Lately, I’ve been endlessly entertained and inspired by YouTube compilations of “that girl” aesthetic TikToks. (Yes, YouTube compilations—I’m still that grandma who’s not on TikTok.) You know the one—wakes up at 5 am to do Pilates in a matching workout set, do skincare, and eat an açai bowl. She has a perfect minimalist aesthetic, is happily single to work on herself, and takes no nonsense from anybody. So, I decided to try to create my own version of the “that girl” daily routine. Since I’m at home right now and I don’t have class on Thursdays, I thought it would be the perfect day to set aside for my “that girl” shenanigans.
- Get up at 7:00 and make my bed
Ima be honest, this did not happen. I ended up staying up later than I intended the night before, so I ended up waking up at around 8:00 instead. I’m already in the habit of making my bed in the mornings, though, so at least that part was easy!
- Work out
I decided to kick off my day of being “that girl” with some good ol’ Chloe Ting workouts. It was honestly easier said than done, though, because I’m pretty out of shape. I wasn’t feeling too hot afterwards, so it probably wasn’t the best idea for me to do such high-intensity exercise so early in the morning and on an empty stomach.
- Skincare
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to get more into skincare, so it was super fitting that it’s such a huge part of the trend. I don’t know much about skincare, but I do know that Fab First Aid Beauty’s face cleanser, Mario Badescu’s rose and aloe facial spray, and St. Ives’ tea tree and witch hazel SPF moisturizer are some products that have never done me dirty, so I definitely recommend them. In the evening, I also broke out an Innisfree aloe sheet mask that I bought in Koreatown over winter break, which was a nice little treat.
- Make breakfast (something with avocado toast and matcha latte)
One of the things I like most about being home is that I have the supplies (and not to mention, the counter space) to make myself delicious meals that I’d never be able to make in the dorms. Today, I took inspiration from the meals featured in “that girl” TikToks and had a matcha latte, some avocado toast and peanut butter and banana toast, and a strawberry yogurt, which isn’t too far from what I usually eat for breakfast anyways. Still an A+ meal, though.
- Academic enrichment
In the evening, I caught up on my phonetics and programming readings, because academic enrichment is crucial to the “that girl” routine! I didn’t finish as much as I wanted to, but, hey, progress is still progress. Outside of my schoolwork, I also took some time to listen to a few podcast episodes, read for pleasure, and do extra Duolingo practice.
- Go on a walk
One of my favorite things to do while I’m at home is to take walks in my apartment complex. Unfortunately, I’ve been seriously skimping on my walking game every time I come home from school, so this afternoon I went out for a peaceful stroll while listening to a podcast episode about mindfulness and feeling the brisk winter air around me. Ah, bliss!
- Hydration
I’ll admit it—I am one dehydrated gorl. So, I made it a goal today to try and up my water consumption by simply having water within arm’s reach at all times and taking a sip whenever it occurred to me to do so. And since Thursdays are my designated plant-watering days, I made sure to give my pothos and succulents a little love as well.
- Journaling
I consider myself an avid journaler in the sense that I keep a bullet journal to plan out my tasks and events, but journaling in a “that girl context” context refers more to gratitude journaling and other prompt-based journaling. I enjoy this type of journaling as well, but I tend to fall out of the habit since I’m more used to treating journaling as a meticulous, diary-style archival of everything that happens in my life, which can honestly get tiring sometimes. So, before going to bed, I wrote about some memorable moments of the day and listed a few things I’m grateful for in life.
Overall, my day as “that girl” got off to a rocky start and didn’t feel too different from a regular day, but I’m glad I took the time to incorporate some fun self-care activities into my routine.
Finally, I want to end by talking about some of the drawbacks of the “that girl” aesthetic. Though it may make you want to buy a sunset lamp and get up three hours earlier to fit more girlbossing into the day, the “that girl” lifestyle simply isn’t realistic for everyone. “All that the ‘that girl’ trend did to me is give me an eating disorder and make me hate my life,” reads a tweet from this past June, when the trend was hitting its peak on TikTok.
This kind of clean eating can be dangerous, due to its promotion of scant meals that prioritize aesthetics over nutrition. Furthermore, the whole thing smells a bit of productivity porn, since not everyone can get up in the wee hours of the morning to get things done. It all boils down to this—simply gratitude journaling and drinking green smoothies cannot “turn your life around in a week.” And, let’s be real, the subculture is mostly dominated by thin, able-bodied, conventionally attractive white girls.
Since social media aesthetics can be restrictive, it’s worth looking into what the trend is all about at its core: promoting positivity, healthy habits, and finding beauty in the little things. For some people it looks like running three miles, and for others it’s simply making their bed in the morning and eating a nutritious meal. For me, it involves keeping up with skincare, journaling, hydration, and decluttering my room.
In short, everyone can get inspired in different ways—it’s possible to have your own take on “that girl” simply by being the best version of yourself that you can be.