TimeHop is a cool app. If you haven't gotten it, it's definitely worth a look. The idea is that you connect all your social media stuff to the app, and every day it will dig up all your old posts from that specific day of the year. It goes as far back as it can.
One thing I think is really neat is the fact that when I check my TimeHop for things I've posted prior to 2015 I'm often left thinking, "Funny. I was just thinking about that earlier today." Maybe my mind is just a seasonal thing, or maybe time really is cyclical. That's a point for a later date.
Another thing that fascinates me is that I can track what I thought was important to share with the world at any given time. Six years ago, my post from a couple days ago was, "Natalie Barillaro just finished her history paper! Time for some cookies." Now all I post are memes and photos of fortune cookies and shameless promotions for the Dramatic Society (Come see the show! 4/9-4-11 at DeBaun!!).
In 2015, the essay post probably wouldn't have existed unless there were some extraordinary circumstances surrounding the completion of that history paper. Perhaps in 2015 it would look something like, "I sat down to write my history paper, but half of Stevens was on fire. Put the fire out, still handed my paper in before the deadline #yourewelcome." (Yes, hashtag included).
I feel foolish when I see my posts from the 2009-2011 era (I call them the Dark Years). They were stupid and uninformative to everyone else reading them in the moment. But you know what? In a way, 2015 Natalie is kind of glad that they exist. Back before we knew what to do with social media, we were content to share the dumbest, simplest things with the rest of the world because they were important to us, or because they made us happy. Now most of us know that our primary function on social media is to serve as entertainment for our vast circle(s) of friends, so that's lost on us. I look back in my TimeHop and I find a small gratitude journal. I had cookies on March 23, 2009. I went for a really nice walk the day before. The weather turned nice and I took a picture of the clouds a few days ago in 2010.
So what have I learned? I want to start writing down all the small things that happen to me daily, but not on Facebook where everyone will see and no one will care. If only there was an anti-social media network where I could post all the little things only I cared about. And then I could integrate it with TimeHop and relive these tiny happy things forever.
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