Maintaining Individuality in an Aesthetic Based World

Being an aesthetic is the newest trend, but you shouldn’t feel forced to change your entire lifestyle to fit into one.  

TikTok is a platform that has influenced many people’s personal styles as well as introduced many new aesthetics. Every month there is a new “it girl” who lives an unrealistic lifestyle. Many girls who use Tik Tok all look up to her and want to be her. This has caused a shift in society where people think they MUST fit in to a certain aesthetic and live like influencers to fit in. Many people are losing their individuality as they are trying to follow in the footsteps of others.  

It often feels like you need to pick one aesthetic and stick to it, and even if you do not go out of your way to fit into one, you still get labeled as a certain aesthetic. Due to the Tik Tok algorithm, there has been a new “it girl” every month, and every girl aspires to live a similar lifestyle to her. One of the more recent examples of this would be Alix Earle. Even though she has openly admitted to getting lip filler and plastic surgery, many girls still go out of their way to buy the same products and clothes she has in hopes to look like her.  

As a result, many girls, especially younger girls are all losing their individuality in hopes of turning into someone else because she’s popular and pretty. When people do this, they excuse it as growth, or a change in taste. Other times it can have the underlying thought of “if I don’t look like the girls that are idolized on TikTok, I won’t be liked by others.”  Obviously, there’s many factors that go into why people want to fit into a certain aesthetic, or be like an influencer, but there are a lot of things to remember.  

One of the main ones is that just because it works for somebody else does not mean it will work for you. This can apply to clothing, skincare and makeup products, and even a lifestyle. Just like how we all have different body types and skin types we all do different things in our day-to-day life, meaning that all these things may not impact you the same way it does others. Although it may be upsetting, it’s a good reminder that you are different from others. Even if you like different types of aesthetics, you do not need to fully commit to one. You can take different parts from each one and make it your own. Not fully blending into one aesthetic makes you stand out which increases both your own confidence and personal style choices.   

 
I think it’s important to remember that you’re you for a reason and that is a good thing. Enhancing yourself and discovering new things is always something fun to do but don’t think it’s mandatory because you have seen hundreds of clean girl aesthetic lifestyle TikToks. 

• aesthetic
• individuality