To find a social media personality with more likes on a post than hairs on their head, you wouldn't have to look far. The Internet is so full of YouTube stars and celebrity accounts that it's hard not to feel like a nobody with your 500 measly friends on Facebook. Instagram, especially, has given rise to many new public figures, from Jen Selter-- a fitness inspiration famous for the "belfie"...the butt selfie-- to Dan Bilzerian, who lives every man's dream life. The freedom to brag about one's own life and the prospect of social stardom has prompted many to become obsessed with the app, myself included.

I joined the Instagram community five years ago, shortly after the app's initial release. My first follower was my mom and I had three likes on my first photo, a sloppy snap of my beat up converse on the sidewalk. I had no idea what a filter was, and I wrote out the word "hashtag" rather than using the pound sign (#). It goes to say that I've come a long way since then. 860 followers later- most of whom I don't personally know- I feel almost like a pro, despite still being a nobody. I have external editing apps to help make my photos as gorgeous as possible, my favorites being Filterra and Microsoft Selfie, the lazy girl's go-to for flawless selfies.

OK, I'll admit it, I'm cheating a little bit. I use an app to get more likes on my photos-- a lot more likes. There are lots of free apps for this purpose, such as 5000 Likes Pro. On this app, you like other Instagrammers' photos to earn coins, then spend the coins you earn to get a certain amount of likes on your own photos. The people who like your photos are real Instagram users, not spam accounts. Apps to gain followers are also on the market, but they often require you to spend money or follow a lot of other users to get just a few new followers. I don't use these apps, but neither do lots of other Instagrammers who have tens of thousands of followers. I'll follow new accounts every now and then, but I don't want to crowd my Insta feed with strangers whose lives I honestly don't care about just to get another follower or two.

Luckily for me and my Instagram obsession, I don't run just one account--but three! I have my personal account, which I post to almost daily, the account for the coffee shop I work at (I also make a mean latte) and an account for my five-year-old cockapoo, Carter. Three accounts means lots of time spent photographing and editing, and even longer thinking of clever captions, the perfect emojis, and appropriate hashtags. There's no feeling quite like knowing I've captured the perfect Instagram aesthetic and seeing it come to life in a well put-together post.

At first, Instagram was all about taking and sharing photographs of my everyday life, like a digital scrapbook. Looking back, I can't really pinpoint a time when it started being about follows, likes, and how great I look in selfies. The app was initially released when I was at an age where popularity and looks became especially important in one's social life. At first, I stayed away from the popularity contest of life since I knew I wasn't one of the well-known kids at my school. I didn't have any desire for strangers following my account and commenting on my selfies until the later years of high school when I started to make an effort to wear more makeup, become more involved in clubs and friendships, and get to know more people. The popularity bug finally hit, and I wasn't happy with the number of followers and likes I had.

It can be hard not to believe that your amount of followers is reflective of who you are. I often thought that someone with more followers is more popular, more pretty or better liked than me. With celebrities and friends who seem to live their lives on the app, I often forget that it's only an app. My first thought when doing my makeup or going out somewhere is that I need to take a picture for a post, as if the photograph is more important than actually living in the moment. I post almost everything I do, like I'm trying to prove to someone that I do in fact have a life.

I see the flaws in being so attached to my Instagram account, but as long as it's fun, I'm okay with that. Followers are nice, and I'll keep trying to get some, but I won't forget that who I am is not at all defined by my follower count.

Give me a follow! @_miss_gabi_