Yes. Those are lots of selfies.

Most of my selfies don’t go on Instagram. I use them more for Facebook Messenger or Snapchat. I don’t usually use selfies to build my story for the public — I write a ton, and I’m a better writer than I am a photographer.

Instead, my selfies — in fact, most of the pictures I take — become a means of sharing context. Through Snapchat selfies, I tell people (and my semi-public, temporary Snap Story) where I am, who I’m with, and what I’m doing. Sometimes there’s even a punchline. This is why I love Snapchat. It’s not about security or sexting or even taking selfies. It’s about sharing context — the more mundane parts of life.

Snaps last either ten seconds per person or twenty-four hours, if you care to share. Either way, they’re throwaway. You don’t have to put thought into them. It doesn’t matter if you look terrible or if the lighting is off. All that matters is that you walked to a dorm complex on UMass literally to check that it really exists. And if it’s pretty funny, just save it for…something.

This is how I treat the selfies I take for Messenger, although those end up clogging my photos app regardless of whether I want to save them.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Left: Sylvan dorms really *do exist. Right: I made a music thing that was terrible, so it deserved a picture that was terrible.*

Left: A friend of mine had made some comment about how hipster I would look with my glasses, a scarf, and this retro-looking watch I got. I had to show her that I went with it. Right: Random Snapchat selfie. It came out far more #aesthetic than expected. It became my profile picture on SoundCloud.

But sometimes I do post selfies on my Instagram — often to document what I wear. New glasses, wearing a suit. And I always use the same expression for my selfies. It’s my resting face/my “default facial expression.” A friend of mine called it “quite the model smolder” on an Instagram comment. But I feel like it gives off the vibe of “I’m sick of your shit,” or “Don’t fuck with me.”

I don’t know. I feel like I look stupid with any other selfie expression. And if I’m going to look stupid, I’m going to make an intentionally stupid face. I’ll look stupid on my terms.

Hm. That’s an interesting revelation.