Looking through old photos, Richard Swerdlow has his ‘You don’t know what you’ve got till its gone’ moment.
In this era of camera phones, I don't love seeing photos of myself. It's so easy to focus on flaws.
So I was surprised the other day, when I came across a box of old photos. Opening it, I was transported to the 1970s. A number featured 20-year-old me in disco regalia, but there I was grinning with friends, my college days, with my long-gone parents.
And, unexpected as it was to encounter my younger self in polyester pants 40 years ago, my first thought was "Wow!" I looked great.
In the 70s, along with Jimmy Carter, Abba, and Farrah-Fawcett hair, I remember the feeling everyone else was better-looking, smarter, more you-name-it. Coming across those photos, I realize I had no idea how good I looked in those days. Essayist Fran Lebowitz put it well – at a certain point, the worst photo of you in your 20s is better than the best photo of you in your 50s.