If you’re anything like me, “Grey’s Anatomy” has been a pretty big part of your life for some time now. Through the ups and the downs—all of which have been pretty extreme—we’ve stuck with our characters for over 12 seasons, and the 13th is just getting warmed up. Now would be a great time to round up some supplies from our Her Campus Survival Kit, hunker down, and brace ourselves—because let’s be real here, Shonda Rhimes is most definitely coming for us all.
Surviving a “Grey’s” season is as much of a science as it is an art. It’s never quite easy to prepare for the emotional rollercoasters that Shonda’s plotlines will inevitably send us through. Knowing this from experience, it’s often best to keep our supplies from the survival kit at the ready, so that we are equipped for the full emotional spectrum we will go through.
1. Mood: Pretending you weren’t just crying
Survival Kit Item: Rimmel London 24hr Super Curler Mascara
If you’ve been watching the show as long as I have, you’ve probably cried over an episode at some point. Whether it was because of a tear-jerking twist in a character’s story arc or just because you were feeling emotional that day, many of us have gotten a little misty-eyed while watching an episode. And if we’re being completely honest, maybe more than a little.
While crying is a common and natural response to many of the ongoings of Shondaland (do you know how many times I’ve had to watch my favorite character die?!), I don’t know too many people who enjoy looking like they’ve been crying for a while. In my experience, some quality eye makeup provides a solid distraction from the fact that I look like a sad puppy. No one will notice that your eyes are a little puffy from sobbing yourself to sleep if they’re too busy admiring your beautifully defined lashes and amazing cosmetic choices.
2. Mood: Feeling confident and super cute
Survival Kit Item: Rimmel London Colour Precise Eyeliner
I am of the opinion that eyeliner is one of the most versatile and interesting parts of the cosmetic experience. There are so many ways to express individualism, creativity, and personal style through the various approaches and techniques you can use with your eyeliner. I find that my favorite stylistic choice on a confident day would be to opt for a bright, bold shade of eyeliner for a pop of color. This product comes in a beautiful blue shade that brings vibrance and energy to the whole look in a way that commands positive attention.
3. Mood: Wishing you were feeling confident and super cute
Survival Kit Item: Rimmel London The Only 1 Lipstick
Look, it happens. We can’t all go around feeling like flawless supermodels 24/7, and sometimes we’re just not feeling ourselves. And to that, I say: lipstick, lipstick, LIPSTICK! Never once in my entire life have I put on lipstick and ended up feeling worse about myself; it can be a really nice pick-me-up on those lower confidence days. Adding a splash of color that you like gives you something positive to focus on, even when you’re not feeling your prettiest. This one in particular has a wonderful, smooth application and comes in lovely colors that will have you feeling like the stone cold fox you are.
4. Mood: Wanting to get dolled up (while expending minimal effort)
Survival Kit Item: L’eggs Sheer Energy
Let’s be honest here, guys. It’s late October and for a lot of us, the colder weather means that some of our shaving habits start to ebb from the near-daily summer regimen, becoming fewer and farther between. There’s nothing wrong with that—for that matter, there’s nothing wrong with electing not to shave at all in the first place. That said, some of us want to wear dresses in the later months of the year and aren’t particularly interested in rocking the unshaven aesthetic for ourselves, but don’t particularly feel like shaving. For that group, I have one word: tights. They’re comfortable, cute, and best of all—low-maintenance. As an additional bonus, you can use that extra not-shaving time to squeeze in another episode of “Grey’s.” Everybody wins.
5. Mood: Paranoid because of episodes about all the terrible and dangerous things that could possibly happen to your body
Survival Kit Item: Wearsafe tags
Frankly, the characters on this show have been through an insane amount of trauma. From explosives in the hospital to plane and car crashes to medical crises and everything in between, they have suffered through a lot. Beyond that, the show is set in a hospital, which means that bad things happen to someone in every single episode. And sometimes it’s okay and doesn’t affect us too much because we’re used to the emotional struggle that Shonda brings us through on a regular basis
…but sometimes it’s not fine at all.
Fortunately, when the paranoia is getting to be a bit too much, at least we can take comfort in the knowledge that there are products like Wearsafe to help protect us. This device essentially emits a silent help signal without you having to fumble around in an attempt to get your phone, producing a silent vibration to let you know that help is coming. In addition to the fact that you can decide who receives your alert, the tag “sends live audio from the scene, streams GPS location only when pressed, works within a 200-foot radius of your smartphone” and is weatherproof, according to their website. This will make us all a little bit safer, especially in a world where—as we’ve learned time and time again from this show—anything is possible.
6. Mood: Knowing that this show is out to ruin your life yet again
Survival Kit Item: Camelbak Forge Divide Insulated Travel Mug
Every once in a while something on “Grey’s Anatomy” will go horribly wrong, more so than usual, and will hurt you in at least one of many possible ways. Whether Shonda has let something terrible happen to your favorite character and you are personally offended,
…Something terrible has happened to the core cast members for the umpteenth time and your heart can’t take it anymore,
…or it’s just been a sad day at the hospital and everyone’s miserable,
sometimes you just need to curl up with some hot chocolate/tea/cider/therapeutic bevarage of your choice, and just hide out for a little while to recover. Hopefully, the contents of this survival kit well help to cushion the blow to some extent, but we all know it will never be easy or painless to get through an entire season. Just remember:
It’ll be alright.