While peacefully scrolling through Pinterest, I carefully analyzed the pins that popped up on my feed. Pictures of girls with perfect blowouts, and friends wearing matching white Brandy Melville sets appeared on my screen.

The same thoughts ran through my head. 

They’re so perfect. I wish my life looked just like theirs.

I dreamt of my Pinterest perfect day.I would be wearing a denim mini skirt, a top from Edikted with Adidas sambas. I would go shopping at the mall with my friends, and we would spend endless hours trying on cozy sweaters and buying everything in sight. Then after that we would go to an aesthetic boba cafe and talk about any and everything.

But then I snap back into reality. I am laying in my bed, in a black hoodie and shorts. Empty glass bowls are on the desk beside me, and I have no makeup on. 

***

I fill my Pinterest boards with pictures of how I wish my life was. One color, one aesthetic, everything I love. Regardless, there are imperfect moments in my life. I’m not perfect, even though I want to be. 

My favorite thing has always been wearing a cute outfit, and making myself look “presentable” to the public eye. I spent hours making my hair look perfect, and putting on a good outfit. 

The next day, I showed up to school in sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. While I looked at the other students, I compared myself to the other girls in the media that looked so much better than me. 

I was consumed with self-doubt about not being the most perfect or not feeling like I belonged on a pinterest board. Achieving that goal made me heavy with only thinking about how I looked to everyone else.

 I realized that life isn’t confined to one picture. There are so many experiences the media, especially Pinterest, hides because it’s not “aesthetically pleasing” enough.

There’s so much pressure from social media for everyone’s life to look picture perfect. Like something that belongs on a pinterest board. I myself have fallen victim to spending hundreds of dollars going shopping to put my boards on social media with the hashtags 

#cuteoutfitinspo #pinterestaesthetic #lifeaesthetic #pinterestperfect

Life is full of mistakes, challenges, and things to overcome. Some of those things aren’t Pinterest worthy. The media’s ideals of the Pinterest perfect life, is a dream that isn’t reachable. There is so much stress to show only the perfect moments in life, but it’s not always drinking a matcha with the perfect skin, the perfect outfit, or perfect hair.