That's a really interesting perspective that I'd say I totally disagree with! Certainly, writing could never steal from a moment what the cellphone already does. And isn't it better to have those written memories than... next to none at all? To me, it seems like a choice between the two. Even trips from less than a decade ago have begun devolving into these flipbooks. All of the individual conversations are completely gone now. It's hard for me to imagine that having those written memories isn't better than having none at all. Really, wouldn't enormous swaths of great literature never have been written if they were to follow that same philosophy?

And isn't a lot of the reason to have new experiences as a writer the opportunity to write about them? I try to find inspiration in whatever I can, and the experience of life in another country is creatively stimulating at its very core for me.

I do know what you mean by how you struggle to think independently about ideas or events once they've been written. Sometimes I find myself repeating what I've written in a way I don't feel totally proud of. But at the same time, if I've labored over the perfect way to say something, there doesn't need to be a shame in repeating it in future conversations. I've seen it plenty of repetition in the interviews of my favorite authors.

But I also have a fun time simplifying my ideas and trying to get them across for a less verbal audience. It's an exercise to find new words for getting across the same ideas. Thanks for the comment, Colby! And for inspiring me to write another essay lol.