On Documenting

Documenting has a strange power.

The power to immortalize, to archive, and to bear witness.

It has the power to both strengthen memory and alter it.

Memories evolve. New details come to light. Associated emotions shift in warmth or intensity.

They become a living part of you.

Memories let us find solace in quiet moments of reflection and peace.

With every photo, journal entry, or keepsake, you capture a fleeting moment

preserving it as an entry in the grand narrative of your existence.

I'll never be able to recreate a moment exactly as it happened,

but what I can do is record it and place it in context,

allowing myself to look at the bigger picture.

How it felt, how I remembered it, and how I want it to be remembered.

When I look back at it, I can feel time start to slow down.

The days snap into focus.

The weeks and months feel fuller and more alive.

I feel like I got something back.

Like I outwitted time or something—at least for a little while.