#this was supposed to be a five sentence post max oops lol

[rubiatinctorum]

Photo albums should come back in a huge way. Think about it. We have so many photographs these days of so many of the fun things we do, and places we go, and people we love. It's pretty much easier than ever to take pictures. And, they're quick and easy to get developed, too. The kiosk charges, what 55 cents a picture? Maybe not even that? And it prints in seconds. Which makes it really easy to start building a photo album collection.

Older people have told me of back in their day, when photo film was expensive and photos took a long time to be developed. We don't have those restrictions anymore babey!!!!!!!!!111!!!!1! I like digital photography, and the ability to back up photos in lots of places. But, for all the photos we take these days, what will be the evidence in our homes of them? Lots of older people I know have at least one photo album. And photos in frames, too. I see the homes of people my age sometimes, and I don't see very many photos at all.

And then if more people made photo albums we could show our friends our pictures!!!!! :D I fantasize about showing people my photo album and I love looking at other people's photo albums and learning about their lives <3

"Rubia, my friends show me pictures already, and it's awkward as hell" listen I get it no one likes standing like an NPC while their friend searches forever through their phone, and you try not to look at the screen because it seems rude. BUT this is a specially curated book!!! You can turn the pages!!!! every page has something to see!!!!

And like it feels different than social media to me. Lots of social media is "look what I just did" but photo albums feel timeless. Photos from years ago. Photos from last week. Photos from this afternoon. All together, arranged personally. And you don't have to worry about accidentally double-tapping anything and then looking like a stalker lol. Instagram doesn't really feel like show-and-tell the way photo albums do

I hadn't really kept a photo album for years until I found one in the thrift store that looks just like my parents' photo album. I'd never seen another one like it before (they're not the exact same album lol I've seen them in the same room before). I thought it was so special, I might as well get it, and if I have it, I might as well put pictures in it.

I have spent HOURS playing photo album. I get to select pictures to print. Then I get to go on a walk to the store to go print them. Then I get to write captions on the back of all of them!!! And arrange them in ways that I think thematically work together!!!! And flip through them! And imagine in my mind I'm telling people all of this cool stuff in the pictures!!! And thinking of fond memories of places and people in the photos!!!!!!!!

I love my photo album. And it also inspires me to go out more, and visit different places in the city I don't really go to otherwise. Botanical garden. Cool ass tower on the tourism hill. Picnic in the park to do some writing. Anything is possible. It's also all very cheap (in part because I am a leech using my student ID to get into the botanical garden despite having graduated already).

It's also great for like, remembering that life is good. When things are difficult, and especially when grief sets in, it's hard to remember that sometimes. It's hard to imagine good things will happen again. But, looking at the photo album, it reminds me that a fun day can be going somewhere nearby and looking at the pretty plants and water, or getting up to nonsense with my sibling, or knitting, or writing, or anything. Life is good, and it will be good some more.

And, it makes me miss my favourite place a little less. I can look at the photos in print, and I can imagine I'm there again, and I can see years and years of joy there in photos.