If you're like me, you're probably scrolling through Instagram a couple times a day. A few days ago, I took the time to scroll through my own page. While deleting some pictures, I started to notice something odd. The more I looked at pictures of myself, the more I noticed that I looked completely different in the majority of them.

I tried not to think too much of it, but for some reason I just could not shake it off. I've had an Instagram for about five years, and of course I was going to change over the course of five years. However, I noticed substantial changes within a few months. I can truthfully say, Instagram made me forget what I actually look like.

I can look at pictures of myself as a child before I wore makeup or dyed my hair. I know that I have changed immensely, and that's no indication of what I look like as an adult. Now, as an adult, I don't even know what my natural hair color is. Instagram made me forget what I really, truly look like, because of "Beauty Gurus", filters, and the thousand something people who only know my first and last name.

"Beauty Gurus" are great, very talented, and fun to watch on YouTube. I often forgot that they were people too, not just images. For years I would scroll Instagram, looking for inspiration, and for whatever reason, that always involved me changing my hair. I've had purple, pink, green, red, brown, black, and many shades of blond hair. Sure, it's normal to experiment, but there's something so dysfunctional about the constant obsession of trying to look completely different. Makeup is also a huge factor when it comes to my Instagram.

I would watch a lot of makeup videos and try to look like those people when I posted. I found it difficult to look at myself when I took my makeup off and put my glasses on. I felt like I could never post a picture on Instagram where I had my hair up and my glasses on, or without any makeup.

I felt like I could not be myself on the internet.

I found myself trying to look like different people on my Instagram feed. Of course there are other social media platforms where people post pictures. But I believe that Instagram holds a higher standard than other social media platforms. I did a bit of research, I compared a few people's Facebook accounts to their Instagram accounts, and there were major differences.

I noticed on Facebook, there were far less solo pictures. Facebook seemed a lot more carefree and family friendly. Looking at my own Facebook account, I noticed that I only had one picture, and far less friends on there than on Instagram.

I can post anything I want on Facebook and not feel the need to delete it if it doesn't get a lot of likes, but on Instagram, that is not the case at all. When I post on Instagram, I often look at my picture for a while and ask, "Would ____ post a picture like this?" I realized that is extremely unhealthy, almost as bad as the amount of time I waste editing, which brings me to my next topic: filters.

Filters are great for people that know how to use them, and by that, I mean photographers. The more I think about it, the more I wish that filters could not be applied to a picture of a person's face. Black and white is fine, but filters that make your eyes look brighter, or skin tanner do nothing but harm to one's self-esteem.

My eyes are naturally a grayish color and sometimes in the light they look green, but on Instagram, they always look bright blue. Rest assured, I did not buy blue contacts, but rather played with filters to ensure that my eyes always looked blue.

The more I thought about my eye color dilemma, the more I realized that I needed to stop applying so many filters to my pictures. If I can't post a picture without wanting to change the color of my eyes, I should not post at all. I noticed that when people comment on my photos, I get a decent amount of people telling me I have pretty eyes. But that's only because of a filter.

Why do I feel the need to change my eyes for a thousand-something people that don't care about me?

I have over a thousand followers, which makes sense considering I have attended three colleges and two high schools. I know a lot of people.

Although I know a lot of people, I still don't know the majority of people following me. These people know nothing about me except my name, but for some reason, their opinion matters to me.

I noticed that the less I look like myself the more likes and comments I get. It took me a while to come to this realization, but when I did it was hard to swallow.

I'm the person who tells people they don't need makeup, that they need to be themselves, and yet I can't post a picture of myself without the proper angle, a full face of makeup, and a couple filters. Out of one thousand-something people, I hardly know a hundred of them. So, why am I changing for them?

I know I am not the only one who thinks this way. I know far too many people basing their self-worth off of an app invented in 2010. You are more than the amount of likes you get, and you have absolutely no reason to change.

If you want to dye your hair, dye it because YOU look good with that color, not because someone else does and you want to look like them. Apply makeup everyday? Let it be an art form, not a necessity that determines whether or not you leave the house. Filters are fine, but they should not be used on your face, you're as tan as you are, your teeth are as white as they are, and your eyes should not be changed.

Post more pictures of the people you love, the places you have been and the moments you will never forget, not pictures that do not display the real you. You don't need the opinion of your group chat before you post a picture, you don't have to stand sideways and suck in your stomach to look skinnier.

You need to be you. Do not let the amount of likes you get on Instagram make you lose sight of who you really are and what you truly look like.