I think we have officially reached a point where we can no longer simply do things. Everything needs to be an era. You’re not just tired, you’re in your resting era. You’re not going to the gym, you’re in your fitness era. You read one book and suddenly you’re in your reading era. You cut your hair? New era. Stop texting someone? Healing era. Start drinking matcha? Apparently, that is a personality transformation.
At this point, I genuinely think if I sit in the mess or GFC alone for three days in a row, someone is going to tell me I’m entering my independent era. And the funny thing is, we all understand exactly what someone means when they say it. “I’m in my academic era” immediately paints a picture: laptop open, iced coffee beside you, 17 tabs open, Google Calendar looking terrifying, and absolutely no guarantee that any actual work is happening.
But when did we start treating every little phase of our lives like it needed a name?
Welcome to My ___ Era
The “era” language is obviously not new, but it has become almost impossible to escape. Social media has turned the word into a way of packaging your life into neat little chapters. And honestly, I understand the appeal. Calling something an era makes it feel intentional. Saying “I’ve been going through a weird phase lately” sounds mildly concerning. Saying “I’m in my mysterious era” sounds like you have a plan.
It also makes ordinary things feel a little more exciting. Going on walks becomes your walking era. Cooking one decent meal becomes your cooking era. You decide to sleep before 2am for three consecutive nights and suddenly you’re a wellness influencer.
The best part is that these eras don’t even have to last very long. My personal favourite is the three-day era. You become obsessed with something on Monday, completely restructure your life around it by Tuesday, and by Thursday you have forgotten it ever happened. I have personally had enough “new eras” to qualify for several seasons of a television show.
When Your Life Starts Feeling Like a Rebrand
There is something slightly strange about how quickly we have moved from experiencing things to branding them. We don’t just change our habits. We announce them. “I’m entering my running era.” or “I’m going to be so productive this semester.” or “I’m becoming a morning person.”. Then, approximately 48 hours later, we are back in bed doomscrolling on Instagram at 1:47 a.m.
But maybe that is exactly why the language works. Calling something an “era” gives you permission to temporarily become a different version of yourself without having to promise that you will stay that way forever. You can try being a gym person without becoming a gym person. You can dress differently for a month or suddenly decide you love reading. You can even spend a semester being extremely social and then disappear into your room for a week.
College especially feels like one giant collection of these mini transformations. Every semester brings new classes, new people, new routines, new interests and, occasionally, a completely unnecessary personality crisis over what you are actually doing with your life. So maybe calling these phases “eras” is just our slightly dramatic way of saying, I’m changing again.
Maybe There’s Actually a Reason We Like It
The whole thing is funny, but I don’t think our obsession with naming phases is completely meaningless. Psychologists have long looked at the way people use personal stories and narratives to make sense of their lives. Research on narrative identity suggests that people naturally organise their experiences into stories, connecting different events and periods to create a sense of who they are. Which, when you think about it, makes the whole “era” thing make a little more sense.
We like chapters because chapters have beginnings and endings. They make messy periods feel more organised. “I’m having a confusing few months” becomes “I’m in my figuring-it-out era,” which somehow sounds much more manageable.
Sometimes you actually need that. There have been phases of college where I have genuinely felt like I had no idea what I was doing. Giving that period a little name or joke makes it easier to laugh about instead of sitting there wondering why everyone else seems to have their lives together. Spoiler alert: they probably don’t, because don’t worry, they simply have better captions.
The Pressure to Have an Era
The problem starts when the “era” stops being something you casually call a phase and starts becoming something you feel like you have to perform. Because now, apparently, even personal growth needs an aesthetic. Your fitness era needs cute gym clothes. Your study era needs stationery. Your reading era needs a bookshelf that looks like it belongs in a Pinterest apartment. Suddenly, simply changing isn’t enough. You have to look like you’re changing.
This is where the trend can get exhausting. There is something oddly stressful about seeing everyone online constantly announcing their latest transformation. Someone is travelling, someone is starting a business, someone is suddenly waking up at 5am, and someone else is apparently living their best life while drinking green juice in a perfectly lit kitchen.
Meanwhile, you are sitting in your dorm eating Maggi at midnight wondering whether you should start that assignment tomorrow. That doesn’t mean you’re behind. It just means your life isn’t being edited into a 15-second montage.
Not Every Era Needs to Be Iconic
I actually don’t think we need to get rid of the “era” language. It’s fun. Sometimes it’s nice to give a ridiculous name to whatever is happening in your life. If calling something your academic weapon era gets you to open your laptop, I support it.
But I think we can also let some eras be completely unimpressive. Maybe your current era is sleeping too much, or figuring out your friendships. Maybe it’s trying five different hobbies and sticking with none of them. Maybe it’s going to class, coming back to your room, eating dinner and doing absolutely nothing remotely interesting. And maybe that’s still a phase of your life worth having.
Not everything has to become a transformation. Not every semester needs to be your “best one yet.” Sometimes you are just existing, changing a little, figuring things out and moving on. Which is probably what most of our so-called eras actually are.
A little dramatic, slightly chaotic, occasionally aesthetic, and usually much less organised than the Instagram caption suggests. And honestly, if that isn’t the most accurate description of college, I don’t know what is.