During the last four months, I was knee-deep in healing and self-discovery. My days were spent journaling, reflecting, and embracing who I was. Summer ended, and I felt ready enough to play with the big dogs: it was time for Hot Girl Fall. Fast forward to the second week of October, and I’m more stressed, tired, and colder than I thought I would be. Being a hot girl seemed all fun and games, but it’s so much harder than it looks. So what’s going wrong?
To start off, school is just not the moment. How am I supposed to make time for myself when I’ve got a quiz on Monday, three discussions due on Tuesday, two assignments due on Thursday, and an exam on Friday? Where is the time for me? No seriously, where is it? My journal is also as barren as the trees. Just like the red and yellow-covered trees in Western Massachusetts, my journal is getting barer and emptier as the days go by. Entries are being dated weeks apart compared to the day-to-day intervals of summer.
I’m also running out of outfit ideas! At the beginning of the semester, I was in a self-proclaimed fashion show every day. Vests, layers, denim skirts — nobody could stop the fashion bender I was on. And then I ran out of ideas. A hot girl knows it’s most sustainable to re-wear clothing, but I also want to find new ways to wear things before I repeat an outfit. And yet, I have to fight tooth and nail to not put on my favorite skirt each morning! The confidence also just melted right out of my body as the semester started. Something about that first week of September heat changed me. Suddenly, every ounce of my confidence went pooling into the storm drains with no explanation. Intrinsic beauty? Never heard of her. Self worth? Want nothing to do with her.
Is there something to be said for fall, that maybe hotness should be left for the summer? Well, the woman who coined hot girl-ness, Megan Thee Stallion, would disagree. As she said, “The weather may be getting colder, but we’re just heating up.”
Being a hot girl isn’t just about manifesting, meditating, and making meaning out of your life. I’ve found it can be boiled down to this affirmation: I am worthy of being me. You are a hot girl just by being you. You don’t have to keep up with trends or go for a walk every day. Sure, these can be hot-girl activities, but they aren’t defining characteristics. Being a hot girl means showing up for yourself, which looks different day by day.
You didn’t pick up your journal in three weeks? So what, you picked it up today!
Yes, I wore this skirt last week. Sorry not sorry, I like to wear clothes that make me feel good!
It’s normal to have mood fluctuations or to be busy. But that doesn’t affect being a hot girl. So I say grab your chunkiest sweater, pumpkin spice flavored everything, and remember you are that girl just because you say you are.
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