Is This the Best Selfie Ever?

What's your best selfie? Is it the one where the lighting is just right, your makeup is flawless, or your eyebrows are 100% on fleek? I'm sorry to say that as on-point as your selfie may be, it probably still doesn't beat Reddit user im_fairly_local's selfie, which is being hailed (by some people on Reddit, including OP) as the best selfie ever. If it makes you feel any better, my first and only selfie only got 17 likes on Instagram, maybe because I look like a deer in headlights in it. Who knows. I'm slowly learning to accept that, in selfies and in life, we can't all be the best.

As all of us know, there are countless factors that go into the perfect selfie: first, there's the lighting, as I already mentioned. Then, you have to get just the right angle. And finally, you have to get your facial expression just right. I have always envied the people on Instagram who are able to achieve that perfect "not-smiling-but-still-smoldering" expression. Every time I try to smize, I just end up looking bored and/or pissed off. Ah well.

So what makes the best selfie ever, the best selfie ever? It's the combination of creativity, determination, and timing coming together in perfect harmony. Here's what I mean:

Now, some would argue that this is not a selfie; it is merely a photo. However, im_fairly_local insists that she used her iPhone's self-timer function to capture this awesome pic, so even though it's not the traditional "arm out" selfie, it still is a picture of herself that she took herself. So does it qualify? Redditors weighed in.

Many would argue this is not a selfie.

While some maintain that it can be considered one.

And then we get into the very definition of what constitutes a "selfie" vs. a "self portrait."

And then just when you thought this argument couldn't go any deeper, it does.

Wow, I have never thought about selfies in that much depth before. Maybe this pic is a selfie, maybe it's just a self portrait — or selftrait, anyone? — I'll leave that up to you to decide. Who knows, this could turn into the next "white and gold or blue and black" debate. So you have to decide now: are you #teamselfie or #teamselftrait?

Image: im_fairly_local / Reddit