I'm convinced social media has made being a completely normal woman feel like you're somehow failing at life.
Because apparently, there's a very specific way we're all supposed to be living, and I don't know about you, but I'm finding it fucking exhausting trying to keep up.
I'm supposed to be thin, but I'm also supposed to go out for dinner, order the pasta and enjoy myself.
I'm supposed to exercise regularly, but not become obsessed with how my body looks.
I'm supposed to care about my appearance, but not too much, because then I'm insecure.
I'm supposed to have a successful career, a thriving social life, a beautiful home, a healthy relationship, glowing skin, a wardrobe full of clothes I love and somehow still find the time to get eight hours of sleep.
Oh, and ideally document all of it while looking effortlessly happy.
At what point did just being a normal person stop feeling like enough?
WHEN DID NORMAL LIFE BECOME SOMETHING WE NEEDED TO FIX?
I genuinely used to love social media.
I loved seeing what people were up to, finding things that made me laugh and watching people who were just being themselves.
But somewhere along the way, it feels like everything became about improvement.
There's always something we should be doing better.
A better morning routine. A better body. Better skin. Better clothes. Better habits. A better bloody life.
And don't get me wrong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to improve things about yourself or your life. I want to do that too.
But I think there's a difference between wanting something because it would genuinely make you happy and wanting it because you've spent three hours scrolling through people who appear to have everything figured out.
And the annoying thing is, I know social media isn't real life.
I know people are showing their best angles, their nicest holidays and the clean corner of their flat.
But knowing that doesn't always stop me comparing my life to theirs.
THE CONTRADICTIONS ARE RIDICULOUS
One thing I've started noticing is how many completely contradictory messages we're constantly being fed.
We're told to love our bodies exactly as they are, while simultaneously being sold a million different ways to change them.
We're told to enjoy our twenties while also being reminded that we should be saving for a house, progressing in our careers and thinking about our futures.
We're told to slow down and appreciate the little things, but then we open Instagram and see someone our age who's apparently bought their third property, started a business and spent the last six months travelling around Europe.
And suddenly your perfectly nice Sunday of walking the dog, doing a food shop and watching telly feels a bit... inadequate.
Which is ridiculous, because maybe that was actually a really lovely Sunday.
Maybe you were happy until you opened your phone.
I DON'T ACTUALLY WANT SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE
I think this is the bit I'm slowly starting to realise.
Half the things I compare myself to aren't even things I genuinely want.
I don't necessarily want to wake up at 5am, drink green juice and spend every weekend doing something exciting.
Sometimes I want to eat sweets on the sofa, wear the same tracksuit I've worn for three days and have absolutely nothing planned.
And I don't want to feel like I'm wasting my life because of it.
Of course there are things I want to achieve. Places I want to visit. Things I want to change about myself.
But I don't want to spend so much time thinking about the person I could become that I forget to enjoy being the person I already am.
Because when I actually think about the things that make me happiest, they're usually pretty normal.
A good dinner. Laughing with someone I love. A sunny walk. Finding an outfit I feel good in. Having something to look forward to.
None of those things are particularly impressive.
But they're my life.
MAYBE BEING NORMAL IS ACTUALLY PRETTY FUCKING GOOD
I don't really have some groundbreaking solution to all of this.
I still compare myself to people online. I still have days where I feel behind, unattractive or like I should be doing more.
And I probably always will, to some extent.
But I'm trying to remind myself that there's nothing wrong with wanting a nice, ordinary life.
You don't need to turn every hobby into a business, every walk into a hot girl walk or every Sunday into a productive reset.
Sometimes a walk is just a walk.
Sometimes a day where you've achieved absolutely nothing is still a good day.
And sometimes the life you're so busy comparing to everyone else's is actually a pretty lovely one.
Maybe we don't need to make our lives look more impressive. Maybe we just need to get better at enjoying them.
Because being a completely normal woman shouldn't feel like failing at life.
And personally, I think normal life can be pretty fucking good.