If you’re anything like me, you use the Internet for four things: Facebook, Netflix, Gmail (when you’re feeling ambitious), and Pinterest. Ah, Pinterest. What is it about Pinterest that has captured the hearts of college-aged women just so? Is it the continuous stream of artfully coiffed “super easy overnight” beachy waves, the delicately beautiful tattoos that we’re sure we could pull off if we had the guts to actually get a tattoo, the adorable dessert recipes (sprinkle covered Oreos and mini Starbucks latte cupcakes, I rest my case), or the thousands, literally thousands, of perfectly coordinated outfits that crowd our newsfeeds? The list goes on and on. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve slipped off into a Pinterest coma and wasted more than a few hours trying to create the perfect smoky eye using the Naked 2 palette (shoutout to Chopper, you da real MVP).
Based on the countless hours of Pinterest stalking I’ve done over the years, I’ve concluded two things. Not only is Pinterest the place where you showcase the “ideal” you, the you of your rose-tinted dreams, but Pinterest is also the ultimate source of all self-doubt inducing fears. If Pinterest was a girl in your sorority, she would be the one who could whip up all those hellishly complicated “super cute” desserts without chipping a nail on her gel-manicured fingers. She would be the one sporting the aforementioned perfect beachy waves, the one with the flawless outfit. She would make both Chacos and Birkenstocks look cute, a true talent in my book. And you better believe her brows would fucking be on point.
As Teddy Roosevelt – arguably the most badass president – once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Well ladies, I think I found her. The perfect Pinterest woman is everything you want to be, but can’t, because humidity doesn’t exist on Pinterest and her flawless waves will forevermore be flawless. Her perfect beach bod will remain toned and tanned to a tee, no matter how many of those damned sprinkle-covered Oreos she makes – and eats. So why do we keep coming back to her? Pinterest is the ex that we drunk-text at 2 AM after four rounds of tequila shots – we know we shouldn’t open the floodgates but somehow can’t resist taking a peek. Because once we do, it inevitably ends the same way – in a pool of self-loathing, surrounded by an empty pizza box and tissues. Or seven-layer dip. I don’t know. You do you.
Personally, I have a serious love-hate relationship with Pinterest, if that wasn’t already glaringly obvious. I get tied up between cursing my genetically-challenged thin hair and quarterback-esque shoulders and saying “Fuck it, I’m beautiful just the way I am!” *Chokes back tears and cues “Beautiful” by XTina.* Pinterest often just serves as a reminder of all the things we can’t be, all the things we can’t do, and, perhaps most importantly, all the things we can’t eat. But what if our relationship with Pinterest goes deeper than that? Here it comes – what if the reason we hate to love and love to hate Pinterest is because it serves as a constant reminder of all of the things we could be doing in life, but never make the time for? The place for us to create our ideal and perfect lives that will never become reality? Because trust me I’ve tried that beachy waves hair tutorial and it’s nothing but lies.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We all know that Pinterest is just a fun alternate reality, the place where we can lose ourselves in a maze of pretty pictures and forget the real world for a little while. Whether your relationship with Pinterest is more love to hate or hate to love, that’s up to you – and is most likely heavily dependent on your crafting skills. But the one thing we can’t deny is this: like the charming vixen she is, Pinterest always keeps us coming back for more..
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