
The Year of Celebrating the Quotidian
CLICK SMILE REPEAT: THE QUIET ADRENALINE THAT YOU GET AFTER SMILING
Annyeonghaseyo!
Lately, all my friends are getting married. Sometimes it feels like maintaining a Snapchat streak I never signed up for—an activity I didn’t choose but seem forced to participate in. Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out the euphoria people feel behind these meticulously planned events. Wasn’t Snapchat invented for pretty pictures and killing boredom?
How did it turn into a rigorous attendance sheet? And how do people always seem to have a trip, a fun activity, or an exclusive purchase lined up? When I scroll through my gallery and then glance at my friends’ vibrant Snap streaks, my life feels like a slow indie movie that lingers long after the credits roll—a quiet greyscale in a theater full of colorful blockbusters.
This feeling hit harder recently when I congratulated someone on their wedding and couldn’t shake the thought that nothing exciting seemed to be happening in my life. For a fleeting moment, I even wondered if I should tie the knot just to feel like I belonged. But then reality kicked in: No, Sanjana! That’s a terrible idea. Let’s stick to self-care and clicking pretty pictures for a quick adrenaline rush.
So, I decided to click a simple picture of my curls, smiling at the camera and posted it. Not long after, a message popped up from a former colleague:
“All of a sudden, when I saw your smile, I forgot why I was unhappy.”
She’s a dear friend, and her words instantly lifted my mood. Similar compliments poured in from others about how I’m the “sunshine” of the group and how I always seem to stay happy despite any storms brewing within me.
It’s funny how we often forget the value we bring to others’ lives and let overthinking win the battle against self-worth. Just moments earlier, I’d been craving an adrenaline rush, and now, with one heartfelt message, I felt content and grounded.
That’s when it struck me: What I lack isn’t excitement but awareness—awareness of the present moment.
Have you ever noticed how the moments we capture feel like little time machines? I’ve seen writers share fragments of their lives in blogs or work handles—moments that, when revisited, remind them how beautiful their year was. It’s like pressing pause on time and stepping back into a memory that shows why life is worth living.
A life not confined to a square page and a bottle of ink. I do take pictures and occasionally record moments, but I rarely share them. Maybe it’s laziness, or maybe it’s the comfort I’ve grown used to—keeping my real life anonymous on the internet.
But now I’m wondering, what if this comfort is holding me back from opportunities waiting for me?
I read this somewhere on the internet recently:
“You’re young only once, so make sure to get the ‘my mom was hot and cool’ pics now.”
Hot? Probably not. Cool? Highly doubtful. But it got me thinking about the small, messy moments I cherish when I feel lost—the ones that feel like home.
Not the Instagram-perfect ones, but the real, unpolished joys that make life feel special. It’s these hazy, unfiltered moments that remind me, at the end of each year, how thoroughly loved I’ve been. They bring back memories of my friends’ compliments, surprise gifts, spontaneous short trips, and how they treated me as the baby of the group.
It’s not about how exciting or extravagant your Snap streak looks—it’s about living the imperfect days by being fully present in the moment. After all, life is about celebrating the people who make it worthwhile, not the places you visit or the things you buy.
The next time you feel like you’re missing out on life, take a picture of yourself and ask: “What do I adore the most about myself?”
P.S. If you’re curious about my curls, check out the picture on Instagram @thegreycrescent, and don’t forget to explore more amazing updates at @thekoreanhanami.
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