Back when I was just starting to explore the internet circa my early highschool days, I used to look for avenues where I could express myself. I would move from journal to journal, prepping each with whatever Photoshop skills (read: headers, banners, buttons, background wallpapers, you name it) I had at the time, only to leave every one of them in a state of abandonment every time I lost interest in updating. But whatever I wrote, I wrote with much effort and enthusiasm, with every ounce of conviction and childlike innocence.
Then I fell in love with taking pictures.
It was by chance that I was looking through the deviantART favorites page of one of my favorite artists when I hit upon a cosplay photo of Jin Joson and company. I was quite amused and awestruck as to how anyone could pull off cosplay photos so masterfully, like they were ripped from a screencap of a series or something. Subsequently, I found myself anticipating Jin’s journal entries on dA, reading about the Tuxedo Team’s antics during shoots or conventions, noting all the tips on cosplay photography and cosplaying in general. But as I read more and more, I soon began skipping all the writing on cosplay, and just found myself staring intently at the random photosets Jin would always post at the end of her entries. These photos would range from flower gardens to fishponds, landscapes to sunsets, and even the mundane train commutes and electric lines in the early morning.
Fastforward to circa 2012, where everyone is easily bored of huge chunks of text that have nothing to do with their lives whatsoever, and where everyone is easily distracted by pretty pictures of fluffy furballs and that luscious pair of overpriced heels. If it’s not visually appealing (or visual, period), it’s bound to be blatantly ignored.
And I say this because it has happened to me. Not that condensing things is generally a bad thing, because, admit it, not everyone has time to read or write so much anymore and the world is certainly a busier place now.
But I realize that as much as pictures exist to make us remember, words are just as valuable to help us not to forget. They work hand in hand to piece memories that consist not only of faces, but also of names; not only of conversations, but also of stories.
To preserve feelings and to relive moments. To find an escape in the middle of hectic schedules and harsh realities. It is for these that I want to write again.
