That’s Enough Selfie Shaming!

Last month, a group of Lafayette Moms Blog contributors showed up at Board and Brush in Youngsville to see what the fuss is all about. Y’all know we love local businesses, especially one spear-headed by a feisty mama! 

I was not in the room for five minutes when I whipped out my phone to start documenting the precious place on social media.

There were real live human beings in the room, and I was on my phone. 

It is a little embarrassing, right? When people are around you and you are either taking a selfie or talking to yourself via Instagram stories. There is always that look. It is the giggle look and you feel, even for just a second, like the only person in the world who has ever spent time talking to themselves in their phone. I call it selfie shaming. It is something about the look coupled with the giggle that makes me feel so shamed! 

My personal social media followers will probably find it hard to believe due to the large amount of selfies on my feed, but I cannot tell you the amount of times I have gotten the look from my husband when I have asked him to pose for a selfie in a crowd. He also enjoys making fun of me when I talk to myself in my phone on Instagram stories even though I have done the best that I can to convince him that I am really talking to my “friends” and not myself. 

But, about 15 minutes into our Board and Brush experience, I let any ounce of selfie shame and embarrassment go. As I documented each step of the process, I realized that I was in a room of almost a dozen women who were doing the EXACT same thing that I was doing. We are all passionate about Lafayette Moms Blog and local business, so we were EACH going to do everything in our power to be a window into the Board and Brush studio for our followers. It was damn near refreshing to know that not a single one of them was judging me for the selfie or because I was talking to myself in my phone. In fact, each time I pulled out my phone, I felt as though they were cheering me on. 

My Selfie Epiphany 

It may have been the wine, the paint fumes, or the Keller’s King Cake, but as I stained and painted the wood, I decided it was time to end selfie shaming. Because here is the deal, you might not be on your phone at the same second that I am talking to myself, you may not be good at selfies, and the idea of an Instagram story may be completely lost on you, but give life a minute to do something really exciting for you, and you will be right there with me.

Here is my best case for ending selfie shaming: 

You will see me posing for a selfie with my Starbucks in hand in the middle of the well-lit makeup aisle in Target WITHOUT my kid in tow. You may be wrangling your kids or even with your impatient husband who does not understand the dollar spot. But guess what? Next week, when you get to Target alone, you are going to head straight for the spot I was in and hit that selfie pose. So, stop selfie shaming me. 

You will see me talking to myself on my phone in Cajun Market Donut Co. because I need the world to see [and keep me from eating every donut in sight]. You may just be getting donuts as a prize for your kid because he has pooped on the potty twice in a week and you want to get out of there ASAP. But girlfriend, you know that there will be a meal or a drink or a piece of boudin that will really excite you one day and you are going to need the world to see. Trust me. You will selfie or maybe even talk to your “friends” on Instagram. So, stop selfie shaming me. 

When the temperature breaks 70 and spring is officially upon us, you will see me break out my Birkenstocks and pose for selfies as if I have just made it through the Arctic Tundra [but … I mean we kind of have]. The spring may not excite you. And maybe because it only lasts about two weeks until summer arrives. But, there will be a season or a sunset or a pumpkin spice latte that will really just be good for your soul. You will document it. For social media or just for your camera roll. You will. So, stop selfie shaming me. 

You will see me acting a fool all around Acadiana trying to get my kid to smile for a picture or a video or a Boomerang. But you KNOW that come first day of school you will be printing out the sign and doing the same thing. So, stop selfie shaming me. 

When my husband and I make it to Pour or Social for a rare date night alone, you will see us posing for selfies. And the more Bee Old Fashioneds that I can get him to drink, the better chance I can get him to talk to my “friends” on Instagram stories in his best Cajun accent. You may be there for work or with your in-laws. But there will be a time, even if it is at Judice Inn, where you will be alone with your husband for a few sacred moments and you will take a selfie or convince him to talk to himself on your Instagram stories. And it will be glorious wherever you are. So, stop selfie shaming me. 

You do you, boo. 

I could go on, right? But here is the point. It is different for each of us, but there is always a time when we feel moved to share with the world. And maybe you just read that line and thought, “NOPE.” Well, girl that is COOL. You do not need to. But, I always have my phone in my hand. And yep, I may be missing stuff because of it. But I have made the choice to document the really good stuff, subjective as that may be. Because I love looking back. And I know one day, when I am old and gray and cannot for the life of me figure out how to work the new iPhone, I will be so glad I lived it up and documented the good stuff. So you do you. And I will do me. Stop selfie shaming me. Next time you see me hitting my best selfie pose, just stop me and ask for my Instagram handle.