“I have sacrificed my journal, and the history of many little adventures that occurred in the course of my rambles,” I read in the introduction of a travelogue written in 1805 by François Pouqueville, a French diplomat and traveller.

“I have sacrificed [it],” he adds, “to objects which appeared to me of much greater importance.”

I thought to myself: How sad! It was in these details that I wanted to see how he approached everyday interactions, trivial events, and the essentials of local life. But enough studying for today, it is already quite late, and I am getting tired.

***

I bought a photo album this morning; I’m so excited to print some photos from my time in Leuven so far and put them in this cute album. It will be my little photo journal – which photos should I print?

I scroll through my phone’s photo collection and quickly become overwhelmed: so much stuff, too many photos… “Do I even hesitate before taking a picture?” I jokingly ask myself. Which photos should I print?

I have pictures of all sorts of things. Gatherings with friends. Some beautiful-looking trees on a sunny day. A sloppy little snowman I made when it snowed in January. Some cute Christmas lights. A chicken soup I cooked. Colourful gloves left on the pavement on Parkstraat. A sticker on my friend’s laptop. A crane that looked good against the magnificent cloud behind it. Some clementines I bought. A selfie taken while waiting at the Stadskantoor to get my Belgian residency permit.

***

Which photos should I print?

“The most important,” I say to myself.

“This photo album is way too small for details.”

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This piece was originally published in Issue 1 of the print edition of Ordinary Matters magazine. 

References:

Pouqueville, François. Travels in the Morea, Albania, and Other Parts of the Ottoman Empire, trans. Anne Plumptre (London: Richard Taylor and Co, 1813): Preface, vii; the original French edition was published in 1805