The other day, I found myself 72 weeks deep into one of my high school classmate’s Instagram. She, to me, is what you’d describe as #goals. Cute outfits, perfect hair, success and quirky jokes populate her profile. As I scrolled, I couldn’t help but compare myself to her — and then to multiple Zooey Deschanel characters.
We all know a girl like that, don’t we? A girl who is uniquely relatable, dresses as if she stepped out of a Modcloth advertisement and seems to have her life in a perfectly practiced disarray. Usually, we can comfort ourselves with, “Well, that kind of girl is only in the movies, or on TV.” But then we find ourselves 72 weeks deep in the local manic pixie dream girl’s Instagram, and we have to realize that these charming girls walk among us. And, for some reason, we want to be her. Maybe because the life she leads is whimsical or because everyone seems to adore her.
Which, of course, isn’t a bad thing, except when you can’t see yourself as that kind of girl. Sure, the weird habits, awkward jokes and the general uneasy feeling about the tide of life is relatable, but making all of that cute? It’s a lot harder than it looks, especially is it doesn’t come naturally.
And that’s okay because that’s a realistic reaction. We can’t all be Jessica Day on “New Girl” because she’s just a character. Her words, actions, and clothes are planned out specifically to suit the character. We, unfortunately, do not get that luxury, no matter how hard we try.
That’s okay too. We’re beautiful, messy human beings who all have quirks that may or may not be cute. We forget that manic pixie dream girls were created to be the reason that the main character changes, for better or for worse. You are the main character of your story and it’s on your terms that you change, with or without the influence of a certain character. Let’s face it, though: There are other female characters in the media to relate to.
You could see yourself as more of a Liz Lemon, or a Leslie Knope, or a Mindy Lahiri. You could be one of the girls from “Girls," or one of the ladies from “Broad City.” You may even see yourself as Kelly from “Misfits.” None of these women are inferior to the wide-eyed dream girl type. They’re all different, with flaws and triumphs specific to their characters, like us.
That’s what we also have to remember: we could go chasing the image of the “perfect girl” that we often see in Deschanel’s characters. Yet, if the “perfect girl” persona is not true to you, it won’t be worth it. I know that, as much as I long to live in local pixie girl’s social media pages, I wouldn’t really be happy, because her reality does not suit my personality or experiences. The only person who is suited to your life and image is you, so why change to be like someone else? Change is a beautiful thing, but only when you intend to improve yourself, not to lose yourself. Trying to be a Jessica Day type won’t make you instantly happy, if your spirit animal is the Donna Meagle or April Ludgate.
Yes, it’s still hard for me to put down Instagram when the popular girl gets 50 likes for a picture with her ukulele. And yes, I still kind of want to be “adorkable” like that. I’ll be okay though, because I’m personally more like Liz Lemon, and I’m absolutely killing it.
