This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Toronto chapter.

2015 will forever be be known as the age of “The Squad.” I’m sure by now, you have all heard of #SquadGoals thanks to celeb female friend groups like Taylor Swift and her revolving door of famous besties. You’ve seen the Instagram photos of Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid baking, or maybe you died of jealously when you found out Adele, J Law and Emma Stone went out to dinner WITHOUT YOU. I, a completely rational human being with a low tolerance for annoying cutesy nicknames, hashtags and overused nonsensical phrases find “Squad Goals” and #BaeGoals equally excruciating (geez, when did boyfriend, girlfriend and significant other disappear from our vocabulary and when did doing something nice or doing everyday normal stuff together warrant a news report). With those feelings off my chest, I do believe there is something to be said for finding a core group of people you can trust and count on to have your back.

If I were to create my dream Squad, it would include all of my greatest badass feminist heroes – from musicians, poets, activists, literary characters, novelists, TV characters and actresses to the women I admire and cherish in my personal life.

So here is a list with some commentary on the ladies I’d love to create Squad Goals with:

#1 Sophia from the Golden Girls – We all need that one sassy friend without filters who will call it like it is.

#2 Alice Munro – My ultimate literary hero and champion of bringing the Canadian female experience to life. Thank you for inspiring me to continue this crazy pipe dream of becoming a successful writer.

#3 Joan Didion – Ballsy, courageous journalist who is constantly putting herself in danger for her beliefs and devotion to her craft. This is a woman who trusts her instincts and takes life by the horns.

#4 Zelda Fitzgerald – Beautiful, flighty, fun, talented and fiercely independent, she always knew what she wanted and went after it relentlessly. She fought hard to forge an identity for herself outside of her suffocating marriage to F.Scott

#5 Peyton Sawyer – Lyric Girl: Gives a voice to all of the self chosen lone wolves and the music obsessives. When she does let you enter her world, she’s the most loyal and trustworthy friend a girl could ask for and she’s got a killer record collection.

#6- Carrie Brownstein – Portlandia star, former Indie rocker. She’s funny, quirky, whip smart and a jack of all trades. She has never settled for just one personality. I like that.

#7 Greta Gerwig – Oh to be a fly on the wall in Greta Gerwig’s house. Frances Ha completely describes how I feel about myself and in real life, she’s out in another galaxy.

#8 January Jones – Stay weird and wonderful. I’ve never seen anyone so committed to taking awkward and humourous photos just for the hell of it

#9 Emma Watson -We need more young women in postilions of power like Emma speaking up in favour of feminist change.

#10 Jane Eyre – Even though she fell in love with Mr. Rochester, her main goals were to provide his adoptive daughter with the best education possible, financially provide for herself and her family and go after her career ambitions. Love be damned.

#11 My mom, My sister, my aunts, my totally stubborn best friend of almost a decade, Professor Cruz (her class was the Ultimate. I’ll never forget ENG140), my grade 12 English teacher, my mom’s lady lunch group

#12 Rudy Simone – As a young woman who aims to educate others and bring a voice to females on the Autism Spectrum, I look to Simone Aspergirl extraordinaire for wisdom each and every day (Aspergirl is a term she coined herself to make Autistic women superheroes.)

#13 Samantha Turnbull of Toronto Vegan blog fame(Itdoesn’ttastelikechicken) – Thank you for giving me fantastic recipe ideas, fueling my need for peppy, upbeat optimism at it’s finest and giving me hope that being healthy, happy and compassionate is possible.

#15- Joni Mitchell, Gemma Hayes, Lucy Rose of Bombay Bicycle Club fame, Jenny Lewis, Gwen Stefani – Thank you for inspiring me with your words, big dreams and majestic voices!

#16 AUDREY HEPBURN – I will remember you more for your laughter, warm smile and advocacy for children’s rights around the globe than for your physical beauty. Your heart is what made you incandescent and irreverent. May you rest in peace as another angel in heaven.

These are the ladies I’d be happy to create squad goals with any time. Jealous yet?

May 2016 be a slightly less nauseating year.

Photo Sources

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