I am Officially Instagram-Free (and Loving It)

Alisa Powell | Writer

Photo Credit: Alisa Powell

Never did I imagine that I would become so hooked on creating the perfect image of myself (literally and figuratively). Let me give you an idea of what my life was like up until last month:

First, I’d scroll on Pinterest until I’d found the perfect inspiration photo to recreate. Then, save that picture to my “Instagram” photo album where I organized and planned all my posts.

Next, the hard part, taking hundreds of pictures to get “the one” at a strategically chosen scenic location. That included buying the perfect outfit to match my color scheme and making sure my hair and makeup were as close to perfect, yet noticeable natural looking, as I could get it.

Once that was complete, I’d edit like crazy. Photoshop was my trusty partner in crime fighting pimples and pores. The last step was my favorite of all - Posting and captioning my work with something suave like,

“Effortless.”

There was no price too high for the perfect image. 

As ridiculous as that may sound, it was my reality. Ninety one percent of Gen Z has Instagram which means that reality may be largely shared.

I made the decision in February to become a nine-percenter. Beginning the journey of ridding myself of an obsession with perfection was as simple as hitting “delete.”

Though I am only a month into being Instagram-Free, I don’t think I'll ever go back.

Who knew life could be so #effortless?