Try not to get too caught up in the concept.

I refers to the immediate present.
Self refers to the moment of existence.
Two arbritary words that signify the same sensory feeling.

What your missed in the original sentence....Self is what I perciev/see me as in any given moment.....is the word 'percieve/see'. They are an essential part of sentence structure. In this case they link the words I & self in an action.

My original post to you was to say that I am human, and I don't believe in your proposition that 'humans have the belief that 'I exist''. I accept the view of self as a perception...and perception as a momentary view (a trick of the light)...not an existential belief.