The Power of Privacy
Our thoughts on sharing our lives on social media, and the peace of a quiet life.
Hello and happy Sunday!
Blakely and I are writing to you from 30,000 feet up on our flight back to Nashville. We spent the weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona on a mother daughter trip with Stephanie and Bella. We’ve been friends with Bella since Blakely and her met in third grade (my first grade). We’ve been on countless adventures and have traveled to Guatemala, Belize, Nicaragua, Mexico, London, Idaho, Washington, Nevada, and now Arizona together. Steph and Bella are some of the few people who really know our family. Oftentimes, Bella has been the 5th Spoor kid (for better or worse lol).
We spent the weekend hiking Camelback Mountain, sitting by the pool, eating yummy dinners, and riding horses (honestly, pretty lowkey compared to some of our other adventures). We reminisced on other notable adventures which include elementary school field trips, choreographed dances, a week spent rafting on the Salmon River, three chaotic trips down to Guatemala, firework mishaps on the fourth, odd birthday parties, and exotic beach vacations. Steph and our dad are all too similar which makes our time together extra exciting —in all the wrong ways. JK, we love your chaotic craziness Steph and dad :) Regardless, there is something so calm about being in the presence of people who have known you and your family since you were little. Although not in immediate presence, we’ve been together through all the seasons of life. And that’s special <3 Now, switching gears…
Something that Savannah and I have been thinking about for a few weeks now is the notion of privacy—of a quiet life. We’ve never known a world where there wasn’t an ability to share our lives publicly—by the time we were 13 and 14, social media was growing like a snowball down a hill. We grew up sharing our lives on Instagram (back in the day of the saturated VSCO filter and the white border. IYKYK lol). Sharing became anonymous with living—“post it or it didn’t happen.” Post the pictures of you laughing or you aren’t happy. Post the friend group picture or you don’t have friends. Post the adventure photographs or you are boring.
Now don’t get us wrong—we love social media. We love to share pieces of our lives and bring people into our worlds. Even in this newsletter, we’re sharing a lot about what’s going on in our heads and hearts (and we have no plans on stopping any time soon lol) But we’ve noticed, through our own lives, that there is a balance to be struck here.
There is power in privacy. There is a peace in keeping certain moments and experiences to yourself. When you put something out into the world, you are subjecting it to other people’s opinions and reactions. It no longer becomes solely yours, because you are sharing that experience. Sharing is beautiful—but so is keeping certain moments and experiences to yourself. It is quieter here in this place. No noise, no opinions… just the moment and you.
For the past few months, we’ve been resting into this feeling of privacy. Knowing that we don’t need to share every part or moment of our lives. Knowing that we don’t need to fabricate an external image to portray a certain message about who we are. It almost feels like when you’re in a really loud, crowded room, trying to maintain conversation and listen to what other people are saying and appear totally effortless through it all… but then you round a corner and walk into an empty hallway away from the crowd. The noise is muffled, you can hear your own thoughts again, and it feels… peaceful. Just you and you.
We love the feeling of a quiet life. Of having moments, experiences, and sensations that are yours and yours only. Safe in the confines of your own head and heart. There is power in that—knowing that you don’t need to share with the world that you’re living a good life. Because you’re too busy living a good life. 💛
See you next Sunday!