We are inundated with perfection daily, a quick scroll through our Insta feed over our morning coffee leaves us in comparison mode except we are comparing our real with some elses fake. Not everything we see on social media is fake, but we see the edited, curated; the best of the best. We need to be clear with one another and with ourselves, that 1 - what we are seeing isn't real, 2 - what we are showing isn't real and 2 - that is ok, as long as we remain conscious of it.

I was born with a strange affliction which isn't officially a condition but I have named it non-the-less: Visual OCD. I can't look at my desk if it isn't tidy and perfectly styled; biggest book to smallest, matching colour palette, pretty pen in unison with my stationery, the list goes on. I am the same way with bed, my wardrobe, my kitchen, my Instagram feed. I delete photos if they ruin the look of my Instagram feed. I know this is a massive faux pas but I don't care. If my eyes have to see something regularly, they simply can't handle any mismatched mistakes. Along with visual OCD comes the fact that I present a curated version of my life. You will not see the play-dough ground into my carpet, or my son clinging at my feet beneath a 1/2 cropped photo most likely covering me in his lunch, you will not see me in my PJ's blogging or my ridiculously freckled face after a swim in the surf. I am not ashamed of any of these things but as a creative outlet, and a means to which something I can control creatively and visually, I present the best bits not the worst. For the most part, we all do. That is ok. Let's make this very clear - we are all entitled to showcase our highlight reel. We can, for better or for worse, show whatever the hell we want.

When we see the girl who eats at all the best cafes, who has those perfect beige blonde locks only achievable by a weekly hair appointment, or the abs which exist only through serious deprivation or are beholden to only the genetically blessed, we need to be on our game about what is real and fake. We need to be aware, we need to be awake. It is easy to feel the sting of jealousy - as they say "comparison is the thief of joy". But we would feel this far, far less if we kept our heads out of the clouds and reminded ourselves what is real and what is fake. We all have ugly lives, break ups, washing to do, broken down cars, overdue rent, a screaming baby, troubles with family or friends, a job we hate or anxiety, illness or fear. We are fucking human. We know this. So lets allow ourselves to show our highlight reels and not judge one another for this glossy presentation, while also remembering behind the lens are real lives, real insecurities, real struggles. Lets remember who we are. Let us allow one another and ourselves to be real or fake, edited or raw or somewhere in between. The thing that matters is ensuring we stay conscious of the truth behind it all. All we need to do for one another and for ourselves is to remain aware of our humanness, the rest doesn't matter - your highlight reel can be fun, creative, curated, beautiful, glossy, inspirational. It can be whatever the hell you want it to be.