Trends are fleeting, don't stick to something that isn't you

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Trends have been a thing since the dawn of time. Some examples you might know are e-girls, opium, mcbling, jirai kei, etc etc. It's okay to try new things because they're popular, obviously. This is why movies and games like Child's Play and Five Nights at Freddy's are cult classics. But when does it become unhealthy?

I'm one of those people that would be attached to the hip to trends. Not anymore, really, but when I was just entering my teens and was easily influenced. I think the first trend I willingly hopped onto was the "tiktok goth" trend during 2020 and 2021. I remember seeing this one person, don't remember their username, but they always had a "bat's nest" sort of hairstyle going on, over their eyes most of the time, wearing raggedy dark clothes and dark makeup that was akin to corpse paint. To copy this style was not uncommon with kids my age who liked the internet as much as I did. I'd say I dressed pretty rebelliously as I started listening to more metal bands and goth bands. However, the second I started seeing the color pink and the words "bimbo," "bimbocore," and "Sanrio doll" start popping up on my feed, I switched up. Obviously, no child should be using those first two words to refer to themselves, but did I care? No, why would I? I discovered something new I liked. I bought my first Demonias around that time, which were very pink and unwalkable, and gorged on anything pink. This didn't last long. I switched back to my darker style after around 3 months, around the time gothic lolita was popping up as well. Switching back and forth between trends for the next 3 years after this was stressful, aggravating, and did more harm than good in trying to make myself look good instead of feeling good.

It's not wrong to try something new, popular or not. However, you shouldn't feel pressured to conform to these trends. I never bought a Stanley because everyone else had one, and I didn't ever play Genshin Impact because it was popular at the time, and I didn't ever buy vapes because everyone else was doing it. Whether harmless or harmful, don't try stuff you wouldn't consider if nobody else was doing it. If it sounds fun? Go ahead, I'm not the person to stop you.

Just be yourself. When you're teenage, it's hard. You're still figuring yourself out, still finding your identity. Your political identity, which way you swing, what music you like, what people you want to hang out with. Not everyone will accept you, and that's okay. It's life. Nobody is the same person.

As for myself, I still keep myself on pace with trends, but I don't force myself into them. You can observe from a distance; it's okay. You shouldn't force yourself into anything if you feel that, somewhere in you, it's wrong.

~ Carmilla

finished writing at 7:10 PM, PST, 12 May 2025