Of Skype, Screens and Memories

Yesterday, I read that Skype is shutting down.

For most people, it might just be another tech update. But for me...for those of us who’ve lived away from home, who’ve watched countries shift under our feet, who’ve held onto voices through cracked calls across continents...it feels like losing an old friend.

For us immigrants, with loved ones flung across the globe, the internet was a gift from God. And Skype was more than a simple app...it was a lifeline. A way to stay connected with family and friends scattered across oceans and time zones. It was how we stayed together, even when we couldn’t reach one another physically.

I’ve been on the internet for as long as I can remember...Hi5, Orkut, MSN & Yahoo Messenger... before it all became curated and commercial. I was there, uploading blurry pictures, writing long captions before captions were a thing. I took my roll camera everywhere, before there was ever a feed to post to. Then came the digital cams and I documented everything : sunsets, street corners, silly moments with friends. Not to be seen, but so I wouldn’t forget.
I didn’t document life for likes...I documented it because I felt things deeply and didn’t want them to slip away.

And I haven’t. I’ve hoarded tens of thousands of photos...from places I’ve been, people I’ve lost, moments I’ll never get back. I’m not deleting any of them. These are my archives. My proof of life.

Which is why I smiled today when I realized it’s also my Instagram anniversary. It launched in 2010 (I checked!) and I joined a year later. My first post dates back to 2012. Back then, I didn’t know I was starting a new digital trail - one I’d still be walking more than a decade later.

Sometimes I scroll through those old photos and laugh. Sometimes I ache. But always, I feel grateful.

Grateful that even if places change and people disappear...I have something to return to.
Enough to remember, even when nothing stays.