I've been watching A LOT of "that girl", videos and vlogger lately and even some essay vids on the trend itself which were pretty interesting, ngl i was watching them when i wasnt all there because it was late but still i think i remember the important points...
But then i saw a comment that made me think if it in a different way, the comment said something along the lines of "everyone pretty much already does this already they just make it look aesthetic and perfect, like every moment of their life is clean and flawlees" And first i want to speak on the "ppl already do this" part, because its true. Specifcally when it comes to general overall health: Sleep on time and consistenly, eating well, exercising regularly. These are things that we have to do anyway to keep up our heaslth, even to a basic amount. Some other ppl in the comments said that they were stuggling with depression and other mental problems and their therapist pretty much said to just work on these basic areas. And i think that watching these videos of these girls being healthy and taking care of themselves but to an EXTREMELY ~aesthtis~ way and the way they look like they have time for evertying and are somehow always productive, makes you think that those are very hard things to do. Because if you try and it doesnt look like that then you must not be completely healthy or even doing it right. Right?
And even when i look in some of the comments of these vids or yt shorts, of these girls giving "tips" and its things like "get movement daily, eat healthy meals" etc. more wide but you get what i mean. There are ppl in the comments talking about all the reasons why that they caqnt do it or its impossible for them. And a lot of them i would say are valid, in fact all the things i see about ppl saying they cant do these things are vvalid, bc i understand being stuck in that mindset and aso automatically thinking they have to do all these things everyday when there life is already hectic or they are really mentall ill etc. So i completely understood all the ppl giving resason why they cant do this, wheter its there environment, money, circumstance, jobs etc.
But the thing about this is the way this "that girl" trend/lifestyle looks kind of also tricks your mind into thinkg that if a healthy lifestyle doesnt look like that then you cant do it in your own life. (+i would say if you are already prone to thinking negatively or complaining (double bracket lol: tdont mean this in a mean way!) then you can auto start thinking like this)
But how I think abt this lifestyle/trend is sort of a blueprint to implement into your own life. So i just want to list the staples and mindsets i see in this lifestyle/trend first:
General health and Wellness but ~Aesthetic`:
W/ exercise they always have matching workout sets and always go tot he gym. and even with that they don't look that bad. Also they ususally do some type of specfic or intricate exercise routine.
W/ diet, they always have the money and the time to buy healthy foods and make healthy meals everyday.
W/ Self care in a physical "treat yourself" sense, they always have the time and resources to do that, they are putting on face masks (mostly) and doing skincare routines wi/ different products that prob cost almost as much as their food.
Usually a Thriving Social Life and a Friend Group:
They have pics and vids w/ them traveling with friends and just hanging out often with them, they seem to have good social health and even a good support system. And conssitently keep up with it.
Self help, development, improvement 'obsessed':
I noticed the ones ive seen atleast, are listening to multiple podcasts and are occasionally reading books mostly on self development. And on a pretty consistent basis. And they have this mindset of constant self improvement, and to reach higher and higher, (almost in a softer (?) hustle mindset sort of way but w/ self improvement)
Productivity, goals and they look like they have time in the day and week to do everything:
A lot of their vids titles are "productive day/week" in my life, and on top of getting work and studying done in their day/week they are also practicing self care, exercising, eating well, and making time for friends.
Even when they are in their pjs, they look somewhat put together:
They usually having matching "cute" pjs and nice outfits, and since they are usually white or are a different ethnicity and have have type a hair they can throw on a messy bun and look "socially acceptable". And still feel fine to wear it that way in fron of others as opposed to ppl with other hair textures...
This is what I see makes up the "image" of "that girl" but as you can see "that" girl has her life together in every way, she is productive and healthy and has a lot of friends and is focusing on improving herself. Abd she is organized and on top of that she looks great and her life specfically looks "pretty" and "clean".
And obvi ev1 knows that socail media and images like this are a highlight reel and its impossible for someone to be 100% like this in their life, because there is only so many hours in the day and life happens etc. But this image makes it look like its possible and WE arent doing enough because these ppl are doing it. And obvi all these ppl have similar lifestyle bc its a life style lol, but the things i a health balanced lifestyle doesnt have to look like this only. But this image tricks are brains into thinking it is and we do the rest of the work by telling ourselves we cant be healthy or take care of ourselves like that in the circumstance we are in now.
I have seen a lot of commemnts talking abt how their situations dont let them lead this lifestyle for valid reasons like Time, Money and various responsibilites. Esp single moms w/ multiple kids and no support system, that one stuck out to me the most... :(
And they are 100% right, it doesnt let them lead this lifetsyle right now, but the thing i see about this trend its to use it as an implemntation blueprint. For exercise you dont even have to go to the gym or do a "workout", you can walk for an extended period of time. And that can be your exercise for your life circumstances now. Maybe you do jumping jacks for 5 min a day, and thats your exercise. Some type of movement on a consistent basis even if its short. It doesnt matter how long or intricate it is as long as you set a simple exercise for some time in your life.
Same goes for everything else, i think we just need to rethink this "that girl" trend into using it as implementation. This isnt the standard, and is not where you SHOULD be, and it doesnt mean you cant be productive and healthy in whatever you are at in life now. I think instead we should just look at what "that girl" is doing overall and in a very simple and small way apply it to outr lives. Because just bc we arent eating parfaits w/ fresh fruits for breakfast doesnt mean we cant start eating one healthy food more or quit one unhealthy food. It's just about applying the basic health to a very small bare minimum amount that you can manage in your own life. You can't go to the gum daily or weekly, but can you run in place for 5 min a day or 3x a week? Investing 5 min for exercise a day is sure to make a difference somewhere, mostly in your own confidence to be able to keep something healthy up. And show yourself you can start making these changes by starting very extremely small in whater situation or circumstance your life is in right now. And you can do these things where you are "at" as long as you make it very"accesible" to where you are "at".