Living my life as a teenager AND a millennial I sometimes there is a lot of pressure from others my age to fit into a certain mold without conforming to society. Which in my opinion, is a very ironic statement. Striving to fit into a community and a style that's very new and that feels very chaotic or elitist is a challenge, but becoming or having an "aesthetic" is essentially the new teenage dream, and trying to live it is crazy hard and weird at the same time.
According to the internet and my art teacher, an aesthetic is defined as relating to the science of aesthetics; concerned with the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty. Which is really fancy and scientific, but if you ask any average teenage girl (or boy for that matter), they'll tell you that an aesthetic is something that consists of minimalist designs, chokers, pastel colors, Greek statues, or something that looks straight out of a poorly designed Tron video game. If you don't understand what I mean I would strongly suggest google images. The overall stereotype is that's a way for angst driven or depressed teenagers to express themselves through art, clothing, and music. Which is pretty accurate if you ask me. It's new, it's hip, it's the 90's coming back, however you want to say it, dressing "aesthetic" is expensive and often uncomfortable. Despite this, many girls are buying halter tops and mom jeans with yeezys or Birkenstocks. Whenever people tell me that I look "aesthetic" or "very tumblr" (the main social media outlet that this style is displayed through) I think, "I'm just dressing on trend, you do it too. We have the same clothes.".
Although I have expressed that an aesthetic is mainly how you dress and the art you like, it can also be seen as an attitude one has. I like to refer to this attitude as 'quirky and different' but you can define it however you want. It's sarcastic and is often associated with the word 'whatever' or pulls phrases from shows such as Daria or characters like Tina from Bob's Burgers, making individual thoughts and experiences relateable and cool. This is taking what makes all of us as humans different and trying to cram it into one pastel box. Living up to whatever the entire internet says is beautiful or trendy is often frowned upon, but I say if it makes a positive impact in your life, go for it!
