Right? It sounds crazy. Because everyone feels the need to let you know how “basic” you are because you’re jamming to Iggy Azalea with your white iPhone in one hand and a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte in the other. Even further, if you’re doing all that while wearing letters? Super basic sorority girl. A whole new level of “basic.”

What does “basic” even mean though? Because Webster’s dictionary would only give the scientific definition, we went to the next best thing, Urban Dictionary, which defines “basic” as “an adjective used to describe any person, place, activity involving obscenely obvious behavior, dress, action. Synonym: Unsophisticated.”

So basically (pun intended), basic means you’re normal. You aren’t participating in any type of interesting activity, but people have attached a deeper meaning to that very vague definition.

To be basic means that you are most likely a girl who likes stuff that is commonly liked by other girls. Starbucks, comfy sweaters, pop music, whatever.  There is an inherent problem with that.  God forbid that girls, you know, like stuff. Nobody is calling out college-aged boys for liking Xbox, cheap beer and calve-length Nike socks, but every single boy on any college campus seems to enjoy all of those activities. So by definition, that’s pretty basic too.  

Despite the apparent double standards of “basic-ness,” why do we even care? Don’t let anyone tell you not to like stuff because other people like it. Don’t let the hipster elitism of liking stuff other people don’t like dictate your decisions. If lots of people didn’t all find that they liked one specific thing, think about all the stuff that you wouldn’t have access to. If someone had decided that indoor plumbing made you “basic” where would we be now? Think about it. Actually don’t think about it, that would be a terrible, terrible reality to live in.  

So channel that basic girl, or guy, inside of you. Enjoy all of the basic stuff you like, because you like it, and you should be able to enjoy it without someone saying anything about it. Being basic should be something that brings us together, because everybody is “basic” somehow. Who doesn’t like sweaters and pumpkin spice lattes? Crazy people, and I guess the rest of us are basic then, and that’s okay.