This is highly recommended, a series where I provide a compelling argument for why you should like something that I like.
Dear Reader,
For better or worse, vanity is one of my strong suits. I’ve been known to check my appearance when passing almost any reflective surface. Whether I’m stretching at the gym, going to work or grabbing a bagel, I’m very concerned with what I look like. (Even when I decide to wear the same thing for all three of those occasions.) I’ve even been late for very important things that I shouldn’t have been late for because I couldn’t figure out the right thing to wear. (Maybe this particular aspect of me falls more on the “worse” side of the “better or worse” spectrum.)
Usually, this vanity manifests in mirrors, which means I get to be a vacuous piece of shit in private, which is nice. You could argue that writing highly recommended means I’m being a vacuous piece of shit in public, but I think this blog makes me only vacuous. (Only half as bad, per my math.) But there’s another form of media in which my vanity can be shared and judged for all eternity, or at least for the 24 hours it exists on my Instagram story.
I highly recommend taking a selfie.
Why?
Easy Content Creation
Creating content for people to consume is my burden, but I accept it. (Even if the majority of the content I create is never consumed by anyone at all.) As much as I tend to enjoy creating content, there are days when I just don’t feel like it. I want to phone it in. So I pull out my phone and take a picture of myself with either the front facing camera or of myself in front of a mirror. I don’t overthink it. The content just flows out of me organically, ready to be viewed and liked. Plus, the validation is better than when I post other content – if I get a ton of likes, it’s because they like what I look like, not just what I made.
Double Checking My Fit
Before leaving my apartment, I usually give things a once over in the full-length mirror located in my living room. But every New Yorker knows that the city can do a number on your fit. Taking a selfie gives me another reason to make sure things look the way they’re supposed to look. If things look good, then I’ve got a great way to show off how good it looks to everybody else.
Giving My Fans An Update
I don’t have a ton of fans, but they’re dedicated. If I don’t post anything for a while, they start to get concerned. They wonder if something terrible has happened, like I’ve permanently lost access to WiFi. That’s when I hit them with a post detailing my current condition, which is most likely standing in front of mirror in the bathroom of a bar. It might not be the update they were looking for, but it’s the update they deserve.
Documenting A Particular Moment I Might Forget Later
My memory is absolute garbage. I can never remember anything, even the good things that I’m supposed to remember. Although I’d rather experience a moment without distractions than take a bunch of pictures of that moment, I’m starting to wonder if at least one picture of myself doing something might help me out later in life. What if 80 years from now, my great-grandchildren asked what I was doing one random weeknight in February 2020? If I have a selfie, I can show them that (yet-again) I was at Union St. Pub drinking $3 Narragansetts. What a life I live.
Practice For When I Become An Influencer
In the near future, the time will come when I have enough clout to quit my day job and get paid to post content for a living. When that time comes, I need to be ready. I need to know how to post like an influencer. You could even argue that I have to post like an influencer to even become an influencer. (I might argue that I’m already an influencer, in some ways.) All these selfies are going to look even better on my gram when I get paid to take them.
There’s got to be one thing you don’t like about taking a selfie.
Falling Victim To My Crippling Vanity
I have a lot of horrible qualities. My vanity, while one of my strong suits, is also one of the worst things about me. I’m actively working on seeking more healthy sources of validation (also known as going to therapy), but it’s still hard to ignore a reflective surface. There’s a fine line between caring enough about your public appearance that you don’t look like shit and caring way, way, wayyyyyyy too much. You can probably guess which side of the line I’m currently standing on.
Maybe someday I’ll spend an entire blog detail both my best and worst qualities.
One of my worst is caring too much about whether or not anybody would read that blog post. One of my best is having the conviction to write it anyway.
love,
nicholas