I didn’t mean to become the kind of girl who saves TikToks about sunlight. But somewhere between “go on the hike,” “choose peace,” and “romanticize your little life,” my saved folder started looking less like mindless scrolling and more like a personality assessment. They’re never long – ten words, maybe twelve. Just long enough to say something like, “you don’t need chaos to feel alive,” or “go outside, your brain will thank you.” Somehow, those tiny sentences hit harder than three-minute advice videos ever could. For a certain kind of girl: the one who loves early morning light, long walks with no destination, and journaling about feelings she swears she’s over, those short TikToks do not feel random, instead they feel like mirrors. When I compiled them all together, this is what they said:
- Do more of your favorite things.
- Be silly.
- Be colorful in a world full of basic.
- Movement is medicine.
- Just to be alive is a grand thing.
- Love places that make your problems seem small.
- You are worthy of all the amazing things that come into your life.
- Whatever is good for the heart and soul.
- The art of noticing.
- Risk it. If it makes you happier, it’s worth it.
- Experience over things.
- My soul yearns to travel.
- Get that dang spark back, girl.
- Hobbies are the love letters you write to yourself.
- Stop shrinking into places you’ve outgrown.
- It only has to make sense to you.
- Be the one dancing.
- Joy has a funny habit of returning.
- Be young, foolish, and happy.
- In a world where you can be everything, be kind.
That’s it. That’s apparently my personality. None of these is dramatic. None of them is loud. But when you see them lined up like that, it starts to feel less like random saves and more like a pattern. I think we define ourselves in small ways now. Not through big declarations, but through the things we double-tap, the videos we rewatch, the sentences we save for later. Somewhere between scrolling and swiping, you start to see what your heart keeps leaning toward. Mine keeps leaning toward quiet. Toward sunlight. Toward space to think. Toward a version of life that feels slower and softer. Maybe that’s why soft, outdoorsy girls find themselves in ten-word TikToks. Not because the algorithm knows us, but because we are finally starting to know ourselves.