Unselfie

I saw this pic of a friend with other friend. I didn't even know they knew each other. Pero it would seem they're close. Tapos may selfie pic na sila together. Ok fine. Siguro naiinggit ako. Bakit ba wala pa yata kami pic together ni friend?

Flashback year 2005.

Nokia pa lang ang usong phone. Nakikigamit ako ng 7610 ng kapatid ko para magproject. At since di pa naiimbento ang front cam, pacham ang selfie. Chambahan sa distance ng pagdukwang sa cam, chambahan sa lighting, at chambahan sa paghold ng smile, chambahan sa pagpress ng camera button.

Fastforward sa taong 2014.

Talamak na ang iPhones at Android phones. Bulok ang cam mo kung wala pang frontcam. Di ka in kung walang filter ang pic mo. Glossy? Check! X-Pro II? Check! Sexy lips? Check na check! Kung akala mo ikakaganda mo yan, go lang teh, ipush mo yan. Supportahan ta ka. Ilalike ko pa pic mo. Basta deserving naman sa like, hindi yung pinalike lang huh.

Di naman sa pagmamalinis pero naadik din ako sa pagselfie. GGSS days ko. Those were the dark days. Pero nagising na ako at napagtanto ko sa aking sarili na walang patutunguhan ito. Selfie and myself don't mix well. I tried that sa CR a lot of times. At nafeel ko naman ikinagwapo ko  yon. Nakakaboost kaya ng confidence pag may naglalike. Kaya siguro madami naaadik. Izz like drug. You keep coming back for more. Pero I stopped na.

Sanay na ako behind the cam. Mula digicam hanggang SLR at cameraphone, theres a whole lot of more inneresting subjects  than my face. May foodtrip para sa foodporn at foodography. May fireworks, sunsets, at light fixtures para sa long exposures, bokeh, and lightology. May candid shots for street photography and general randomness. At may groupie shots for friends. Just dont ask to have everyone included. Ang hirap kaya pagkasyahin lahat sa isang frame, kahit pa isupercompress mo na. Group shots are actually stressful for the photographer. 

Pero ang selfie, pass na muna. Hindi ko sinasabing masama magselfie. Kung ikakasaya mo ito, go. Pero friend, sana next time na magseselfie ka, isama mo na lang ako. Kasi di ko maaatim sa sarili ko na magselfie. Magpaselfie, pwede pa. Pero selfie pa ba tawag don? Anyway, sa hinahaba ng rant ko ang gusto ko lang talaga sabihin... naiinggit ako, bakit wala pa tayo picture, friend?

Selfies should be a way to look at yourself. To see your flaws, to see you're not perfect, to see the real you. And you know you can change things if you want. You can Camera360 all you want, but that won't change the real thing. Start with the small things. Wag magpuyat, eat less rice, excercise pag may time, smile more. Soon, di mo na need mag-edit ng pics. Dahil ang tunay na ganda walang filter.


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Photo by Serena Jones via Flickr.