Like most millennials, I’ve recently become addicted to binge watching the Netflix show, Queer Eye and have discovered that the Fab Five really do give more than just a makeover. The work that they do transforms lives and shows realistic changes to implement into your daily routines to provide holistic improvements, rather than focusing on short term immediate results. After finishing the first season in a day, I was feeling inspired and ready to have my life turned upside down by the Fab Five. Sadly, not all of us can get a chance to encounter Jonathan’s humor or Karamo’s wisdom to unlock our inner emotions, but, you can change your life with a few simple tips that would make the cast and crew of Queer Eye tear up as you transform yourself, all from the comfort of your own home.
Food and Wine
Just like Antoni, you too can become a culinary expert and refine your palette to more sophisticated dishes. It’s easy in college to complain that eating healthier or making more complicated meals is unrealistic, but it’s actually pretty simple. If you think about all the money you spend eating out, you can figure out pretty quickly that if you put that money towards buying different ingredients, like avocados or steak, you could be making the dishes featured on the show.
Buying groceries doesn’t mean you have to spend hundreds of dollars, but making the commitment once or twice a week to make a more intricate and nicer dish, rather than ramen or microwave bowls, makes a world of difference. Creating a relationship with food means enjoying making it and selecting what you want. So, go and search up a recipe that’s a little different than you’d usually make, buy the ingredients, and try something new! As Antoni stresses every episode, the way you look at food changes only when you want it to. Make the pledge to change your diet because you want to, based off the food you want and the lifestyle that fits you best.
What may be the most important part of changing your life is changing your hygiene habits. Jonathan’s focus highlights the impact that good hygiene can play, showing that even the smallest of changes can alter the way you present yourself so drastically that you may even be unrecognized by friends and family. In order to find what grooming routine works best for you, you have to focus on the issues you have currently.
If you have poor oral health, considering flossing or changing products may be best for you; however, if you struggle with cosmetic issues like hair or makeup, then consulting an expert may be a better option. Personally, when I decided to take charge of my appearance, I focused on trading in brands of makeup that previously caused acne to ones better suited for sensitive skin. At the end of the day, the best way to fix your grooming issues is to tailor them to your needs.
Fashion
The way you present yourself to the world expresses who you are, and what better way to do that than through your clothes? Whether you choose neutrals or neon, the outfits you wear say a lot about you, so it’s better to be well-dressed and composed than to not care at all. Tan, the fashion expert of Queer Eye, focuses on blending new trends with personal taste in order to make his clients feel like themselves while becoming a new, cleaner person.
When changing your style, the most important advice that Tan would likely give is make sure to find what you feel comfortable in. If you’re going to wear clothes that make you self-conscious and that don’t reflect who you are, then you’re more likely to revert to your old wardrobe. It’s tempting to want to immediately branch out and go for something you’d never have worn before, but the goal is to transition into a new you, while still retaining your core traits. Make sure you’re still having fun and experimenting with new styles, just don’t forget why you felt comfortable in what you did before and ask how you can incorporate it now.
Design
While you can’t obviously have a Bobby-esque makeover of your home, there are ways to change up your space so that similar to your fashion, it will still show remnants of your old self while incorporating the new you. The best way to start to remodel your home is to get rid of all junk; declutter and start from fresh, while repurposing old furniture that can still work. To find inspiration for your new décor, Pinterest is always a good place to start and to make a mood board.
Since a full makeover isn’t in the cards, the closest to getting a new home also relies on cleaning habits. The messier your home is, and the more you let it accumulate, the harder it will be to rearrange and refurnish your home. In order to avoid having to do massive renovations, keeping your home tidy and replacing small things as they break or become outdated saves you from larger amounts of time and effort in the future.
Culture
Karamo’s title is the culture expert, but he may as well be called a therapist because his main role in the show is to help client’s deal with emotional baggage. It may not be as obvious as the other categories, but changing your emotional maturity and handling your past traumas is just as possible to achieve as changing your hair or home. This cannot be done on your own, so consulting a therapist or finding a trusted friend to help you take the initial step is the best way to start your journey of healing.
In order to truly become a new person, we have to change our inner-selves first. You can transform your appearance, diet or house, but to see real change, it has to begin with you. Once you can work through whatever is causing you harm, you’ll be able to blossom and become the best version of yourself possible. You’ll also be able to keep up with the changes you implemented in the other areas of your life, and the end result will show you that you really did have it in you after all.