I first discovered the “selfie” in the sixth grade, when my mom gave me my first cell phone. A small, nugget-sized silver flip phone with big chunky buttons. I probably had a total of 10 pictures on that phone— all selfies — because I was in sixth grade, didn’t have many friends, wore a lot of Aeropostale polos, and did barely anything more than go to soccer practice and hang in my room Googling everything Jonas Brothers.

The sixth grade selfie was a very thought-out process with careful intention. Your duck-face, peace sign, and sticky pink lip gloss were all crucial elements. Remember — this was potentially going to be your new MySpace profile picture — some serious stuff right there.

Fast forward to 2015, and the selfie has morphed into a new phenomenon of its own. Eyebrows aren’t just eyebrows anymore. Kylie Jenner has given us a new standard for lip plumpness. Instagram informs us that we need to be experts on face contouring. And everyone knows that it’s a close tie between refrigerator lighting and car lighting for the best selfie-taking environment.

On fleek is what your selfie should be. Whatever that means.

And it’s just so damn easy to make fun of selfies.

In high school, when a girl posted a selfie I would think she was conceited or arrogant. Selfies were widely viewed as evidence of a superiority complex or narcissism. No way would I ever post a selfie of myself for the public to see. I didn’t want others to think I was self-obsessed, right?

Oh, the pathetic trials and tribulations of high school.

Looking back, I now see that I didn’t have the confidence to own up to something as simple as a selfie. I allowed my own insecurities to bloom into judgment and close-mindedness. In reality, I just wanted to be able to have the self-assurance and poise to unapologetically post a picture of my own face — one I took myself, in the solitude of my own presence —an image where I truly believed I was beautiful.

Isn’t it funny how something as simple as a selfie can be so overthought and scrutinized?

What’s the huge freakin’ deal people? Why do we do this to each other? People are too hard on one another. And most of all, we are too hard on ourselves. We take ourselves way too seriously. We are our own worst critics.

Social media doesn’t help with the whole, "I’m not going to compare myself to others and Impossible modern beauty standards don’t matter and I love myself just the way I am" mantras that are such critical components of developing healthy self love and inner confidence.

Are we only allowed to feel pretty if someone else has taken the picture? Are we not allowed to celebrate our own beauty and creation?

Whether you’re in sixth grade, lips pressed together in full duck face, first realizing you might be pretty, trying to learn how to love yourself, having fun picking out all the wrong shades of eyeshadow — or in college, trying to find the balance between work and play, realizing that you know everything and nothing at the same time — the selfie is an expression of self-love.

The selfie is a celebration of one single captured moment in time, of you. A little snapshot you give yourself because "the now" is precious, time doesn’t stop and youth is fleeting. You aren’t going to be the same person in a year. You aren’t the same person you were three minutes ago.

Celebrate these moments, celebrate you and embrace the selfie.

Hashtag, I just made the selfie a deep, introspective issue.

Because all issues of the self are important. Self-love needs to be encouraged, it breeds self-confidence, which translates into a myriad of positive outcomes that enrich our world. The self-loving, self-confident individual understands the value of themselves, and in turn, of others. And we need to value one another, oh we so need to value one another. We need a world full of self-confident people who value each other.

And it doesn’t matter if your selfie gets five “likes” on Instagram or 200 — the only “like” that matters is your own. Love yourself. #ProSelfie.