Yesterday, I had an interesting discussion with a friend. He's one of those people who can fake a smile for the lenses in a split second. We were talking about pictures of mutual friends when the discussion shifted to me and my dearth of pictures. He thinks it's sad that I am camera-averse because he foresees it will be very difficult for me to reminisce once I get older. And so I began to think about why I avoid getting my pictures taken in the first place:
1. I am very conscious of my appearance. It bothers me a heck lot when I see random dirt or lint on people and so I sometimes spend an accumulated half an hour a day fixing myself in front of the mirror. And I don't usually look perfect in photos.
2. I think pictures are unfair in that they can stretch an ungraceful instant into an eternity. And I'm a rather clumsy person.
3. Pictures are dangerous in that a single picture of you chugging beer up your behind can permanently rob you of job prospects.
4. I also worry about the things people can do with a single photo. I have seen people's addresses found because of a lanyard they were wearing when the photo was taken or a sticker at the back of their car. And I feel really uncomfortable not knowing what people know about me.
And then I realised all of these cannot wholly account for my overwhelming aversion to having my pictures taken. Now I'm at a tipping point and I need a nudge.
I have grown socially very quickly these past few weeks because I have been forcing myself to participate in my uni's activities. And part of me thinks that shedding my camera shyness is a step in the right direction. So Hubski, why should I force myself to appear in pictures?