Embrace the SELFIE!

It feels ridiculous. Taking pictures of myself in various locations, looking for the best light and pose. It goes against everything I have ever thought about being a 42 year old woman, well...any age really. Selfies have been a mystery to me for a very long time. You have seen the comical images and videos of young girls sitting in a row at a sporting event all finding the best image...duck faces by all. RIDICULOUS!

So, why am I defending the selfie now? How have I let myself be okay with this trend?

Here is why...

I want to be seen. I said it. I DO! I want you to be seen too. I want to see you! I want my children to look at pictures and know that I was there. How many of us have years of pictures that our dutiful parents took of us at one event or another that are quite without any representation of either of our parents? Moms who made sure that we had the experience but stayed on the other side of the camera. It was a gesture of love for many but a hiding mechanism for others. I would venture to say that an entire generation of women CHOSE to stay out of those pictures. Why? Oh it could be anything. Let me just state for the record; however, this girl is no longer afraid of the camera. Someone taught me several years ago that taking pictures isn't about what you look like or what you weigh or what you THINK you should look like. It is about a moment and remembering that moment, including what you looked like when it happened. Some photos will be unflattering. But you were there!

Now I know that there is a difference in taking selfies and being in pictures. Here is where I am about the selfie..EMBRACE IT! Let loose a little! Be silly! Glam yourself up and TAKE THAT SELFIE! Truth is that most people will never see that side of you unless you document it. Oh girls, we are so much more than mom and wife. Document the heck out of that. Don't let them live every day without realizing just how much you have to offer. Is a selfie the only way to do that? Does this argument even make sense? Maybe. Maybe not. But...that selfie makes me answer to myself. It gives me a chance to see me as others do. Not as mirrors do or hand drawn art work by magical toddlers. A snap shot of me in a moment of silliness and even, dare I say, vanity. Trust me, it is an exercise that will show you a whole new side of yourself. Once you get past the awkward "how can I really be doing this" and "what if someone sees me" thing...it's FREEDOM!

Let them see you! Let them see you take selfies with your friends, your children, your significant other and most definitely ALONE!

Disclaimer: this is by no means an invitation to be THAT girl at sporting events and bars. You know who she is. Don't do THAT! It's weird.