What does it mean exactly to have a glow-up? Why has social media become so centered around this concept? Urban dictionary defines a “glow up” as a mental, physical, and emotional transformation, and being able to go from the bottom to the top to the point of disbelief.
In March of 2020, I sought to increase my self-confidence and make a positive change in my lifestyle. While I am aware of the tragedy and horror that affected the lives of many, I try to reflect on the positives that came out of this pandemic.
The very first lockdown gave me an opportunity to improve on both my mental and physical health. For the very first time in my life, the world finally slowed down. Aside from my online coursework, I had a vast amount of free time on my hands. While scrolling down my TikTok for you page (fyp) I noticed there was a boom of self-care videos and how to rebrand yourself.
At the time some of my goals included weight loss, practicing yoga, and getting the splits down. My YoutTube search for the perfect guide to achieving the splits would land me on none other than Alivia D’Andrea’s page. Her videos from this era included tips for flexibility, fitness, and beauty.
I noticed that Alivia had this radiant energy and carried herself with such poise. Eventually, her personality drew me into exploring one of her videos. In the midst of my self-improvement journey, I came across the Glow Up Diaries. which is one of her most-watched videos.
The Glow Up Diaries (Season 1, Episode 1 ) has become one of D’Andrea’s most-watched videos and has over 8.2 million views. She has grown her channel massively and currently has 2.3 million followers on YouTube.
About the Glow Up Diaries
When Alivia reached her rock bottom she decided to pick up her camera and document her journey. From age 17 to 21 Alivia has captured scenes from her life in which she openly shares some of her deepest and most painful moments during her growth. In her docuseries, she breaks past the assumption that you shouldn’t be vulnerable with your emotions in the media. Unfortunately, in our society, we tend to only see the highlight reels of others.
She admits in an interview with Jon Pfeiffer that the series is a“ raw documentation of my mental and physical transformation.” Initially, she began to film during a rough period of her life where she was struggling with cystic acne, a leg injury and awaiting college admission results. Alivia also revealed poor lifestyle habits such as binge eating and sugar addiction.
Although the docuseries originally premiered in October of 2018, the Coronavirus pandemic rushed in a wave of viewers. In Season 1 of the Glow Up Diaries, there are 16 episodes, while Season 2 is still ongoing with 3 episodes currently. As of now, Alivia is actively working on her podcast titled, “The Glow Up Diaries Podcast”.
Controversy
While some viewers found Alivia’s videos to be extremely inspirational there are those who believe that they are doing more harm than good. The first reason is that the majority of the content is centered around Alivia promoting pro-ana and triggering eating disorders.
In Dietician Abbey Sharp’s youtube video she reacts to the series and explains how it is a problematic weight loss plan. One of the biggest problems that sharp points out is Alivia’s emphasis on herself having a weak mind when it comes to her binge eating tendencies.
However, she points out that overeating and disordered eating is not in fact caused by a weak mind but instead the body’s way of attempting to survive. Instead of shaming ourselves for being weak, Sharp encourages us to be grateful to our bodies for fighting hard for us.
There are a few scenes in the series where viewers can hear harsh comments from her family and several moments where she expresses self-hate and frustration.
It was not until the second season that Alivia apologized and began to put trigger warnings and disclaimers at the beginning of each episode.
My Thoughts
There is a cautionary tape I’d like to point out before viewing The Glow Up Diaries. The content that is shown in the Glow Up Diaries may be triggering for some who struggle with disordered eating. Yet, it may be a spark of motivation for others.
Alivia includes several tips and lessons that may be beneficial to viewers embarking on a healthier lifestyle. She addresses mistakes that she has made along the way, and how she has gone about it in all the wrong ways. Within this series, she shows every time she has failed and every raw emotion that came along with it. Yet, I believe that something viewers can find admirable about D’Andrea is her determination to keep trying.
Obviously, I don’t think that her videos are here to maliciously promote eating disorders or unhealthy methods but to showcase her journey to give you what is raw and authentic. She is able to do this beautifully through her creative and engaging storytelling. Her dedication to the editing of her videos has created a fantastic cinematography montage of her process. It’s clear to see how this influenced viewers to take action in their own lives to achieve their higher selves.
Not only does she attempt to her boundaries and forces herself to gain new experiences as we see in her move to a foreign country.
One of the most relatable aspects of the series I found was that I was not alone in the ways that I felt about myself. The struggles that Alivia faced such as acne, unhealthy eating habits, and negative thinking were some of which I could relate to.
I remember after watching a few episodes of the Glow Up Diaries I felt After watching a few episodes of the Glow Up Diaries, I felt an urge to appreciate and take care of my mind, body, and soul. I embarked on a journey to start exercising more regularly, journaling and tapping into intuitive eating.
Ultimately, many of us are on our own journeys that are unique to each of us. Glow-ups occur when we feel that we are ready and should not be an unhealthy obsession or destination. You should be the one to set your own standards and seek out what it is you really want for yourself. Accountability is important for us to remember, and we should hold ourselves accountable for our own actions. So, while I think the Glow Up Diaries was an influential series that kickstarted my self-improvement there will always be other perceptions of it.
Are you interested in watching the Glow Up Diaries? Let us know @hercampussjsu!