You may have seen the latest TikTok trends about "being the main character in your life" and "romanticizing your life" and if you aren't fluent in TikTok trends, let me fill you in. The trend is mostly to make a compilation of videos of yourself living some of your "best moments" usually of girls with their heads sticking out of sunroofs, tossing a coin into the Trevi fountain, or laughing at the beach with 25 of your CLOSEST friends. Now, no shade to them. I love the trend- we stand. It's a good trend. I'm here for it. The thing is, I have seen people fire back at it saying ok great, but I'm not an influencer making fat stacks of cash from traveling, I don't have a "girl gang", I live with my parents in my hometown, this trend isn't for me. To that, I say you are wroOoOong! This trend is more for you then it is for anyone else.
As I get older (30 is CREEEEEPIN up on me every day- *Googles closest Botox facility* ), I begin to realize as cliche as it is, it's about the journey- not the destination. I do not live a glamorous life. I may not live in my hometown, but I work in it, I may not know what it is like to not have friends, but I have lost friendships, I may not be "poor", but you certainly won't see me with make-up that isn't from CVS, etc. it's nothing fancy. However, that's the point. People with glamorous fabulous lives, may not don't need to romanticize it, their reminders that they live a good life are sometimes a little more in your face. I mean, it's hard to ignore that you live a good life when Benefit Cosmetics is flying you to Bali for a retreat and giving you a Balenciaga Bag for posting online. For us everyday folks, we kind of need to work at it.
My point is- you live a good life! Take the extra time to make every single day special. How do you do this, you ask??? Let me tell you!
1. Make Your Meals Special
Food can be a tool to help you elevate your life. Take avocado toast for example. Avocado toast romanticizes its life. I get it. Okay so you can either shove a piece of Country Kitchen and Jiffy PB down your pie hole (hehe my dad used to say the word pie hold) as you rush off to work or you can wake up a few minutes earlier- put a piece of sourdough in the toaster, slice up an avocado, mash it up ( I add olive oil and lime juice ), a little bit of Everything But The Bagel Seasoning- btw I do know this is not a hot take, but like it's popular for a reason, ya know???, pour yourself a cup of coffee and eat your breakfast on the porch and live that LIFE sis. Take it in- pretend you are the girl that has it. t-o-g-e-t-h-e-r. This is a small change that will make a HUGE difference.
2. Rise and Shine
This brings me to my next point. Create a morning routine. I know everyone is obsessed with morning routines right now and I am not shaming night owls, but hear me out. I have recently discovered why a morning routine is critical. Nobody can take your morning from you. You wake up early and nobody can hit you with a "happy hour today at 5?" or "meeting got rescheduled to tonight" email and take away your gym time or your reading time. The morning is always yours. Now, you can either take this time to make you feel like your best self or you can again run out the door with nothing to show for your morning. Recently, I have added something to my morning routine that has made a HUGE difference in making me love my regular ol' boring life. Once a week, Liz and I wake up at 5:00 am, head over to a cycling class overlooking the water, after we go get coffee and sit outside and chat, and then I drive 45 minutes to my job. Now, this does require some sacrifice such as money (class + coffee add up), time, sleep, and lol showering before work (I know so gross I am sorry), but the benefits to me outweigh the losses.
3. Relationships
Netflix and Chill is fun, but don't let it consume you. I am obsessed with making memories- to a fault. At times, it's debilitating, buuuuuut on a normal person level. Make memories. There is a time and a place for Netflix, but I promise you, you will never regret making a memory. When you look back on your life, you will want to have something to show for it. You can't categorize your life based on the TV shows you watch. Skip the next episode and go for a bike ride, go to a coffee shop today, bring your dinner to the beach, go for a walk, go play tennis, anyyyyything. Just do it. Your life doesn't have to be glamorous, to be GLAMOROUS.
I could go on forever, but I am boring myself. You get the point. Once you have the glamorous life, you are just going to want an even more glamorous life so you might as well just fall in love with the one you have. Be dramatic, celebrate everything, make it alllll a big deal. From breakfast to bedtime. Go big or go home Champagne with burgers and hot dogs? hell yeah, Going for a bike ride with your little cute bike with a basket to pretend you are in the sweetest little Summertime Rom-Com?- DUH!
And don't forget Avocado toast didn't get its reputation for being a lame biotch.
Written by: Ashley Clifford
Co-host of Party's Over Podcast
Follow Ashley on Instagram::https://www.instagram.com/ashley_clifford/
I don't know why I never noticed this section before. I love it! 💕😇