Don't Smile for the Cameras

Pictures are the visual representative of a person or family's life, however, it hardly represents the whole story. As Lenore Skenazy mentions, the pictures and videos of her child show an angel, who was always nice and happy. This is not indicative of what her child was actually like, but instead, highlights the memories that she wants to remember and the moments that she wants others to see. Through pictures, life can be altered. Most pictures consist of smiling individuals doing some fun activity or in some unique place. However, this isn't natural because how often a person actually smiles or is doing something interesting is not representative accurately by pictures. If pictures were intended to resemble life, the ratio of smiling, interesting pictures would be much smaller, compared to the pictures of real life. However, people don't wont to remember the times spent arguing or doing nothing around the house. By omitting these moments in life, one also forgets their own life and upbringing. These forgotten moments are what mold and create the individual's character. Life has become a series of photographs, all with the same smiling faces, just in different backgrounds.