The Power of the Selfie

Selfies... we all take them. This generation is so centered around technology that we even have our parents and grandparents taking them too. When we take them, we may think it's just a picture to post, but let's dig deeper. What's the real reason we feel empowered behind selfies? We wake up, put make-up on, fix our hair up really nice and stand in front of the mirror to pooch our lips and BOOM... a selfie is born. We post it, our friends and followers gas us up and we instantly get a boost of confidence. The likes instantly make us feel powerful. But is the power in the selfie or facing yourself? 

I am a part of an organization on my university's campus where we recently had an event called "Model Behavior". At the end of this event we had the guest pull out their phones and flip their camera. We asked them to say one thing that they like about themselves. In this exercise, the goal was to analyze yourself and pick out one thing that personally makes them feel good. Something that they feel no one else can take from them. Through facing themselves, they were essentially experiencing self-love. When you listen to Michael Jackson say "I'm starting with the man in the mirror" or when you watch therapy shows where the therapist tells the patient to say "I am", all of these things are because self-love starts from within. The change starts with you. These exercises help people understand that key concept. 

Another exercise is sticky notes on your mirror. We saw it in "Being Mary-Jane", my mom picked up on it and does it too, but she writes nice, positive things on sticky notes that she either already posses or wishes to posses and everyday when she looks in the mirror she reads them for affirmation and a reminder to start her day. 

A selfie is an at-home, quick way to practice self-love. The next time you take your selfie, look at yourself and say "I am beautiful". Wait no... let's take it a step further, the next time you are completely bare, no make-up, hair tied up and all, look in the mirror or take a selfie and say "I am beautiful". Do this everyday. "Your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions". Eventually you'll be so convinced that you won't need a like on Instagram to assure that you're cute, because you've already convinced yourself. A selfie is so much more than just a picture, it's an unconscious way to make yourself feel better. Some people debate about selfies and social media and say that it is toxic. "People pay too much attention to a virtual world, that they forget to live their real life"... yeah yeah yeah, we've heard it all before, but there is nothing wrong with flipping selfies into a confidence builder. Hey, if no one else will gas you, you can right?