When I told my friends my New Year's Resolution of 2017 would be to be more like Blair Waldorf, it's safe to say they gave me the weirdest looks.
Sure, Blair from Gossip Girl is a handful. She's bratty, and she's entitled, and even tip-toes the line of being a flat out bully.
But, under all those layers the character put up as a front, lies a very strong and independent young woman.
When I first started watching Gossip Girl, I was in middle school and thought Serena Van Der Woodsen was the best thing ever. She was carefree, and fun, and effortlessly beautiful. But the older I get, the more I realize I liked her because of who she was as a high schooler, not an adult.
After some years in college and a handful of times binge-watching Gossip Girl on Netflix, I watched Serena deteriorate once she left college, and watched Blair only get stronger. She stood up for herself when needed, and she learned how to be more mature and appropriate. While she was interning - and later managing - a major news magazine and balancing an Ivy education, Serena was out wasting her young adult years.
This certainly isn't a hate piece on Serena, because I do love her as a character, but it's only to show how much Blair grew. From season 1 to season 6, although she kept her values and most of her morals, she did a complete 180. Gone were the days of frilly headbands and dumping yogurt in others' hair - by the time the show ended, she was running one of the most successful businesses in the world when no one believed she could do it. She became incredibly confident and secure with herself; she's always been confident, but her insecurities in the earlier seasons constantly undermined the character.
So, because of that, my new motto for 2017 is WWBWD: What Would Blair Waldorf Do?
Not only did she prove herself to be incredibly strong, but also forgiving. She forgave the man she loved for breaking her trust in a moment of immaturity and desperation. She forgave her best friend for sleeping with her boyfriend... twice. She made an effort to try her best to forget and move on, not for the other person, but for herself. She knew it wasn't healthy to hold onto grudges the older she got, and I think that proved how much her character has grown since season 1.
She has goals. Blair never coasted through life, unsure of what to do - and if it ever came to that, she'd sit down and think until she figured it out. She knew what she wanted and she knew how to get it. Having the drive to achieve your goals is incredibly important, and Blair nails it every single time.
She's hardworking. She came from an extremely wealthy family, but she never allowed that to define her. She worked hard to make a name for herself outside of the shadow of her mother, and even broke up with the love of her life so she could become who she wanted to be, before being "Chuck Bass' girlfriend" as she put it.
When Blair said "destiny is for losers," she meant it. You shouldn't sit around and let life pass you buy. You should go out and make sure you get what you want. You should trust yourself and put your fate in your own hands. The only way to accomplish something is to do it.
No matter what you think of her - whether you see her as a hardworking businesswoman or a brat, you can't deny that she's strong, and poised, and intelligent. 2017 is a year of recovery, and this year, I'm making sure I better myself in every way possible. And what better way to do that, than to follow in Queen B's footsteps?
So, 2017, WWBWD?
