Lately, I've been noticing how often the term "goals" is used by people, especially on social media, to exclaim how one's picture/post exemplifies what that other person perceives as "goals". And by "goals," I mean the slew of comments on someone's Instagram post, whether it be a picture with their significant other, their family, their friends, their clothes, their house, their car, etc. Normally followed by a ton of ridiculous heart-eyed emojis.

Now, let me clarify. There is nothing wrong with admiring something someone else has, or complimenting it. What I have a problem with is that "goals" has changed from being a term describing something that one should be motivated to work towards, into a vapid and superficial comment being made about something that someone else has that you want.

We all know that one couple who posts the most posed, yet adorable, pictures; or that girl who posts a picture of her matching Michael Kors bag and watch constantly. Or the group of sorority girls or fraternity guys who are always posting pictures together. So, what about these posts attracts others to comment "relationship goals" or "squad goals" or "outfit goals"? What makes these things "goals" to some people? Is it because you desire it? Because you aspire to be it? Or are you just feeding into the ever-growing fake and phony-ness that is likes and comments, and measures of popularity on social media?

But what really gets me about the whole thing is how fake it all is. For example, I recently started becoming closer to a friend I've known for a few months now. His Instagram and Twitter posts are of his girlfriend/about his girlfriend 99.99% of the time. It's irritating, but even I'll admit that they are cute together. Every time he gets a ton of comments, such as "literally goals" or "OMG you guys are so perfect," or "relationship goals." So, about a week ago, he dumped his seemingly perfect girlfriend, and everyone was shocked to see his seemingly perfect relationship crumble. Turns out, they've been having problems for months now and arguing all the time. All of those people who commented "goals", you just desired the surface of that relationship. You had no idea what was going on behind the scenes.

It's the same way for this past summer when a girl from my high school was constantly posting pictures of her extravagant travels in Europe. Even I was jealous. As I'm sure you can imagine, whenever there was a post of the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben or the Colosseum, it was followed by "summer goals" and "travel goals" and... you get the point. So when she came home at the end of summer and we talked about the trip, she told me it was awful. She hated it, she would never do it again. All those people who we thought were her friends in the pictures were strangers she met along the way, and that picture of the view from a hotel balcony? Yeah... she didn't stay there, she stayed in hostels by herself and had some pretty unsettling stories to tell about the people she had to sleep next to. So again, I feel as if all those people who awed over her travels wouldn't have been nearly as interested or jealous if they knew what it actually was like, living that life, day in and day out.

This whole "goals" things that I'm carrying on about, I think it applies to the much larger picture of being jealous and admiring things based solely on a picture on some social media site. To me, it's fake, it's phony, and it's shallow. Make your own goals. Focus on making your life what you describe as "life goals," and work to make your relationships and friendships to be what you describe as "relationship goals" and "life goals." Anyone with an iPhone can make their lives seem perfect nowadays. Instead of being jealous of what someone else has, go out there and work on doing it yourself!