• LAURA ADNEY
    • ABOUT
    • services
    • FAQ
    • PRESS
    • Disclosures
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Tools
  • outfits
  • MOTHERHOOD
  • TRAVEL
  • + more
    • AT HOME
    • BEAUTY + HAIR
    • DIY
    • EVENTS
    • GIFT GUIDES
    • HEALTH + FITNESS
    • LABEL FOR LESS
  • SHOP LUXURY RESALE
  • CONTACT

Have Need Want

fashion & lifestyle blog

Filtering Your Life Through Instagram

May 13, 2015

FacebookTwitterPinterestMixEmail

IMG_9225

Before I begin, I’d like to apologize in advance for the length of this post. I had a hard time putting into words my feelings on this topic without going into some length. I hope you will read till the end as I feel the message is important.

We all love social media and for me Instagram is my favorite. I love looking at pretty pictures and gathering inspiration from others, but is social media causing depression in todays youth?

I read a story the other day that really touched me. Not because I am depressed or have ever battled depression but because I could relate to her story. As a young adult I struggled for a while after having to make what seemed to me like the hardest decision I would ever make in my life. I was an athlete; ballet was my life. I spent my whole life up to that point training, stretching, practicing discipline, going to ballet class, watching my weight, going to ballet class, performing, rehearsing, watching what I ate, stretching and training some more. I was a perfectionist even though I was far from perfect, but I wanted to be perfect. I was good in school but ballet was my focus and everything I did revolved around ballet. Every decision I made I thought how would or could this effect my career as a ballet dancer. To give you some perspective, I stopped skiing when I was ten for the fear of injuring myself and not being able to dance again. I quite diving, though I was really good at it, because I didn’t want to loose focus or take time away from time I could be taking a ballet class, or practicing at home. In high school I partied but not that much because I had ballet class and rehearsals during the week and on the weekends and did not want to have an off day for fear I may not get the role I was dreaming of. At 17 I deferred going to college to pursue a career in ballet, a professional career that only lasted a year and a half due to an injury. No matter how much physical therapy or medication I could not mask the pain I felt. So shortly before my 19th birthday I came to the realization this pain wasn’t going to go away no matter how hard I wished for it to go away, how many chiropractors and doctors I saw, how many pills I took, or alternative forms of therapy I tried. This was the decision I struggled with, the decision that it was time to give up ballet and find my next dream to pursue.

Screen Shot 2015-05-13 at 7.26.56 AM

I say all this because while this was such a difficult decision for me and the months after I moved home were tough, while I had some doubts and wondered if I should find someone other than my parents to talk to, and after my mom found a couple people I could meet with, in the end I didn’t need to. I also didn’t have someone else’s filtered life to compare mine to. What do I mean by this? I didn’t have curated filtered images of other seemingly perfect peoples lives to remind myself that I wasn’t living the life I had dreamed of. Yes there was MySpace and Facebook but back then, at least for me, it was used only as a way to communicate with friends who were away at different colleges. I shared pictures and posted on my wall but not in the way I use it now. Now Instagram and Facebook are an extension of my blog. I have a dedicated Facebook page for Have Need Want and I share images and articles and products that I feel you all would be interested in. It’s a way to show a glimpse of what I write on my blog. And then there’s Instagram. I post outfit pictures, food, what I’m doing now, home projects, and much more. I curate images and quotes, it’s almost like a mini version of my blog. While I don’t really use any of the Instagram filters, I do take time in taking the pictures that I post either on the go with my iPhone or pictures I take with my Canon Rebel and upload to my phone to share. This is my filtered life. Rarely do I snap a pic of my disorganized house during the week. Yes, my husband and I pick up after ourselves, (we’re not total slobs people) but there definitely are nights where we’re just too tired or busy to tidy up all the way before going to bed. I’ve been known to push aside the clutter just outside of the frame of my lens for a picture then push it back once I’m satisfied with the picture I post on Instagram (isn’t this crazy!).

IMG_9341

Are these types of behaviors causing someone else to get down themselves? or aid in their pain? This of course couldn’t be farther from my intention and I could only imagine it’s the same for all of you reading along with me. My life is far from perfect and actually it’s not even all that exciting, at least not all the time, but it’s my life and I enjoy sharing it. When choosing the pictures I post on Instagram, Facebook, or my blog, I aim to inspire and uplift women not cast a shadow or make someone jealous. I scroll through peoples Instagram feeds and sometimes can’t help but wish my life was like some of the accounts I follow. Their lives look so perfect, they travel all the time, their home is always spotless, they always have new clothes…you get the point. It’s hard to imagine though that a feed of carefully curated images, such as those, could be aiding in someone else’s sadness but then I am not in a state of mind or can even comprehend what that might feel like.

chambray insta

Just remember that “even people you think are perfect are going through something difficult.” It just might not be the same as your own.

I get stressed, frustrated, upset, annoyed, and at times jealous but at the end of the day I am a happy person. The purpose of me sharing this story with you all is, if any of you are depressed or are feeling low and thinking life will not get better for you, I’m here to reassure you that it will and it’s “Ok to not be Ok.” The hardest obstacles in life can be overcome even if at the time it doesn’t seem possible. It’s also “Ok to show people you’re not Ok.” It’s ok to share your feelings. The people around you, who love you will appreciate it, trust me!

I know this post is far from what I normally talk about but I felt compelled to write this and I hope you all can take something away from this. Madison’s story touched me and I truly hope that those who need help can feel it’s ok to get help and those who don’t understand can have compassion and empathy.

Thank you for stopping by the blog today and for reading this post!

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Related

FacebookTwitterPinterestMixEmail

Related posts:

  1. Weekend Highlight: Unplugged.
  2. When Life Gives You Lemons
  3. Have Need Want
  4. How to Find Balance Between Mom Life and Work Life

7 Comments
Filed Under: Lifestyle

« Red, White, and Sheer
Garden Green »
Welcome to the blog! My name is Laura Adney and I am a stay at home mom to my sons Mason James and Cooper Ford. Fashion has always been a passion of mine and I love to share my personal style, lifestyle, motherhood, travel adventures, and more! Visit my about page to learn more and thank you so much for stopping by!

Subscribe to

SHOP MY CURATED LUXURY RESALE SHOP!

Privacy

By using this website, and entering your email and name to comment or subscribe, you agree to our privacy policy. You can read our privacy policy here.

Instagram

SHOP THE FEED

Top Posts

Safari Themed Nursery

Beautiful outdoor spaces to help inspire you to elevate your outdoor living. #outdoorspaces #outdooroasis #outdoorliving

Beautiful Outdoor Living Spaces

Fall decor and home inspiration on Have Need Want! Rounding up my current Fall home inspiration to help you get into the season! #fallhomedecor #fall #homeinspiration #homedecor

Favorite Fall Decor and Interior Inspiration

Amazing Amazon Fashion Finds All Under $30! Head over to the blog to check out all my finds!! #amazonfashion #tryonhaul #tryonsession #amazontryonhaul #amazonfinds #fashionunder30 #affordablefashion #affordablespringfashion

Amazing Amazon Fashion Finds All Under $30!

LaseMD Laser Facial Treatment, Laser Skincare Treatment, Refined Dermatology, Bay Area Skincare, Have Need Want

LaseMD Laser Facial Treatment

Let’s Work Together

laura@have-need-want.com
Serious inquiries only. Please note I do not accept products or services in exchange for coverage.

Where I shop

Abercrombie & Fitch

Amazon

ASOS

Bohemian Mama

Burts Bees Baby

Daily Harvest

Express

Hanna Andersson

H&M

Kohl's

Macy's

Minted

Murad

Net-A-Porter

Nordstrom

Nordstrom Rack

Revolve Clothing

Ritual

Sephora

Shopbop

SOMA

Spearmint Love

Splendid

Target

Tarte

The Container Store

The RealReal

The Styled Collection

Ulta Beauty

Walmart

Wayfair

Disclosure

Have Need Want is a part of several affiliate advertising programs. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or any related social media platforms (including twitter, facebook and pinterest), I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase. To read my full disclosure go here.

All opinions are my own and I only share brands with you that I love.

Cooper is always reminding me to enjoy the littles Cooper is always reminding me to enjoy the littlest things in life, like stomping around in small puddles.
This reel has been sitting in drafts for far too l This reel has been sitting in drafts for far too long. Making homemade play dough! I got the recipe from @mothercould. Mason and Cooper love playing with play dough and now they’ve got more than enough to share!!
A surprise package arrived from @playsmol and sinc A surprise package arrived from @playsmol and since the sun came out today we got to finally unbox it!! It’s their latest collab and we couldn’t love it more! @ryleeandcru is one of my favorite clothing brands to buy for the boys. Use code: LAURAADNEY for $30 off your purchase!! #playsmol #dreambigplaysmol #bouncehouse #modernbouncehouse #ryleeandcru #sunnyday #sunnydayfun #matchingmatching #matchyoutfit
You and me, it’s a forever kind of thing! #bes You and me, it’s a forever kind of thing! 

#bestfriends4ever #brothers #bigbrolittlebro #bearvalleyadventurecompany #bearvalley #bearvalleyresort
Photo dump from our vacation up in Bear Valley! Ha Photo dump from our vacation up in Bear Valley! Had so much fun in the snow with the fam. Just wish we could have stayed a day or two longer!! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine’s Day!
A short recap of yesterday’s fun in the snow ❄ A short recap of yesterday’s fun in the snow ❄️ We’ve already hit the kiddy slopes today for Mason to learn how to ski 🎿 and I’ve been chasing Cooper all around the lodge.

Copyright © 2023 Have Need Want · Site design by Lennox Creative Co.

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.
You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Have Need Want
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Additional Cookies

This website uses the following additional cookies:

(Rewardstyle affiliate links)

Please enable Strictly Necessary Cookies first so that we can save your preferences!

Cookie Policy

More information about our Cookie Policy