Pradhi, Week 14 - Camera Roll

Monday, lunch. My friends constantly laugh and shout out about something funny that I did a few months ago. 

Tuesday, after school. My parents and I recall a vacation we went on a few years ago. 

Wednesday evening. I think to myself in my room about how much fun I had when I hung out with my friends at the beach that one time. 

All these different events in my life cut down to one simple thing: my camera roll. Whenever I'm bored or just sitting around, I find myself scrolling through my old pictures. In fact, this is exactly what I was doing yesterday evening when I got home from school instead of immediately starting my homework. 

It's so interesting how every piece of a memory that I've ever experienced, every single moment can be confined to just one app on a small rectangular device. But is it really that small? 13,369 photos and 1,038 videos can seem so miniature while casually scrolling. 

iOS 13 Photos Camera Roll Missing?: Check "All Photos" Section | Redmond Pie
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I know what you're probably thinking. "Is your memory really that bad that you need to rely on your camera roll to remember important events?" No, that's not it at all.  As I said earlier, I can reminisce just on my own, or with a friend or family member. But this isn't just about recollection. 

Maybe it's just me but deep diving in my camera roll is almost like I am reliving those exact events. I find myself smiling as I see my parents' smiles in a picture from seven years ago. Or laughing along to an old video of my friends and I filming something that at the time, seemed completely unreasonable to use up camera storage for, but in a year when I go to college will probably be the most valuable video to remember my high school life by. 

I may not know where exactly I'll be by the end of next year, but I know exactly what I'll be doing. Sitting in a comfortable spot somewhere, endlessly scrolling through my camera roll, laughing (and possibly cringing) at the pictures and videos I took this year. 


Comments

  1. AmritaApril 15, 2024 at 12:20 PM

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  2. AmritaApril 15, 2024 at 12:21 PM

    Hi Pradhi! I totally resonate with this blog. I really like that you captured the value of a photo in this. Sometimes, if I'm taking a picture in a given moment, I'll catch myself ridiculing myself and thinking, "Put your phone away and live in the moment." In fact, usually whenever my mom drags our family into group pictures for her Facebook, I say that exact phrase to her or get annoyed internally. The reality is that a photo and memory are different. As humans, our memories are not 100% reliable. As much as we can recall larger, general details easily, with a moment in time comes small details that only a frozen image of that moment can remind us of. Photos just bring something different to the table entirely. To be able to look at an image and insert yourself back into the moment with each detail available to you is something worth appreciating on its own. Thank you for your blog!

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  3. Prathithi NellaiappanApril 16, 2024 at 8:40 PM

    Hey Pradhi! I am so excited that you wrote about this topic since it is something I very much relate to. One of my favorite pastimes is scrolling through my camera roll (all the way back to 2006) to see every part of my life again. Like you said, I do not necessarily need my phone to “remember important events” but it helps to have funny pictures or videos that are attached to the memory. I have 673 videos and 4,001 pictures just from the past 2 years. I take pictures during EVERY possible moment. Some of my friends ask why I take so many but I know that in a couple of years, each photo I take now will allow me to cherish my high school years.
    The image you included of the photo app on iPhones instantly intrigued me and led me to click on your blog. I love the formatting of your blog because it allows me to easily read it. The first couple sentences you included are extremely short and are separated by line spacing which makes it more digestible for the reader. Also, I love your use of rhetorical questions to address possible counterarguments from the readers. Overall, I loved your blog and I hope to read more relatable writing next week!

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  4. Mansi MittalApril 17, 2024 at 9:43 PM

    Hi Pradhi, coincidentally, I just finished a dive through my seemingly never ending camera roll, and it’s crazy how much I can resonate with your blog. I think it’s pretty sweet how we can carry our entire life in our back pocket, and how our camera roll serves as the trigger down memory lane. It’s interesting to look back at pictures and not only reminisce but also realize how much we’ve changed. I was just looking at a picture from 9th—from when they take that picture on top of the roller coaster before the drop—and I think my fear of drops like that was pretty apparent with the way my eyes were glued shut and I was squeezing the hand of my best friend next to me. Yet, I think it’s safe to say that from that day on I’ve come to actually enjoy the thrill of roller coasters. Even more than change, there’s simply so much in a picture than just that picture, and I really like the way you phrase looking at a picture as “reliving those exact events.” From that one roller coaster picture I remember our entire Great America trip, especially how my friend resorted to chasing me down around the park before she successfully put me on that ride, and we were laughing the whole time. Honestly, the beauty of pictures, and the beauty of memories, is that they are ours to keep forever. Money circulates from hand to hand, friends change, we grow up and move forward, and we lose the things that we once had—but the memories are the souvenirs of the moment that we hold onto. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your blog this week, thanks!

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