We Are Golden Because We're Alive

Hi humans today I'm here to talk about something very near and dear to my heart and that is, selfies. Selfies are probably one of my favorite things to exist. I see selfies as a positive and empowering thing, something to lift you up and bring people together. However, some see selfies as; narcissistic, self centered, and shallow. Back in my senior year of high school I became a self named "selfie queen" and really began to embrace them. During this time I was also in the middle of writing my senior Capstone and decided to throw in a few pages about how much I loved selfies. This led me to do some research on the anti-selfie side of society. I read an article on the “Feminist Current” that described the defense of selfies as, “confirmation that this era will forever known as the stupidest of all eras.” This honestly and obviously infuriated me. To says that selfies are just a cry for attention, and for the male gaze is ridiculous. It reinforces the idea that everything a woman does is for male attention(which totally fine but not the intention of all). The author writes, “It’s simply not possible that, if we put images of ourselves, or really, if we put anything at all online, that it’s ‘for ourselves’. If it were just ‘for ourselves’ we wouldn’t put it on the Internet.” When I read this I was appalled, to say that females in particular post pictures of themselves (on their own terms) for the attention of males is dumb. Especially since this is coming from a ‘feminist’, condemning others for doing something that makes them feel good and accusing that they’re brainwashed is ridiculous. I honestly don’t understand why some see selfies as “unfeminist”. I see selfies as something great, something empowering. I don’t see anything unfeminist about them, if anything I find them extremely feminist. There’s nothing wrong with taking a selfie for affirmation, or just taking one because you feel like it. Selfies are a way to feel good about yourself, a way to feel confident, even if it’s an “unattractive” or silly selfie. Feeling good about yourself does not make you shallow, the more selfies you take does not make you increasingly self centered. Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend talked about selfies in his interview with The Rolling Stone in November 2013. Here he talks about how he is “pro-selfie”, “"I’m definitely pro-selfie. I think that anybody who’s anti-selfie is really just a hater. Because, truthfully, why shouldn’t people take pictures of themselves? When I’m on Instagram and I see that somebody took a picture of themselves, I’m like, ‘Thank you.’ I don’t need to see a picture of the sky, the trees, plants. There’s only one you. I could Google image search ‘the sky’ and I would probably see beautiful images to knock my socks off. But I can’t Google, you know, ‘What does my friend look like today?’ For you to be able to take a picture of yourself that you feel good enough about to share with the world – I think that’s a great thing." I agree with this quote 100%. Why shouldn’t you take pictures of yourself? What’s the problem with letting the world see what you look like at any given moment? He also brings up a really good point, that you can G­­­­oogle pictures of nature, but you can’t Google to see what your friends look like, and the fact that being able to take pictures of yourself is so easy and accessible is amazing. I myself take a lot of selfies, and it makes me feel really good. There’s something about taking any sort of selfie that makes me feel good about myself. Taking selfies is fun, the fact that I can scroll through my phones' camera roll and know what I looked like on January 5, 2015 is incredible to me. I absolutely adore when I'm with friends and we take selfies together, it creates memories. So I encourage everyone to take as many selfies as you damn well please. Relish in them, post them everywhere or nowhere. Love your selfie.

1. So I was fortunate enough to use some money from my savings to buy myself a new computer after basically fighting with my old one. I was able to buy myself a MacBook Pro and I absolutely ADORE it! I previously had a Dell and PCs are just too high maintenance for me. My Mac was definitely on the higher side of the price spectrum but I think it was worth it. I still have to transfer most of my stuff from old my computer but I don't have the patience.
   
2. Now this next fave of mine has been a long time coming, Taylor Swift. I have a long complicated history with this pop queen. I was OBSESSED with her when her self titled came out when I was in the 6th grade. But then I thought I was "too good" for pop music. When 1989 came out I was automatically hooked and listened to it for like 2 days straight. I recently was able to get her discography and I love it. My favorite albums have to be Red and 1989. Not to mention she's adorable and has a killer fashion sense. She is 100% lifestyle/fashion/hair/existence goals.
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3. Recently I went from regular nerd to full on nerd after my friend Natalie got me into comic books. Comic books have quickly become one of favorite things. I am slowly but surely building my own little collection which makes me super happy. My favorite at the moment are; Princess Leia(mini series), Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. I recently bought A-Force and 2 Star Wars Rebel Heists.
   
4. If you didn't already know I LOVE early 2000's teen dramas, whether it be One Tree Hill, Laguna Beach, or The Hills(my absolute favorite). Recently I found seasons 1 and 2 of The OC and let me tell you it is everything I had hoped and more. Seth Cohen is the man of my emo dreams and the flimsy story lines fill me with happiness. The soundtrack is incredible and almost as good as that of The Hills. 
   
5. So I've recently gotten back into devouring books like I used to which makes me so happy and one of the books I finished last week was Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan. Recently I've been craving books about girls who like other girls because I've read far too many heteronormative books. And this one defiantly delivered, it also had some super rad twists that I was not expecting. The way it was written at certain parts annoyed me a little but I enjoyed the characters and it was a good, quick read. 
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6. Last but in no least is Halsey. Pictures of her had been popping up all over my dash and then I saw her in a post of queer up and coming artists and decided to give her a listen. And I am obsessed. She only has 1 EP out right now(Room 93) and her first full length comes out in the fall I believe. Her music is like indie pop I guess but I really like it. My favorite song off the EP is "Is There Someone" I listened to it on repeat for like 2 hours the other day. Not to mention she's adorable and from what I can tell a stellar human.
   
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