What it Means to be “That Girl”
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“That girl” wakes up at 6:30 a.m. and somehow still gets a full eight hours of sleep. She lights a candle and journals every morning before she does yoga or meditates. She eats avocado toast and green smoothies for breakfast, is productive all day, and always buys fresh flowers when she goes to the grocery store. “That girl” romanticizes every aspect of her life. “That girl” definitely has her sh*t together 24/7.
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The trend of being “that girl” has gone viral on TikTok. The hashtag #thatgirl has 2.9 billion views with clips of daily routines and tips on how to attain this status. Because, of course, we all want to be that girl. Humans have a natural desire to feel healthy and put together all around. And there is no shame in trying to become her. Journaling and yoga is great for you. It feels wonderful to eat healthy and constantly have a clean room. I, personally, am a huge believer in romanticizing your life; there is a lot of value in living for the little things. So, light your candles, buy your flowers. Get your shi*t together, because it feels good. It feels good to be that girl.
But the days when you fall short of being that girl don’t feel good—when your life isn’t living up to the lives of all of those girls that you see on social media or even in real life. But I can promise you that sometimes “that girl’s” bed isn’t made. Sometimes it takes her days to put her laundry away or weeks to write in her journal. “That girl” likes to eat burgers and fries. Sometimes “that girl” goes out and stays out way too late, and sometimes she doesn’t get up the next morning to head to the farmer’s market. “That girl” is sometimes too tired to do an extensive workout, or maybe she just doesn’t feel like it. “That girl” gets angry. She gets overwhelmed. She cries.
“That girl” becomes toxic if the expectation is to have it all together all of the time. That expectation simply isn’t possible, and living to that standard can become draining.
Romanticizing your life is a good thing. In fact, it’s a beautiful thing. Becoming the best version of ourselves is something that we should all strive to do. But it’s important to remember that even on the days that you don’t feel like that girl, you can still be that girl because, above anything, “that girl” is human. And humans are messy and complicated. They make mistakes, and sometimes they fall short. But that’s the beauty in it all, isn’t it? You can be “that girl” while also embracing every part of what it means to be truly living.
Strike out,
Writer: Abby Wager
Editors: Kimani Krienke, Will Kennedy, Mary Clare Cameron
Writing Director: David Kramer
Blog Director: Helenna Xu
Notre Dame
