Love My Selfies

Happy Thursday! Happy Rest Day!!

Speaking of Rest Days and my recent re-embracing of them, I just stumbled upon this on Facebook:

I laughed out loud as I answered myself with a, "Um, no, never done that!"

In the meantime, I have finally decided to address a topic that won't change the world, but it is, nonetheless, worthy of note as far as I'm concerned. The topic: Selfies.

I'll just launch: It's amazing to me the upheaval of negative opinion with regard to selfies in general. Granted, you should most certainly be watching where you're going or otherwise not impeding on anyone else while taking one. But, other than that, why all the hatin'?!

Yeah, I'm going there ...

I was watching Good Morning America yesterday, and there was a segment about the recent rise in plastic surgery as a (supposed) result of people not liking how they look in their selfies. The real surprise (er, annoyance) for me with regard to the story wasn't so much the topic; it was how negative the anchors were in their introduction to and commentary regarding the story! I was just waiting for one of them to throw up a little bit, or at least gag, just having to say the word. And, the opinion about the concept itself was clearly displeasing.

I really don't understand. People have been trying to take pictures of themselves forever. I remember the days of giving the camera to the person in the group with the longest arms hoping to get everyone in the group shot frame! (My first real success at this practice was on our honeymoon ... Aaron's arms were just long enough to get both of our faces and necks in the pic!) And, the self-timer wasn't some random invention: It grew out of desire! It's simply amazing to me that the dominant opinion I hear is that selfies are egotistical, and that's it. I even heard a recent radio segment where the host was blah blahing about how conceited "youth of today" are because they so love taking pictures of themselves.

Huh. Kids wanting to take pictures of themselves. Teens wanting to be included in a group. Tweeners wanting to have proof, if you will, or at least something to hold on to that gives them a sense of belonging. Yeah, that has nothing to do with developmental stages everyone including the idiot radio host went through. It's just about the 'youth of today' who suddenly have digital cameras in hand and want to use them and now they're all wildly stuck on themselves. Wow ... so conceited ...

Back to me (See how I did that?): I love the historical and story-telling of pictures. I like to see people in scenic pictures for a whole perspective. I like for all to be included -- including the picture taker. (And, when I'm the picture taker, I make no apologies for wanting to be a part of the moment.) And, I love the digital age where we can goof around and catch fun moments without any real consequence if we don't like the turnout (delete button vs. film development, anyone?). I guess it's because I've always been very passionate about pictures for a whole host of reasons that it bothers me to see a simple topic be turned into one that can't be discussed without someone looking like they've smelled something bad.

This was the last story I saw on GMA yesterday before I headed out to run with Elly. That's why you saw one of these ...

Oh, yes, it's the same but different as yesterday's cliff hanger. I did it twice. Because I can. Digital age, baby! And, I caught Elly with her tongue out. Again. Until randomly snapping pictures of her while running, I did not know how often she did that!

I thought about the GMA story quite a bit while I ran. My dominant thought was, really, how thankful I am for the technology and ability to take them because not only does it allow me to document some really awesome  moments like ...

... my annoyance waiting for Elly to satisfy her sniffer again when I'm just trying to run (hahahaha), but I truly appreciate all of us being included in a pic whenever we can.

Everyone's in on the action of a celebration!

Oh my gosh, I love when a selfie turns
out to be this kind of mess!

I couldn't help but also reflect on how many pictures of my family (the one in which I grew up) that I don't have. Sure, not everyone was terribly picture compliant especially as often as I would have had a camera in their faces, but I'd have more than I do because there would have been more opportunity. Personally, that's something I'd value.

"If I could take selfies, mommy, I'd do it all the time. So,
thanks for taking so many of me for me. I do so love myself."

So, it's not all about the ego, and, even if it is for some, so what? It's not hurting anyone. And, the reason they're being taken is because they hold some value for the person taking it. No one else has to understand.

There. I was tired of being quiet about it!

With that, it's time to continue on with Thursday! I'll check in on tomorrow's double-dip Rest Day!