It's pretty easy to be a "basic girl" nowadays. If you own white Converse or have a frappuccino in your hand you've probably been called that word a few times. Isn't that weird though? With all the "basic girl starter packs" and tweets that show us what makes a girl basic, those traits are almost universally known.

The thing about the word basic is that it is almost always used in a negative way... and only for girls. And when you think about it, there really isn't an equivalent insult for boys. We never call boys basic for following popular trends. I've never heard in my life someone saying "wow look at that guy's basic Nike elite socks," but yet I still won't buy a pair of high rise white converse because I'm worried it will be too basic for me. The only thing the word basic tells me is that it's wrong for girls to enjoy things that other people are enjoying too...which makes absolutely no sense. Why are we making it a bad thing to like what other people like too?

While counseling at a summer camp a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of running an activity called "Strong Independent Woman." One day, while listening to some Beyoncé and making avocado toast, we discussed how we felt about the word basic, and how it plays a role in their generation. Girls from ages nine to fifteen were expressing how just one word really changed the way they saw other girls, as well as the way they saw themselves. The discussion went very well though, and I was extremely proud of the way these young girls went about this kind of topic. My absolute favorite reaction was from one twelve-year-old who said, "if you're insulting me, don't use basic. At least be creative when you're trying to be mean. Calling me basic is just...basic."

This five-letter word is ruining things that are great for no reason. White Converse are cute, comfortable and go with so many outfits, but I have yet to buy a pair because of the fact that a lot of girls have them. I still won't post a picture of a smoothie bowl because I'm worried that my followers have already seen a picture of that same breakfast in the past week. I've basically made the dog filter on Snapchat off-limits for myself because I know that everyone says it's the most basic filter of them all. What I, along with many other girls, need to start thinking about are the reasons why these trends became popular in the first place. White Converse are practical, smoothie bowls are delicious (AND healthy) and the dog filter is adorable on anyone (you know I'm right). So, all you annoying and judgmental people, stop worrying about what's popular or not, and to all you basic girls out there: don't be ashamed, you're still your own person even if you can relate to majority of the trending Instagram hashtags.