Do you remember your tween years? The awkward years of preadolescence where you are barely finding your way, style, and your individuality. I remember my tween years, watching Ghibli films and diving into the anime scene at about 9 years old, playing with my Monster High dolls and plushies, reading Dork Diaries, Dear Dumb Diary, and listening to K-pop while writing in my own diary. Good times! They were awkward, kind of cringeworthy, but lighthearted and fun! That’s what childhood is supposed to be about, finding what works for you, your interests, and just letting your imagination run wild. Even today, I refuse to let go of a couple of my fond childhood interests, because they mean a lot to me. Back then, I wasn’t worried about wearing makeup or signs of aging, but unfortunately, the innocence and frivolity of childhood has seemed to have gone out the window.
We all remember those times, the good, the bad, and the cringe! Recently though, I have noticed that the idea of a tween or preteen has kind of faded away and died. From the fact that many young girls are asking for Stanley cups (I literally just had to Google what that was because I ‘live under a rock’ according to most people :D) and expensive makeup and skincare for Christmas. For whatever reason, tween girls, I’m talking like 9–13-year-old girls, are already turning to makeup and expensive skin care at such a young age. So much so, that they are invading places like Sephora and completely destroying the sample displays!
Maybe it’s because I didn’t get makeup until I was about 15, but isn’t that a little young to be worrying about impending wrinkles and wearing a full face of makeup? Plus, why do they feel the need to wear makeup anyways? I don’t think any young girl should feel the need to completely mask themselves up in makeup at such a young age. I’m not at all saying it’s bad to experiment with makeup, that’s part of becoming a young lady, but in their minds, they feel the need to apply a full face of makeup with primer and contour and whatever else, like a grown woman. Like my mom always told me when I was around that age, before I even picked up makeup, she always told me that makeup should enhance what you have, enhance the features that make you beautiful, not turn you into something completely different. Those words have always stuck with me, and they continue to do so. (I hope they can also help others too.)
It seems like now; tweens are expected to completely skip that phase of self-discovery and finding their uniqueness, and completely dive head-first into the realm of young adult. Like I’m not sure what exactly happened, maybe it’s because of the influence of Tik Tok (and how some influencers promote and literally spout nonsense things like ‘you need this to glow up!’) or the rise of ‘aesthetics’ but tweens, more notably tween girls, are expected to be like mini-women.
The things I wore when I was like 12 versus what tween girls wear now are different…
It’s like they just walked into Forever 21….
Just so you can understand me, the ‘it’ fashion was galaxy pattern clothing (leggings or hoodies) those brightly colored shirts with emojis, hashtags, animals, and dabbing unicorns on them, and Vans.
It was light and fun, even as I was younger, I didn’t like the bright colors all that much, but seeing the young girls of today makes me feel like they’re missing out on a whole phase of their lives and finding themselves. So much change happens in these precious years.
As I got older, I began to shy away from the bright colored clothes as I began to have a bit more influence of my own wardrobe with my new interests and likes. I now lean to the more grunge fashion, think Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani in the 2000’s (The time she was in the band No Doubt) or the grunge trendsetter himself, Kurt Cobain.
(I honestly don’t know the correct terms, I’m not an expert on aesthetics, but I do know that if it came from Hot Topic, the thrift store, or just anywhere that sells graphic tees, there is like a 95% chance I’m buying something from that store.)
I also began to diversify my music tastes at this time and gain interests in other things too. I would describe this time as something that overall defined my personality and helped me become myself. I got to experiment with style and find something that works out for me.
Okay, I got a little sidetracked, but I just wanted to give an example of why it’s a good idea to just let kids be kids and evolve how they want.
It’s a bit of a cliche saying, but this is the period in life in which the caterpillar turns into a butterfly. The caterpillar grows, and then turns into a chrysalis, in which it completely melts itself into a soup and then reconstructs into a butterfly.
This is basically for us humans too. We have an awkward phase with ‘embarrassing’ and ‘ugly’ things that happen to us, or we do in preadolescence, but call it character development (Or a canon event I dare say.) that we go through an awkward phase when we’re just figuring ourselves out. We shouldn’t pressure the younglings of today to be ‘cool’ by being up on trends they see on social media or feel the need to buy expensive skin care and A DARN 50 DOLLAR CUP! I understand the urge for wanting to fit in and be cool but come on. Sometimes it’s not worth it.
So, in short….Be cringe! Be awkward! Don’t feel so much pressure to grow up kids! It’s not all sunshine and rainbows that’s for sure, so maybe enjoy the fleeting moments of childhood while they last.
Buy that soda-flavored lip gloss! Wear that blindingly bright pink shirt that has the words ‘LOL’ on it! Play with dolls, collect plushies, just do what makes you happy regardless of who says anything. That’s another thing, ever since social media became the norm for many young people, the word ‘cringe’ became pretty common, which honestly aligns with wanting to be cool, so the teens and tweens of today don’t get to explore interests like they’d like to for the fear of being outcasted or dubbed ‘cringe.’
Believe me when I say that you’ll feel great being your best self and liking what you like, instead of focusing on what’s cringe and what’s not. (Another anecdote incoming!)
When I was younger, getting into anime was still kind of considered weird. There was probably like 4–5 kids, me included, who actually enjoyed anime other than Pokémon. So whenever I’d make an attempt to engage with my peers about it, I was met with confused glances. ‘What’s anime?’ ‘Those cartoons?’ but I didn’t let that impact me. They didn’t understand it? Fine by me, I’ll just enjoy watching anime by myself…🤷♀️
It was nowhere near as popular as it is now. Same thing with K-pop, it was barely even relevant, and then exploded in popularity. Both things I was called ‘weird’ for are now insanely popular….
So shortly put, what’s cool today won’t be cool within the next month or so and will most likely be ‘cringe’ like the Ohio memes or Gen Alpha slang memes. (Don’t try to discern their language…) Just like how we look back on the trends of older generations with a little laughter, like bell-bottom jeans, mullets, and makeup with lead in it, future generations are most likely going to laugh about the fact we willingly inject plastic in our bodies or bleach our skin.
Therefore, to all the young people, it’s futile to follow trends. Just be you. we only have one life, so don’t spend it being miserable. You can’t please everyone, so like what you like and if others don’t like it, that’s their problem…
Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and as always have a good day🏙️/night🌆!
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