GN.

Here's a random post to counter what we normally see in social media.

In addition to being filled with filters, social media is filled with retakes. People will take a picture multiple times and then only show the best one, which provides the idea that the picture they posted represents the baseline for how that setting looks, which is generally unrealistic. It's the best shot at the best time with the best intentions.

The other day I went to NYC, and went up to an office I normally go to when I'm there, which has great views of the city. This day had clearer than normal weather, and I thought, "I'll take a pic."

The first one was a dumpster fire. Sun in my face making for both squinting and unflattering lighting. Hair all frizzy from just coming in from the wind at 8am (took a pic while I literally still have my coat and backpack on). Crooked glasses as the cherry on top.

So I see the laughable result, go and fix my hair for like a minute, pick a different angle, and retake the pic. It's still not amazing of course, but it's way better than the first dumpster fire pic, and only like 3 minutes later.

Now imagine all the people that put makeup on or filters on, and how different their pics look from their reality.

Never compare your first drafts to other peoples' final drafts. It's always a mess out there.