Your Welcome

Gifts! You like to receive them but you may or may not like to give them. Whether you hate giving gifts or it is your favorite thing to do, we all have to give gifts multiple times a year; birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and every time you post on social media…. Wait, what? Let me explain. In class Friday, we discussed gift giving and why we do it. When you give a gift, you will want something in return for it. We do not live in a world where nothing is free, not even our kindness. Which is sad, because I love gift giving and I always thought of it as a unselfish act.  But now that I am reflecting on it, I always do want something in return. And it isn't big things I want; I do not want a gift from you but I do want your thanks, appreciation, and happiness. Nothing is worse than putting so much effort into a gift and for the person not to like it. Some people do expect a bigger gift back than just gratitude; they want something that will match their gift. Either way, gift giving is just a little different for me now after yesterday's lesson. (Thanks Vrooman). I think this comes from our society's way of thinking that we do not want to owe anybody. We feel that if somebody gives you something, that you have to hurry and “pay” them back.  This is so you do not owe them or they cant use that on you at later times. For example, one of my best friends from high school and I will go out to eat and go to the movies when we hang out. We always take turns paying for each other. If I pay for the meal, she will leave the tip. If she gets the movie tickets, then I will buy the concessions. It's a never ending cycle that we don't break because we are always trying to pay each other back. This has turned into a huge joke between us.

So now that you have a little bit of an understanding on why gifts are given sometimes, I want to bring the topic of social media and gift giving. I do not use social media that much. I know I have said this probably way too much in this class already, but it's true. It's not because I don't like social media, it's just I don't really like posting. This year I made a resolution to post more so my extended family can see what I am up to. Of course, the easiest and most convenient way is to share is on social media. One thing that I think everyone should know about me is that when I post a picture or make a post, it's pretty important because I rarely ever post.  But I know it makes my extended family happy to see what’s going on with me.. So when I do post sometimes, I do not necessarily post because I want to, but because I think that it will make other people happy. Your Welcome for posting is basically all I am trying to say. Just kidding, I'm not that self centered and I do not think my post are really a present to my family, but I do find some truth that sometimes I do post because I know that picture will make people happy. If posting a simple picture of my life brings anybody a smile, then it’s worth it. Do not take my lack of effort with posting my social media updates to determine the love I have for my family.  Because honestly if were to look at the quality of my instagram postings, you would might think that I do not care. And truth be told, I really didn't when I thought it was just social media; but now that I see it was a small gesture that brings happiness to my family life, I feel a little less pathetic to be honest.

What really make a social media great though? Does it have to have a theme? Do your pictures have to get a lot of likes? Is there a ratio of posed pictures and candids? Is it the quality of the picture? Or is it  how much you post? I think I am the only one who judges my accounts based on those things because my family doesn't; they probably do not even know what any of those things even mean. They are just happy that they get to see pictures of me. They feel that they are involved in my life when they get to see pictures of it. I should not stress if my pictures aren't the best or if they are posed or not, because at the end of the day, at least I am posting and my family is getting to see that I am enjoying my life is a pure way.