If you’re having health concerns of any kind, we urge you to speak to a healthcare professional.
On a Monday afternoon, I was told over Zoom I was losing my job.
It wasnt a great fit, anyway; I wasnt especially happy in the role.
Dani Mohrbach
Nothing I was doing felt particularly destructive, and some of it even almost felt helpful.
Still, I couldnt ignore the feeling I wasnt doingenough.
Maybe I hadlost my jobbecause I wasnt good enough or had my life together enough.
Maybe I needed to change not only my coping mechanisms but my daily habits themselves.
I didnt expect to find the answer on TikTok.
But there she was: #ThatGirl.
Who Is #ThatGirl?
I might have swiped past the video at any other time.
In my fragile state, though, I watchedand kept watching.
None of them were sobbing into pints of ice cream.
Their apartments were modern and minimalist.
They planned their mornings in bullet journals and took bubble baths at night.
#ThatGirl is a clear aesthetic: white, thin, young, beautiful.
I decided that if I wasnt naturally #ThatGirl, maybe I could attempt to become her.
The Plan
For the next week, I tried to stick with a #ThatGirl routine.
Instead of stumbling out of bed after snoozing four times, I woke up early and made my bed.
I ate healthy breakfasts and salads, took walks in the sunshine, and washed my face before bed.
I drank water instead of Mountain Dew (the least #ThatGirl drink I can think of).
I did everything I was supposed to, everything that promised to make me “perfect.”
Did it make me look younger, feel better, act more in control?
Read on to see how each activity benefited me or did the opposite.
Waking Up Early
No snooze?
No problem, I thought.
It turns out that wasnt always the case.
I even brought out my journal for some reflection.
“Ask yourself,How am I feeling?
How do I want today to go?
Is there one thing I want to accomplish?
How did my day go?”
Green Juice, Green Everything
#ThatGirl meals seem more aesthetically pleasing than they are delicious.
Still, I felt guilty for not whizzing up green smoothies or eating leafy greens for every dinner.
What if, to be #ThatGirl, I needed to eat all-green all the time?
Registered dietitian Morgan Murdock disagrees.
“Trying for perfection with food will never be the right way to go about proper nutrition.
All bodies are different, and our needs are different.”
Lookin Good
A main tenant of #ThatGirl is the aesthetic.
Most #ThatGirl TikTokers are tall and slender with long hair, white teeth, and a tan.
Im 28, not 18; Im a size 16, not a size 2.
I couldnt help but compare myself to them, anyway.
This is where my pursuit of #ThatGirl began to fall apart.
The Downside
Days one and two of trying to become #ThatGirl felt great.
Three and four felt even better.
However, during the last several days, my moodand my perspective of the trendbegan to shift.
I became angry at myself for thinking that a TikTok trend could change my life.
My 10-minute daily workouts werent changing my body.
Waking up early still made me grumpy.
I sure as hell didnt have time to take a bubble bath every night.
This realization made me feel worse than when I started.
She stresses that these videos are art, not real life, but are made to look real.
Like anyone can follow them.
The Takeaway
Im not #ThatGirl.
I dont see the point of making my bed every day.
Some of these habits felt good and brought me out of the funk of losing my job.
If #ThatGirl cant be any of us, she should be none of us.
Instead of trying to be #ThatGirl, someone Im not, Ill keep being #ThisGirl.
I hope youll do the same.
