Writing With Abandon

Every day, one of my reminders reads: “📸 Delete today’s photos.”

Usually while I eat breakfast, sometime after I’ve done the NYT word games, I search for today’s date in my iPhone photos album and scroll through the photos to see what’s there and what I can delete, if anything.

The reminder started back in 2024 when my iPhone storage was getting close to capacity. I realized I had multiples of many photos, random videos that I didn’t need, and way too many unnecessary screenshots (especially from during the pandemic). Instead of deleting photos in one big overhaul, I decided to make it more sustainable by going day by day, like a filing system or a 5-year diary.

Now that’s it’s been over a year, I often don’t have many photos to delete, but I still search the date and browse through the memories.

Today is a nice one, April 28th.

Angie, dramatic pose over the boat from our Refugee play my first year at KLA (2022):

Ariel and Omer’s wedding, such a special day filled with joy (2023):

Repotting my monstera on my old studio balcony, a plant that has grown so large that it’s been relegated to the balcony for good (2024):

The 2025 photos and videos include ones of my students from last year during knitting club, so I won’t be posting them here, though they did make me smile.

I’m not sure if the reminder should still read “📸 Delete today’s photos,” since I’m not really deleting anymore but rather reminiscing, reconnecting, and forwarding the photos on to friends and families (as well as remembering to wish a best friend a happy anniversary).

I think I’ll keep it for now.