’ve crossed from intentional beauty into constant performance.

There’s an overemphasis on aesthetics in general. Not just in writing alone, but in life in general. (I know, I know, I sound like a harpy old lady but hear me out).

Girls are expected to be pretty all the time. Self-growth is framed as “hot girl advice.” “Hot girls wake up at 5 a.m.” “Hot girls drink green juice.” “Hot girls don’t text first.” “Hot girls have spotless kitchens and perfect side profiles and somehow glowing skin while journaling about their boundaries.”

Since when did personal growth become a rebranding campaign?

It’s like the ultimate goal in life is to look amazing at ALL times. To have your life be this curated, aesthetically pleasing collage of neutral-toned items and sunlit corners. Your coffee has to look right. Your Bible has to be color-coded. Your gym outfit has to match. Even your healing has to be photogenic.

It’s ridiculous.

The internet is a highlight reel and we all know that. It captures moments in time. A split second. A perfectly framed sliver of someone’s day. We are not designed to line up and look exactly like these captured moments in time at all times. We are not still images.

We are messy, moving, complicated beings.

Now we are ebbing into looks over substance in every area of our lives. We spend way too long taking an aesthetically pleasing desk picture or finding the perfect angle to show off our cup of coffee beside our journal. And somewhere in that process, the coffee gets cold and the journaling becomes secondary.

The writing — the actual writing — becomes less important than how it looks to be writing.

And that’s where the fun starts to drain out.

Because the substance is the point. Not the proof of it.

There’s nothing wrong with beauty. There’s nothing wrong with liking nice things. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying an aesthetic. I am not anti-whimsy. But when aesthetics become the main goal instead of the byproduct, it begins to feel like everyone is now encapsulating the brand of being a writer. I feel like we’re losing a lot of authenticity in general. Again, I don’t want to sound like I’m grouching about everyone else, this is something I’m guilty of as well. My whole instagram page is color coordinated.

Really, I’m just sort of ranting to the void and maybe myself. Maybe it’s time we get back to the basics.

And if it happens to look pretty? That’s a bonus.

Maybe it’s time to become a writing minimalist. No routine, no coffee, no pretty desk space. Just writing.