Pictures of the Past

I spent much of my time last week relocating my entire collection of photos from these old cheapy albums I bought many years ago to the more premium "archivial-quality" albums. The whole project started when I realized that some of my older stick-on albums are turning yellow on the side of the pages. Now, after being a scrapbook enthusiast since last year, I now know the definition of acid-free, pvc-free, and lignin-free papers. While the stick-on albums give you the flexibility of putting both vertical and horizontal pictures on the same page, they are harmful to the photos in the long haul. The stickiness of the pages attach onto the photos and can eventually do some ugly damage! Of course, these pictures are irreplaceable in many respects (i.e.I'm not good at keeping negatives!) Anyways, so that was how my entire project came about.

Honestly, I never knew I had THAT many pictures. My sister used to work in a photo-finishing store and has good access to printing out photos for free. The luxury of not having to pay for photofinishing (which can be very expensive) may be the result of me having so many pictures in the first place. I also attributed to the fact that whenever I go on trips, I go camera-crazy. And of course, back in the days of using 35mm film, 24, 36 pictures per roll get processed no matter what. Now, at least with digital photos, you can be selective in printing only a few here and there.

By the time I was done, 10 albums (each holding 300 pictures each) have been completely filled up. It's hard to imagine that I have that many pictures, but I guess I do. All the pictures (3,000 of them!) are all very precious to me. Going through the pictures gave me a chance to recollect and to remember the past... that particular point in life I was once at. They made me realize how far I've come and how much I had and have. They remind me of my childhood, my family and friends, my school and college years, my trips, my love, and most importantly, my journey in life. These pictures will forever be a memory of my past.