Ok, social media, it's time we have a talk. We need to stop shaming teenage girls for how they want to dress. This has been going on forever. It started with the "basic girl," then on to the "Tumblr girl," and now, the newest addition, the "VSCO girl." Teenage girls have been scrutinized for every trend they have tried to create in order to express themselves. Have we ever stopped to think what making fun of these girls will do to their confidence?

I spent my early teenage years trying to fit myself into one of these "boxes" society has created to stray us away from the norm, but what's wrong with the norm? Let girls wear Uggs, or space buns, or scrunchies. Let them live their life the way they want to, not the way you want them to.

I bring this up because I am tired of hearing about the shaming my little sister endures for being a "VSCO girl." Yes, my sister wears scrunchies. Why? Because I like to wear scrunchies, and she looks up to me. Yes, she wears a shell necklace. Why? Because I bought it for her at the beach. Yes, she owns a Hydroflask. Why? Because she's in middle school and likes to keep her water cold throughout her school day. Yes, she likes to dress like a "VSCO girl." Why? Because she is an individual and can do whatever she damn well pleases.

But, as I said, she's in middle school. She's turning thirteen next month. She follows what everybody else does because that's what you do when you're younger. You follow the trends, you listen to the Top 40s, you don't worry about being made fun of, because everyone is doing the same thing. But now that everybody is teasing her for what once was popular, she is confused as to what she's doing wrong. When she called me yesterday to tell me she doesn't know what to do, I told her to be herself, even if "herself" is what constitutes a "VSCO girl," because this will pass, as did all the other scrutinized trends, and as long as she stays true to herself now, she won't lose herself later.

This has become a catch-22 situation. You're a "VSCO girl," you're basic. You try to go against that, and be a little different, you're an "E-girl" or just considered weird. You like to wear sweaters and flowers in your hair, you're a "soft girl." Why can't we just let it go? There are so many other things in this world to make jokes of. Let's start laughing about things that were made to be laughed about, rather than people, especially teenage girls.

As a whole, we should build each other up, rather than tear each other down. This is a huge problem in society today. Human beings were made to be in relation to each other, not war. We need to stop hating and start loving. How else are we supposed to grow?