In this social media world we live in it’s easy to get caught up in our aesthetic. I don’t think that word was a part of my everyday vocabulary until about two or three years ago. In some ways it’s wonderful to be able to express exactly what you like so easily. It’s nice being able to control what kind of vibes you let off into the world.

But, this shift in how we’re presenting ourselves has lead us to keeping certain parts of ourselves ‘offline’ or just generally ‘out of sight’. I know I’ve faced this myself, having a great memory or picture but not wanting to post it because it doesn’t fit with my Instagram feed. Or even offline, finding a dress I really like and would wear but not buying it because I don’t know if it really meshes with my style.

We’re thinking way to much about our image, and we’re told to think about it constantly, the amount of blog posts I’ve seen telling people to stay “on brand” is obscene, because most of us who are reading aren’t brands at all, we’re human beings.

I work in marketing, I run a brands social media and while doing that it’s important to keep things consistent. A brand is backing a company, it’s backing a group of people and it’s mission statement. You are not a brand, even if your a blogger, you’re still a single human being. You can’t be so easily defined, and you shouldn’t be trying to be. Our complexities are what make us interesting, personal photos mixed in with our gorgeous galleries are normally enjoyed, and one of my favorite things about Instastories is that they’re normally so unedited.

So here is a reminder that you’re not a brand, you are way to complex to be labeled that simply. Everything you love doesn’t have to match your aesthetic, everything you post doesn’t have to keep to a theme.

These are our lives we’re living a recording, stop editing out the good parts.