Graphic by Nate Barton
I can truly say that my camera roll, Instagram and Snapchat accounts act as time machines for my memories. They are a semi-tangible way to relive them with just a quick swipe.
I can take a trip down memory lane anytime I want: the many late night HAWC trips with my Crocker cabin girls, gelato at Venchi and truffle pasta from ZaZa in Florence, my sister’s high school graduation and some weather events (tornado=0; Lauren=1), many novel chapters, falling in love with D.C., and getting back into ballet.
All pictures I can conjure up with a quick swipe, tap, zoom. But nothing is ever as good as the actual moment.
I can’t conjure the smell of the Mediterranean, or the tears streaming down my face from laughing with my freshman roommate. I don’t have the means to go back and truly, physically live these moments over again. And I don’t think about living them until they are in the past.
I am constantly reminded by my mom to take each moment in. “You won’t have this million dollar ocean view for the rest of your life. So put your books down, get outside and enjoy it,” she has said to me over and over (this past weekend).
And moms always know best. It’s a fact of life.
It is easier said than done, but we have to remember that although grades and majors and such are important, they will fade away. The jokes, events and memories will be the things that truly last.
So we need to live in the moment. The actual true, tangible moment. Not behind a phone camera, but dwelling completely in it.
We should look around at Chapel and see the ocean. Grab coffee or lunch with our freshman year roommates. Send an email to the professor who taught the GE lab science in which we learned so much. Talk to Daisy and Rico when they hand us our coffees.
Be present. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but memories? Now those are absolutely priceless.
So, enjoy Pepperdine, my fellow Waves. Thanks for an amazing four years. Blessings and all my love, your friendly PGM Associate Editor.
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Follow Lauren on Twitter: @laurengilmore03