Smile and Selfie Deficient

As someone born in the 1970s, I did not grow up in the age of the selfie. This however, is only one of the reasons why I am not now and will never be comfortable with taking a picture of myself. I remember as a child cringing when anyone tried to take a picture of me, due to a mixture of shyness and a lack of self confidence. Till this day, I still have a hard time smiling for a camera. It just doesn't feel natural. A couple of weeks ago, I had to have my picture taken for an award pamphlet, and before I left in the morning, my wife directed me to make sure they get one where I am actually smiling. After the initial photoshop ended, I realized I forgot to show my teeth, instead forcing a lip closed awkward curve of the lips. I asked the photographer to take a couple more, who offered a quick tip on making the smile seem more natural. This was the best picture of the bunch. Not a selfie, but I think it demonstrates my awkwardness at smiling for the camera:

Looking back at my childhood I don't actually have a lot of pictures. My parents weren't very organized and things often weren't saved that probably should have been. Occasionally a photograph emerges that captures my rough childhood and adolescence. Most are cringe-worthy, but I can at least now appreciate them in a kitschy way. Here is one of me with my favorite toy record player: 

As far as selfies go, I searched through my Facebook feed to try to find any images that actually fall into this category (personal shots taken of myself). The first one I was able to identify was from January of 2016. My wife and I were able to take our first elongated vacation without the kids (Thanks Abby!) and spent a week on the beautiful beaches of Mexico. To document this momentum occasion for our friends and family, I took the following shot:

Even relaxed in paradise, the smile is so forced. 

This past weekend I tried to take a couple of selfies to post here. It was a major sports weekend. My daughter had a lacrosse game and three soccer games (she scored a goal in everyone one of them!). 

My daughter loves the ideas of selfies. I asked if I could take a picture of us and she agreed, but also asked if she could have a bunch of photos also taken of her and her teammates. After three of four of the pictures, they started calling her 'Hollywood'. She smiled and laughed:

My smile is once again embarrassing, but hers is amazing. 

I also coached my son's baseball team, as the head coach was at a wedding in Pennsylvania. After the game, my son and his friends wanted more baseball, so I took them to a Bowie Baysox game. They got into the minivan in the way back and started playing Mario Kart on the Switch. Without telling them, I took the following selfie: 

There is not even an attempt at a smile by anyone in this one.