The idea of becoming the main character means taking control of your life by putting your own wants, needs, desires, and goals first. This new obsession began with social media influencers, who romanticized their life into a sixty-second video on a platform called TikTok. These videos are solely about taking the leap to do something revolutionary and expressing it in your own style. They can range anywhere from starting a new habit of working out to getting your own apartment. It is an inspiration to some to start their own main character journey and to really think about the dreams they want fulfilled but thought would never happen.
Influencers use their platform to highlight their ‘main character’ life, and so it becomes easy to compare what you are missing. You want their happiness. The real part about having this idealization is about having the mentality that you ARE the main character and not what they have. You are idolizing the life you want for yourself and no one else. You get to make the decisions and no one else. You are becoming the person you have always wanted to become. Despite the popular belief that this phenomenon can be seen in a negative light, I personally believe it has helped me truly figure out how I want to live my life. I see more positives in trying to make an effort to navigate the world in my twenties during a worldwide pandemic, rather than being depressed that I cannot accomplish something I want to set my mind to.
There is this quote from Ashley Ward in the article, Tiktok Teaching Gen Z What it Really Means to be The Main Character, and I feel I can resonate with it:
“I feel like it inspired people to look back and reminisce on life before quarantine while also reminding them to make the most of life no matter the circumstances”
Throughout my lifetime I never really had to think about becoming this ‘main character’. Not that becoming the main character was easy for me, but I never had true aspirations, only short-term goals that kept me in sync with who I was. When the pandemic happened, I was in the second semester of my first year at university and this is when I started to think about who I truly wanted to become. Of course, the pandemic stopped me from dreaming and achieving goals, even though time went on. So, now I am three semesters away from graduating and I have not put much thought into what my post-graduation would look like. Until I became my own main character.
I made a mental note to myself when starting off 2022; be happy with myself and the people around me. Now, even though I don’t have the answers for what I am going to do post-graduation right this second, I know that I am going to start taking control of my own life and doing things for myself. I am going to live my life, as cliche as it sounds, but whatever it may be, I want to be happy doing it. I am going to plan that girl’s trip to a tropical destination, even though it scares the living hell out of me to be on a plane. I am going to get a new summer job related to my interests, even though I hate being interviewed. I am going to keep the people in my life that matter most to me, even though it will mean leaving a few behind. The bottom line is, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, the way to happiness is by doing what you love, and to try becoming the best version of yourself. Whether you are still trying to figure this out and you have no freaking clue what you love, romanticize it. Get creative. Follow what feels right. Take that leap. Be the main character in your story.