Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a classic 1990s show. While I was too young to watch them from the start, the reruns I watched morphed into one of my favorite shows of all time. Buffy is an icon of the 90s and an icon for young women finding their way in the world. This is beautifully summed up in her "cookie dough" speech in season seven, episode 22.
Throughout the series Buffy found herself romanced by many suitors - Angel, Spike, and Riley are the main ones. Angel being her first love, Spike being the hate-becomes-love, and Riley was the human out of the three. Starting when Buffy was in high school, she experienced everything a normal high schooler would, you know with the added bonus of being the slayer. Throughout all of it, she had her friends and her family, with the boys sprinkled in.
As I aged and watched the episodes over again, her cookie dough speech made more sense to me now than it did when I was thirteen. It's something every girl who is struggling with herself in relationships should watch. To quote Buffy "I always figured there was something wrong with me, you know because I couldn't make it work." This resonates with young girls these days.
We live in a hookup culture where everything is about your "body count" (i.e. how many people you've slept with). Girls are still finding out who they're meant to be in this world on their own, without the added mix of a boy just looking for someone to spend the night with.
I'm looking for someone to spend my life with, but I recently watched that episode again. It occurred to me that, like Buffy, myself and other girls are cookie dough. We're not done finding out who we're supposed to be yet. Your 20s are your messy years; make mistakes, major in something that makes no sense, and be on your own. One day you'll turn around and you'll be cookies. You'll be ready for someone to enjoy you and all your warmness.
Until that day comes along, I'm going to enjoy being myself and letting myself be cookie dough for a little bit longer.
Here's a link to the scene for everyone to enjoy!
