Citing our Experiences: Documenting our Lives

My favorite picture from my 33rd birthday:
A selfie of a selfie of a selfie

The New York Times published an Op-Ed on Sunday, entitled "The Documented Life." The author, Sherry Turkle, uses the article to examine our current obsession with "screen time" and the impact said time has on our lives. Ms. Turkle cites President Obama's recent selfie kerfuffle at Nelson Mandela's Memorial Service as an example of how our need to document our every thought and our every move might be making our appreciation of moments a bit shallow.

An as avid consumer of online media, this article gave me pause. The fact that I found this article through a link on a friend's Facebook page also contributed to my aforementioned ruminations (apparently today is $5 word day in Holly's world). After a great deal of thought, I've reached a few conclusions, and, in the grand internet tradition, I present them below in a fabulous list format.

1. Screen time enables lifelong learning.
I am a lifelong learner. I consider a day in which I don't learn something new as a wasted day. I often find myself pulling up Google on my phone, my tablet, or my computer, searching something I've just read or seen or heard. To borrow from Ms. Turkle, I might be the woman at the Lincoln Memorial with my phone out. I might be searching something about Lincoln's life, the ramifications of his actions, or his long-term impact on our country. Or I might be making a note to do a more detailed search on a specific Lincoln-motivated subject when I have more time.

2. Pictures tell the best stories.
When I was five, my parents loaded my brother and me into the backseat of our Honda Civic hatchback and, together, we set out on a four week exploration of the American West. Armed with my brand-new camera, I set about documenting our adventure, as only a five-year-old can. I had the first roll of film taken before we turned off our road. For weeks, we explored purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain. We saw Old Faithful, Mt. Rushmore, the Tetons, the Bad Lands, and so many more iconic American destinations. And for all that adventure and all those sites, can you guess which photos are most often shared? Photos of the back of my dad's head as we pulled out of the driveway. Pictures of my brother pretending to be a dinosaur in front of, well, anything he happened to be in front of. Portraits of my beloved stuffed cat, Spot, posed in front of majestic landscapes or our little family car. These are the images that spark our memories, invoke our emotions, and, ultimately, detail our family's Western Odyssey. I can promise you, had our family adventure taken us to the Lincoln Memorial, our photo album would include a picture of a plush feline posed in front of our venerable 16th President, accompanied by another photo of a three-year-old boy, claws up and fangs bared, ready to trample all over any predator, from the Cretaceous period or otherwise, who would dare threaten Honest Abe.

3. Restricting screen time and modeling responsible screen time are two different things.
I cannot imagine pulling out my phone when I'm sitting at my parents' (or grandparent's) dining room table. It's not because I've been forbidden from using my phone. I could probably live-tweet dinner with Grandma and no one would argue with me. Well, maybe my poor Twitter followers. No, my family wouldn't blink at my phone being at the table. But my phone would never be at the table. I've been taught, more like raised, to understand that dinner time is family time and few things are as important as family. Furthermore, I'm lucky enough to work in a field in which nothing I do is so critical that it can't wait an hour. As a result of my upbringing, I know how to put down my screen(s) and enjoy face time with those I love. Do I tweet over lunch? Sometimes. Do I text with one person while talking to another? Occasionally. But when it matters, when it's more important for me to be in the room than online, I naturally put down the phone and pick up the conversation. That's how I was raised, no restrictions necessary.

I think the point of my response is to remind Ms. Turkle, and anyone else, that a photo, a Tweet, or a status update represent a moment in time and not the cumulative impact of the experience.

Does my selfie in front of a movie marquee lessen my enjoyment of the movie?
Nope.

Does my status update about my favorite musician's music being integrated into my favorite television show lessen my appreciation for either?
Not at all.

And does the picture of President Obama posing for a selfie with Prime Minister Cameron and Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt represent the sum total of the president's experience at Nelson Mandela's Memorial Service?
Absolutely not.

No one but that individual can judge the impact of an experience. What our pictures and updates, texts and tweets, do is share that experience in the hopes to also share the impact. 

An expression of gratitude

Yesterday I launched my Etsy Store, Holly's Hobby. My store features jewelry made by a girl who loves glitter. It's a store dedicated to reminding people to always sparkle. 

Holly's Hobby is a line of jewelry that embraces run-down, broken, and forgotten jewelry and works to incorporate its parts into new, beautiful pieces. The dichotomy of old and new, reclaimed and repurposed, leads to unique works of which I am immeasurably proud. 

So yesterday I launched my store. 
And today I am overrun with gratitude. 

Thin slices of agate,
suspended by thin gold wires

I'm sitting here in my sparkly boots, my sparkly hat, and my sparkly pants (I did say I'm a girl who loves glitter), and I am deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support I've gotten from my friends and family. 

I don't know if you know how scary it is to take something you've made and launch it onto the internet where anyone with wifi can see, review, and comment on it. Doubts and insecurities ran through my mind as I got ready to hit "publish." 

Doubtful thoughts plagued me: 
What happens if no one likes your craft? 
What if your efforts, your time, your passion, are ignored? 
What if no one cares that you have decided to share your craft with them? 


So yesterday I launched my store. 
And today I am wrapping purchases and getting ready to ship them out. 

Purple quartz and slate,
finished with Swarovski crystal clasp

My projects launched on the internet yesterday. And my friends and my family immediately jumped in to support the launch. They liked the Facebook page. They favorited my Etsy store. They pinned my pieces. And they purchased my craft. I was - and still am - so overwhelmed each time a notification came up, telling me someone else had supported my work. 

Am I feeling validated? Sure. 
But, more importantly, I'm feeling loved. 
And I want to return that love. 

So thank you to the greatest friends and family a girl who loves glitter could possibly have. 

And to those of you who have already made a purchase (or are planning to), I want to thank you. Thank you so much for believing in me and my work. I hope you enjoy your gifts as much as I've enjoyed making them. 

Thank you so very much.

Merry Christmas. 
Happy New Years.


And above all else, don't forget to sparkle. 

Giving Tuesday, Giving Back

You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday - two days for getting "good deals." Well, today, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is Giving Tuesday.

Giving Tuesday is a national movement, committed to hosting a dedicated day where people can give back to their favorite causes. Driven by social media, Giving Tuesday uses the power of the individual and collective voice to raise awareness and dollars for the transformative organizations in our community.

Today, in honor of Giving Tuesday, I am donating all of my social media to Girl Scouts of Central Indiana. Now I know what you're thinking: "Holly, you work for them. You have to."

True, I do work for Girl Scouts of Central Indiana and my job is to help raise money for the organization. However, that's not why I chose to donate my own networks. The reason is much greater.

I have been a Girl Scout for 26 years and am a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient. For those of you who don't know, the Girl Scout Gold Award is the highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. The award teaches a girl to pursue her passions and translate those passions into action.

While I usually tell other girls' and women's Girl Scout stories, today I'd like to share my own Girl Scout Gold Award story with you.

When I was 13, my grandfather was in a serious car accident, which left him quadriplegic and placed him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I, along with the rest of my family, was irrevocably changed by this moment. I became hyperaware of handicap accessibility and disability awareness issues in my community. So much so, that I became a Program Aide through the Girl Scouts and traveled around our council teaching younger girls disability awareness.  

As I entered high school and it came time for me to select a Gold Award project, my grandfather's accident and the girls who I had taught about disability awareness were fresh in my mind. I was passionate about accessibility issues and youth development. So I merged the two passions into one project - a handicap-accessible play ground.

Over the next two years, I designed, secured funding for, and eventually (with lots of help) built a handicap accessible play ground. There are very few moments in my life that compare to the pride I felt as the final pieces of the playground were going in the ground. I was particularly excited about Pedro, a bouncing parrot spring animal.

Fifteen years later, my playground still stands and thousands of children have benefitted from its presence. It still warms my heart to see girls racing across the open meadow, to swing on the swings, glide on the glider, bounce on the spring animal, and test their coordination on a maze of steps.

My Girl Scout Gold Award helped me hone skills that have served me well into adulthood. My project taught me time management, problem solving, conflict resolution, and organization. The project coaxed me out of my introverted shell and enabled me to articulate my passion and the action necessary to act on that passion.

Today, I am a Girl Scout Gold Award advisor. I have had the honor of advising girls whose projects and passions have ranged from environmentalism to cancer research, hunger relief to teen suicide.

The impact each Girl Scout Gold Award recipient has on her community is a credit to her passion and to the program.

I am so proud to be a Girl Scout.

And I am so proud to support Girl Scouts of Central Indiana today on Giving Tuesday.