Summer Reflection #40: First Looks

Photos are a great way to track the passage of time.

We bought a letter board last year that sits in Smallsteps room with various messages on it throughout the year. But it was bought as a prop for a photograph on the first and the last day of the school years, so we can see how she changes over time. At some point, I assume her hair will be dyed black, with bone-white makeup, and heavy eyeliner.

At least she will match the board.


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But I am looking forward to seeing how this pans out long-term, because when life is lived together daily, a lot is missed through the slight incremental daily changes that take place. While I didn't think "that much" had changed over the last year, the pictures below from the first day of school last year, tell a different story.


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She has slightly less bunny fluff.

But still enough.

While I have taken lots of photos over the years, I do wish I had done some more series of pictures, so I could do a timelapse in the future. While I dislike selfies, I also wish I had started taking pictures of my own face, like one every month. It would have made for a pretty interesting view over a couple of decades and perhaps show some more nuance than what I have now, which is random pictures years apart. I do look very different - starkly so perhaps.

But, we all do, right?

I was just talking to my wife this morning about how people age and how silly it is to really worry that much about looks, because if we tie our identity to the way we look, we lose ourselves over time. I get why those Hollywood actors get so much surgery to "maintain" their youth, but when they look in the mirror, do they see themselves?

I have been thinking about if I would, and I don't think so. I reckon that while I might not like all the changes that take place, once altering those changes and inserting features that aren't mine naturally, I would become more critical. Perhaps this is why the stars end up so messed up, because they start to judge their own faces, as if they belong to someone else entirely.

Looks have always been important to our species, but I think that now, looks have taken precedence over skills. Rather than looking to improve ourselves to make us valuable, we try to improve our looks to look the part of value. This is of course driven by market supply too, because improving personal skills makes less money for corporations, than selling looking the part.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]



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15 comments
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I can say that she got brunette in a year 😄

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She has always been brunette, but it depends on how much summer sun she gets. Last year, we were in Croatia a few weeks earlier, so it got a bit lighter :)

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At some point, I assume her hair will be dyed black, with bone-white makeup, and heavy eyeliner.

Is that just a Finnish thing or does she already have an interest in the goth subculture? :) I think Hive has given me the opportunity to take more photos of myself than I might have previously. It's crazy how young I used to look! Time is not kind at all.

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Is that just a Finnish thing or does she already have an interest in the goth subculture? :)

No interest yet - but Finland is one of the places where the 80s survives and thrives! :D

Is that just a Finnish thing or does she already have an interest in the goth subculture? :)

Perhaps it could be even worse if there was no pictures at all.

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Very interesting! Sounds like my kind of place! My wife and I often talk about how few pictures we have of us together. We don't have kids, so I am not sure who would look at them when we are gone anyway.

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They have a "once popular, always popular" mentality :)

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Up until recently I was sensitive to the way I looked nowadays with my cane and greyness. BUt then realized nobody is paying damn attention anyway. To busy with their phones and own self centered lives.

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BUt then realized nobody is paying damn attention anyway. To busy with their phones and own self centered lives.

Exactly! Soon you can just walk around naked, and no one will see.

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I wish I had already begun to take pictures of my face every month or every quarter
I’d at least be able to track my growth
I wish her success in this session

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Smallsteps: Thus begins the journey into a world of adulthood, with the hope that in that future you will excel and that your efforts will reward you with the best things in life. A hug full of blessings.

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They grow up pretty fast - at least some of them.

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Dear @tarazkp !
I felt that as she grew up, she became stronger and wiser like you!

I thought you would live healthy until she was 60!

I wonder what kind of man she will meet and marry!😃

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I hope she meets someone far better than me

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Hello,
Thank you @tarazkp you have made me feel the beauty of keeping records of how I age over the years. I have mostly been apathetic to taking pictures. But like you "suggested" it wouldn't hurt to take a selfie once every month.
I guess I will try that. I am still a bit young mid-twenties I can still do something.

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That's a pretty cool thing to do. My sister did something similar with her daughter. She would take a picture of her daughter on her birthday, next to a big stuffed toy. It was pretty cool to see the difference.

It is really sad to see people not want to age naturally. Seeing those beautiful stars use botox and look like monsters after a few years is such a waste.

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