Michelle George | Week 14: My Camera Roll: My Greatest Possession


Photo Credit: Eddy, Max. "Your Phone's Camera Roll Is a Mess. Here's How to Clean It Up." The New York Times, 3 May 2024, Web. Accessed 2 April 2025.

When I think of my fondest memories with my friends or family, I distinctly remember the certain event, the outfit I wore, the food I ate, as well as the fun little jokes made. But what truly brings those memories to life isn't just thinking about how much time passed; instead, it is from revisiting these moments through pictures on my phone. 

Memories are not only stored in our minds, but also in our camera roll. Think about the last time when you went to your last concert or when you got a fresh haircut, what do you do? You go straight to your Photos app and reel in that nostalgic feeling from that moment once again. Even when you talk to someone about your weirdest or most fun stories, you show them a picture to help others clearly visualize what you experienced or how you felt. 

My camera roll is one of my greatest possessions and actually one of my most used apps. It serves not only as an archive of memories but rather preserves pieces of my life that are unforgettable and worth sharing with people around me. 

Especially during COVID, I was an avid baker---I baked cinnamon rolls, lemon bars, and chocolate chip cookies with marshmallows in the middle. Every time I revisit those pictures of me baking from 2020, I am reminded of the warm scent of cinnamon in my kitchen while Dua Lipa's song "Levitating" plays in the background, and the sugar cookie aroma dispersing from the flickering candle on my dining table. I clearly recall how my mom was yelling from upstairs that I make sure to preheat the oven only after I take out the countless pans sitting inside it. All those intricate details from one picture that I took in seventh grade of a stick of butter next to a bag of flour and aluminum foil. Those moments are not only in my mind but rather captured in my camera roll, frozen in time. 

Pictorial memories from my camera roll not only remind me of my past, but rather reconnect me with the person who I was when I was younger---the specific TikTok creator I liked who crafted all these baking recipes, the songs as well as eminent artists I admired back then, and even the smallest obsessions I had. These memories from particular pictures depict various phases of my life, which demonstrate how much I have grown as a person and how my preferences have changed. 

Comments

  1. Anthony LiuApril 8, 2025 at 9:42 PM

    Hi Michelle! I loved reading about your experience baking during the COVID era! It was certainly a hard time for all of us and I’m glad you found a way to make good use of your lockdown time.

    To be honest, I never really liked the prospect of being in a photo. It wasn’t because of some superstition of “having a moment trapped in time,” but rather, I just don’t know how to take portraits. I always felt awkward and uncomfortable, as if it was a weapon pointed at me instead of a phone camera. Nevertheless, I love taking photos of scenery, the natural world, and generally anything that I find visually appealing.

    It’s a shame that you didn’t include any tips from your image source though— I certainly could use some guidance on cleaning up my cluttered camera roll which dominates the mass majority of my Google Drive storage.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shreya BaroniaApril 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Shreya BaroniaApril 9, 2025 at 8:32 PM

    Hey Michelle! Recently, I have been receiving notifications that my phone is nearly out of storage and will soon not be able to take any more pictures if I do not start cleaning up my camera roll. However, the images in my photos app are quite dear to me and I cannot imagine myself deleting any one of them. So, I have been putting off clearing my data from the phone as much as I can. Reading your blog, I remembered all the times I whipped out my phone to ask my friends if I looked better with short or long hair and asked them if I should cut it again. I cannot imagine deleting all those images and never being able to reference them again.

    I was also a dedicated baker during COVID, just like you, though I mainly baked and decorated cakes, inviting my friends over to help me out with it. I am glad those pictures of the many goods I baked are not on my phone, they are stored safely on my google drive. Looking back at them, I can recall how disappointed I was that the gel food coloring completely ruined the whipped cream we made and how sad my mother and I were that our hard work was ruined because of the type of food coloring we added. I think my camera roll clearly captures my growth over the years (especially with all the time lapses I have of myself doing chores or homework), just like your camera roll shows your growth over time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aanshi ShahApril 9, 2025 at 9:26 PM

    Hi Michelle! I only started taking pictures around last year, and I regret not starting sooner. I really relate to your message, since I have at most ten pictures from each era of my life, and it would be nice to have more to look back on. Quarantine was a strange time and I’m glad you found something productive to do. For me, that time period feels like a big blur, and upon reading your blog, it might be because I have no photos from that period. Photos capture moments and trigger memories, so not having any might be the reason I have such a bad memory of my past experiences, to the point where my friends get a bit annoyed that they constantly have to remind me of everything.

    Now, when I look back on my pictures, I can recall moments from last year vividly. I love scrolling through my camera roll, at least until I get to the point where I barely have any good pictures.

    ReplyDelete

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