In a new generation, what’s wrong with a little self love?

My zebra-print notebook is filled with doodles. The other day, as I was finishing up one of the best doodles I’ve ever doodled, something hit me.

I’m in love. Yes, love, and not with just anyone either, it’s The One, the one I’m going to spend my whole life with.

Myself.

It came to me as I completed the best 3D graffiti ‘Jessica’ in all three years of college. I’m entirely and utterly wrapped up in myself. I can do no wrong, even when I’m wrong. I love stories that concern me, pictures that I’m in, and every little thought that pops into my brain is pure genius. I’m not alone though, I know there are others out there like me, you know, in love with me. Oops, I mean, in love with themselves. Some people know it already, and others just aren’t ready to admit it yet. I call those people secret admirers.

Even if I don’t want to admit that I love me, I have to. It’s pretty obvious to the girl who I didn’t notice walking into the bathroom behind me, watching as I put on my lip gloss, fix my hair, adjust my shirt and 360 spin to make sure everything’s looking A-OK, then smile at myself. She might think I’m vain, but she doesn’t really understand my relationship.

She doesn’t know that whenever I make a joke, I’m always there to laugh. And then I tell my joke to everyone else, just to ensure they know how funny I can be, too. Or whenever I get an A, I congratulate myself and usually manage to slip it into conversation, humbly of course; I want them to know I’m smart, not smug.

No, no, that girl in the bathroom will never understand that whenever someone has a great story about me, I’ll make sure the storyteller tells it over and over again until everyone I know has heard it. Not to mention if someone comes up with a great idea that I’ve already thought of, I make sure to let everyone know that I was “thinking about that the other day!” I have to make sure to give myself credit. And, of course, I always take my own advice, how can I not? I’m the best advice-giver around.
  

Who can blame me for smiling at myself in the mirror? I was just showing myself some gratitude.

Myself and I were childhood sweethearts. I can’t tell you exactly when it happened, but I can tell you that by the time I was in second grade, as far as I was concerned, I could outsmart and out-dress any kid in the class. Yup, I knocked all six girls in the class away with my black spandex biker shorts and oversized Tweety bird T-shirt. And I certainly didn’t need to write the vocabulary words three times each and put them into sentences to learn how to spell them.

Even when I went through my awkward phase, like every kid does, I had no idea. No, even when my braces shone silver and gold to match the dress I had for my friend’s Bat Mitzvah, I was in love. I just didn’t realize it yet.

My friends are the same way, and maybe that’s why I love them almost as much as I do myself. Like when we’re flipping through pictures from the weekend, I know that everyone is really scoping out the background to see their own faces. And after a really fun weekend, we get together, share our different versions of Saturday night and determine that everybody probably loves us now.

I think it’s something about my generation. You know, the kids in college right now that most adults want to punch in the head, the supposed-to-be role models for our younger sisters and brothers. The reason for the epidemic of scantily-clad Disney stars all over the Internet.

The Myspace-Facebook generation.  The ‘I love my digital camera solely for the fact I can take pictures of myself with it, then put them on the Internet,’ generation. The ‘reason Apple put a built-in camera in their Macbooks’ generation. The ‘adults read my blog because I’m abnormally observant and articulate for my age’ generation.

The ‘I love myself,’ generation.

We are the generation of the self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-righteous, self- a lot of stuff. And it seems like we’re totally okay with that, even if no one else is.

It’s not like we’d notice anyway.

Jessica Schiffenhaus is a guest columnist for The Review. Her viewpoints do not necessarily represent those of The Review staff. Please send comments to jhaus@udel.edu.

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8 comments

Aaron D.

Wed Nov 4 2009 00:10

Even if the author was being totally serious (which I think it's perfectly clear she's not) I'd have to give her credit anyway--it's a cleverly written piece. People don't seem to get that it's tongue-in-cheek humor.

michelle

Tue Nov 3 2009 19:51

This column is obviously meant to be sarcastic. And when she says "secret admirers" she is referring to people who don't openly admit that they like themselves, not HER. No need to attack a girl who is able to laugh at herself...bet you read your comment over and smiled at how smart you are, and that is exactlllly her point.

x

Tue Nov 3 2009 18:32

It's definitely intended to be sarcastic -- a lot of people joke about how we're a little over-involved in our culture

K

Tue Nov 3 2009 16:27

I get the feeling that this article is meant to be satirical, bordering on meta-humor. The author isn't just spouting off about how great she is, she's trying to make a comment about our generation as a whole. Read the article again, and try to think about what's being said a bit more.

What the author says about herself are compliments that we often find ourselves giving to ourselves. We, as a generation, are more privileged and self-centered than generations of the past.

rumbleinthejungle

Tue Nov 3 2009 12:42

I don't have a problem with anyone appreciating themselves or being self-reflecting, but this girl is up her own you-know-what. There's a difference between making yourself a better person, but she seems to think she's above everyone else. Forgive me if that's not what she meant to say, but she said it, several times.

"I call those people secret admirers." ....."...and determine that everybody probably loves us now."...."And I certainly didn’t need to write the vocabulary words three times each and put them into sentences to learn how to spell them."

k

Tue Nov 3 2009 11:58

The previous two commenters obviously don't know how to read between the lines. Ms. Schiffenhaus' article makes a very good point: our generation doesn't have the struggle that previous ones had. Coming off of the technological and economic boom of the eighties put our generation in a unique place--with less time needed to provide basic necessities for ourselves and our families, we now have the opportunity to spend more time reflecting on ourselves, our personal needs, and our desires. I'm not sure if the meta-commentary was intended, but I commend the author if it was.

yyyyyyyea

Tue Nov 3 2009 11:38

Good thing this article was only written by a guest writer...I want the two minutes I wasted reading this @#$% back. "We" aren't a generation of self-obsessed princesses like yourself. Take a step back and get over yourself sweet pea. I find this article insulting and can't believe anyone let this get published. Talk about a waste of time, paper, money...........

patharker

Tue Nov 3 2009 11:35

get over yourself

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