"Selfie (n.) An image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital camera especially for posting on social media networks."

Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are just a few of the many social media networks that have made the selfie the phenomenon that it is today. I, for one, am grateful.

That's right. I'm grateful for the selfie, and also the duck lips of my Facebook friends and the puppy dog filter on Snapchat. I'm grateful for Hefe, Valencia, Gingham and the like for making me feel good about myself even when I don't.

I'm grateful to scroll through my newsfeed on social media and see my friends and family loving themselves shamelessly. So why do we make such a big fuss about the selfie? Why all the hate over selfies? Why is it so horrible, why is it so terribly "basic" to like yourself?

I cannot count the number of times I've been around people perusing social media and hating on social media users for posting pictures of themselves smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves. What's so wrong with that? Are we so insecure about ourselves that we're threatened by the mere presence of another enjoying life? Are we so uncomfortable in our own skin that someone else loving themselves is a threat to our own self-confidence?

So the next time you pause to hesitate before posting that selfie, I want you to think about these things. Why not? If you feel good about yourself, who you are and how far you've come, post it. If you're having a great hair day and your makeup looks great or you had a nice day with someone you love, post it. If you're having second thoughts about a picture because you're afraid posting it might evoke judgment, whispers or cruel reactions, post it anyway.

Life is too short not to post that selfie.

Life is too short not to do exactly what it is that makes you happy. If that's a selfie, then so be it.