why I love selfies

There are three types of selfie takers in this world.

1. The people who take selfies infrequently and are self-righteous about it.

2. The people who do take selfies often and lie about it.

3. The people who take selfies regularly and post about it.

If you say you don't fall into any of these categories, you're probably a number 1 and you're in denial of your self-righteousness or you're a number 2 and you're still lying about it. As for me, I would say I fall into category two. Though I don't take selfies super often, most of the ones I take never see the light of day. The last purely vain selfie I posted was in September. But though the selfie culture gets a lot of hate, most of us have participated and I think there may be some pros to it.

First, we need to stop blaming millennials for selfie culture. The truth is selfies have been around for ages, they just weren't called selfies back then. Before the camera, people of nobility would hire artists to paint portraits of themselves to hang in their homes. These ancient selfies would take hours to produce. You'd have to love yourself a ton to stand for hours while an artist paints a photo of you. Thank goodness it's a lot faster now.


(Portrait d'une noble génoise)

After the camera was invented, selfies started early. Taken in 1839, this is the first known selfie.



It's a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. And don't think for a moment that mirror selfies are merely a thing of the modern day. Not even the earliest of its kind, here's a mirror selfie from 1900.


(see more at http://www.news.com.au/technology/these-old-selfies-dating-back-to-the-1800s-will-blow-your-mind/story-e6frfro0-1226741497253)

#OOTD #ModestIsHottest #HideTheAnkles

Selfies are not a millennial invention? Who knew? But though we didn't invent the selfie, we certainly have redefined it. With front-facing cameras, color technology, editing software and a plethora of filters, we have made selfies a form of self-expression and a way to raise self esteem.

When you really think about it, the willingness to post a picture of yourself on the internet, to an audience of hundreds to thousands to potentially millions of people takes quite a bit of confidence. Not only are you sharing a close-up of your face: beauty, flaws, and all. But you are opening yourself up for criticism whether you ever hear about it or not. Selfie posting can be a mask for some to hide unhappiness or fear, but for others it takes off the mask. It displays themselves to the world, showing that they love themselves and want everyone to know. For me, posting a selfie usually equates to me wanting to show myself off because I feel good.

Selfies can also encourage creativity. There are so many aspects of a selfie that are chosen by the taker. The angle that the photo is taken, the lighting, the facial expressions, the coloration, the filtering, the caption and more. Though not a typical art form (and many wouldn't dare regard as art), people are able to express themselves through the pictures they take. They are able to create an image that is not only of their own creation, but they are the subject as well. It is purely themselves.

I think that's why I get a little defensive when someone remarks condescendingly about selfie-taking. The truth is I am a huge supporter of the culture. People are posting themselves in a way that they have created (probably with some assistance from Instagram or other editing apps). But if someone feels good enough about themselves to post a picture that opens them up to hatred and criticism from their online friends, who am I to complain about it being on my news feed? Post on, my narcissistic, creative, beautiful friends, post on.

small and simple things

To premise this post I want anyone reading to rid their mind of previous biases. Try to be open to different ideas and criticism.

With the current Michael Brown case, there has been an explosion of people calling for change. People are protesting for justice for Brown and change in policy among police departments around the country. And I do believe these are honorable causes, but I'm not entirely sure that the protesting is progressive in most cases.

The most obvious of the destructive protesting is the rioting that occurred after the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson was announced. Businesses were looted and destroyed, hundreds of people were arrested around the country, and even one young man was found shot and burned. This kind of protesting, though clearly a minority, does not help Michael Brown's case in any way. First of all, it destroys the lives of hundreds to thousands of other people. Ruining the lives of others does not make yours better. Secondly, it does not improve the image of the community. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior only enforces stereotypes, true or false. Though it is an unfortunate facet, there is still discrimination and racism perpetuated throughout our society. 

But we cannot simply delete racism at will. Multiple things need to happen and it will be a process. First, we need to recognize that an individual is not representative of a whole. Generalizing leads to stereotyping. Next, we need to focus on similarities rather than differences. Once the similarities are recognized, then we will be able to celebrate the differences. And the third change I will suggest, though there are many more changes to be made, is that the media needs to treat all cases equally. The augmentation of stories based on the race of the individuals involved only perpetuates inequality.

Okay, now this is where this article gets even more controversial than it already is. Clearly violent protesting is not positive in any way. Yet, I personally believe that peaceful protesting isn't very helpful to most causes either. It definitely doesn't do any harm and it makes a statement, but I feel it is more stagnant than progressive. For example, in my home town of Wichita, Kansas there have been several protests in the past week. For one, members of the Wichita State University community were encouraged to wear black to openly show their support of Michael Brown and their demand for justice. Another occurred at Wichita East High School in which students laid out on the grounds for 4.5 minutes to represent the 4.5 hours the Michael Brown's body lay in the street. I am in no way opposed to these demonstrations and I think it is great the young people are not only forming opinions but publicly declaring them. However, I'm worried that these kinds of demonstrations are merely a way for people to feel like their making a difference when they aren't actually propelling the cause in any way. Change has to be sought specifically. Merely posting a status that you are demanding justice for Michael Brown, or wearing a certain color in honor of lost lives, or laying in the grass to represent the tragic events doesn't actually create justice or change. Words can be powerful, but words without action are easily lost. 

What is needed is powerful and positive action. One of the other protests in Wichita did just this. Many people gathered together to demand that police be required to wear cameras while patrolling. This protest had a fixed cause. It calls for a small and specific change that will eventually create a much larger change in the justice system. It is these small, specific, and direct demands and demonstrations that will bring about the most results. Unfortunately, simply calling for justice will most likely not incite change. The call for justice will be best satisfied when the road is taken one step at a time. Though it is hard to be patient in a situation in which lives may be lost, we must recognize that change is usually not abrupt. It takes time, but it will happen.

"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." Alma 37:6-7