I upgraded my phone at the start of the year and bought a different colour phone for the first time ever.

I opted for a blue phone and a matching blue case. Love it.

It is a great phone, yet only this morning did I remember that I bought the blue version. This surprised me and struck me as odd.

Why did I forget? 

I know why. 

‘I look at the front of the phone. I don’t look at the back.’

The front looks the exact same as my previous phone, it’s funny that.

There is absolutely no difference.

I mentioned this to someone the other day, and they responded with the following; 

‘Other people look at the back when you are using it. The phone you use speaks volumes about you. This is important.’

This idea I found confusing. Why would I care what the colour of my phone says about me?

But, apparently, this is a thing—phone snobbery.

It is, I am informed, about what the image is that I want to project outwards about myself. Many people can read into the colour, the make and model of the phone that I show the world, and conclude something about me.

Yeah, actual surface-level deep in the world of psychology. (sarcasm)

But then I started to look around a bit more, and I could see people who do project outwards, and some who project inwards and others that really don’t give a flying f*ck.

Now, here is the other thing to add of note, the people who don’t give a toss are the ones who are the best at projecting outwards. 

They are naturally stylish people by their own standards and thinking, not by what they want to show the world. The person with the Doc Martin knee-high boots and a short skirt. The fully tattooed, baggy shorts coolly, the smartly dressed guy in the purple suit, these chilled out people.

Not giving a monkey’s.

They are the naturals at the game, and they don’t care. They carry it well because it does say something about them, and they chose it because it matches with what is at their core. 

They believe in that purple suit.

Unfortunately, I am not one of these people. I am one of the first types. The one that sees the front of the phone, not the back. 

I am comfortable with that.

There is that other type of people, though. They are the ones that are playing a game, game. They are buying the colour to be in tune but out of sync. Purposely trying hard to look effortless but making it all look difficult. Awkward.

This is best summed up when I look at my social media.

I like Instagram. It’s cool, I see extraordinary things from around the world, and I share some of the things I see here in China and beyond.

It is my favourite social media thingy for the moment.

But I have noticed there are three types of Instagram posters.

First, the stylish people who write their story so swiftly. They look good, and they share what looks good. Smooth.

Everything they post seems a natural synergy of many elements. Seamlessly aligning everything around them to portray a beautiful picture of how relaxed they are with life in general and their position in the cosmos.

And then!

That leaves the other two different kinds of social media animals…

…the ones that post pictures of themselves everywhere or ones that post just pictures of everywhere.

I am in this latter grouping. What I don’t share about me says as much about me as what I do share.

Standing in front of someone else’s Ferrari will never be my style. It’s not what I want to project about myself. 

I don’t want to make sh*t up.

I will continue to post pictures of everywhere and work up to not giving a flying f*ck, but do that without the incredible people’s relaxed style.

My style is not something I would want to project. You can only do so much with a pair of Levi’s and a hoodie… but then, that’s a style.

That said, we are all projecting ourselves in our own way. Preening like cockatoos on the branch of the tree of life, projecting the colours of our plume, hoping to catch someone’s eye…

…Because to do so is to human.

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