Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Unedited Thoughts

Today I had a small frustration with the blog world…I was checking up on a blog and found out about a new online magazine called Matchstick and decided to check it out. Great! new design ideas and photos, right? In the letter from the editors, they write that they started the magazine to help women design a life they love. Something about the phrase really hit me wrong. I started thinking about all these vintage lifestyle blogs that follow girls that seem to have the perfect life. I had this thought … these bloggers are sending messages to “design your perfect life that you will love” you will have to have these amazing clothes, design your home just like these 1950’s photos, wear red lipstick, bake cupcakes, ride old bikes with baskets, and write your friends letters on expensive letterpress stationary.

It’s not that I don’t like these things, I do like riding bikes, I like new clothes, and I like vintage design. But I don’t want to ever get stuck into thinking that my life has to be perfectly designed for me to love it. Our world can be so materialistic sometimes especially in the design industry. It is so easy to get caught up into thinking that if only I had the perfect wardrobe, the perfect house, the perfect wedding etc. then I would be happy and life would be good. It is quite the opposite, design and material things are just a cherry on top. What makes a happy life is your family, your relationships, your hobbies, your faith, and your contributions to the world. Too much blog time and catching up on bloggers seemingly perfect lives can really leave you feeling down and like you need to go out and spend a whole lot of money on clothes and accessories. You just have to remember that they are just sharing the best of the best moments of their lives.

Ok, I will get off my soap box now. And I know what you may be thinking…you are a blogger Jen! I know, and I know that my chosen profession is materialistic. I just hope that Opal is a blog that is always teaching design principles, sharing tricks and tips of good design and isn’t the type of blog that emphasizes a certain lifestyle. So please, keep me in check!

4 comments:

Anbre said...

I've had this same topic on my mind lately too. We definitely live in a materialistic world. Those things can be oh so fun and having nice things isn't a bad thing. But when it starts to define us and our worth, then it's an issue. It's so easy to get caught up with it all. Glad to have friends like you who understand the importance of being grounded. :)

tawnya said...

We (some friends and I) were talking about this very thing just this morning. I think that it is so easy to get caught up in the "must haves / do / whatever" both with life and in the culture of our religion. What we have to remember is that there are millions of 'right' ways to get about where we all want to go. Just because it's different doesn't mean it's wrong. I wish more time was spent celebrating the differences and truly learning from one another instead of the fence envy that gets to ALL of us at one time or another.

Mrs. Olsen said...

You're doing a pretty good job of keeping things in check Jen. I hear ya on the blogging world, it's definitely putting up a front that is pretty and nice. Those things are fun to celebrate, but they do not make up who we really are.

Love ya!

Amie said...

Amen Sista! I totally agree. When I look at other blogs I have to remember that nobody's life is 100% perfect all the time. It's just funner to write about the good things. Being out of the design world for the last 6 months has really helped me put the important things in check. Not that I don't love design (I Love it!) But that's not all that matters, it's just the "cherry on top". Good post friend. Oh and I wish we would have run into each other in St. George too. Next time we'll just have to go together:)