It is typically when scrolling through a teenage girl's social media feed that you're likely to find an inspirational picture with the caption 'GOALS' attached to it. The photograph may be of a model she desires to look like, a couple in a relationship she might find cute, or even an appetizing looking meal. It all seems very nice, but what does it all mean?
There is no real evidence of where this trend started. I presume it is yet another American influence which has swept over the rest of the world via the World Wide Web. If you want to see what is often perceived as 'goals', searching up Kylie Jenner on sites such as Tumblr is a great way of reminding yourself how pathetically mundane and unlavish your life really is. I doubt that you'll be able to resist being envious of their possessions where they get paid for..living, basically. But the Kardashian's lifestyle is only one aspect which these girls call 'goals'. The seemingly 'everyday girl' is flawless, healthy and beautiful; her boyfriend is model material, gentlemanly, and respectful; their apartment is fresh, clean, perfect. Girls have become accustomed to sharing these kinds of pictures on social media, and it is hard not to feel envious. 'Goals AF!!' wrote one girl under a picture of Cara Delevigne, 'I want her body, she is literal goals' commented another. The list of, I must admit, superficial comments go on and on.
At one stage, I had even jumped on the bandwagon. Admittedly, I had to urban-dictionary what it all meant, but after that was done I was posting pictures of my ideal 'perfect' body, my 'perfect' apartment, my 'perfect' life. But then something clicked in my brain. The part of your brain that has been taught to question everything. That little, God-sent voice called my conscience pipped up one day, and asked 'What are you going to do about it?'. This had never occurred to me, nor do I believe that it has occurred to many of the other girls who are part of this 'trend'. What am I going to do about it? I've seen the way I want my life to be like, realise that my current life is not like that, so what am I going to do about it?
There are copious amounts of books, articles and posts written about 'Getting the life you want'. I've read them and reread them, and it all boils down to one fundamental concept: Focus on your goals, and your goals will be achieved. This doesn't mean staring at that photo of the girl with the perfect body and moping about how you don't look like her, it means getting off your back side and hitting the gym. If you want to get into Oxford, study hard. If you want that big paying job, work hard. If you want to own that Lexus, save hard. Nobody is preventing you from doing what you want to do, bar yourself. You can be successful and achieve your goals if you put your heart and soul into it. So girls, there is no point whatsoever posting a photo on social media showing us your 'goals' if you don't go out and chase them. If you want it, go get it.
There is no real evidence of where this trend started. I presume it is yet another American influence which has swept over the rest of the world via the World Wide Web. If you want to see what is often perceived as 'goals', searching up Kylie Jenner on sites such as Tumblr is a great way of reminding yourself how pathetically mundane and unlavish your life really is. I doubt that you'll be able to resist being envious of their possessions where they get paid for..living, basically. But the Kardashian's lifestyle is only one aspect which these girls call 'goals'. The seemingly 'everyday girl' is flawless, healthy and beautiful; her boyfriend is model material, gentlemanly, and respectful; their apartment is fresh, clean, perfect. Girls have become accustomed to sharing these kinds of pictures on social media, and it is hard not to feel envious. 'Goals AF!!' wrote one girl under a picture of Cara Delevigne, 'I want her body, she is literal goals' commented another. The list of, I must admit, superficial comments go on and on.
At one stage, I had even jumped on the bandwagon. Admittedly, I had to urban-dictionary what it all meant, but after that was done I was posting pictures of my ideal 'perfect' body, my 'perfect' apartment, my 'perfect' life. But then something clicked in my brain. The part of your brain that has been taught to question everything. That little, God-sent voice called my conscience pipped up one day, and asked 'What are you going to do about it?'. This had never occurred to me, nor do I believe that it has occurred to many of the other girls who are part of this 'trend'. What am I going to do about it? I've seen the way I want my life to be like, realise that my current life is not like that, so what am I going to do about it?
There are copious amounts of books, articles and posts written about 'Getting the life you want'. I've read them and reread them, and it all boils down to one fundamental concept: Focus on your goals, and your goals will be achieved. This doesn't mean staring at that photo of the girl with the perfect body and moping about how you don't look like her, it means getting off your back side and hitting the gym. If you want to get into Oxford, study hard. If you want that big paying job, work hard. If you want to own that Lexus, save hard. Nobody is preventing you from doing what you want to do, bar yourself. You can be successful and achieve your goals if you put your heart and soul into it. So girls, there is no point whatsoever posting a photo on social media showing us your 'goals' if you don't go out and chase them. If you want it, go get it.
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