IT GIRL

Photo credit: Kamile Kvaukaite

Why is it that the media would rather praise girls who are externally beautiful than girls who have inquisitive minds? 

Nobody cares about the girl who is creating the cure for cancer...unless she's about to make a billion dollars from it. It seems to me what the world cares about these days is which Instagram filter suits who better. Who should get lip injections and who shouldn't. Why thigh brows are the new 'thing' to have. 

The media dictates our beauty standards and 80% of us don't look closely enough to see that. It's okay, they never wanted you to read the fine print anyway. 

Every couple of years the standard changes. In the 90s you were beautiful if you had a thigh gap, small features and pale skin. In 2015 you are beautiful if you have plump lips, a small waist, wide hips... and thigh brows. We are the poppets that keep on dancing. 

Except we have this one super power that allows us to gain control over our poppet masters. Something that we were all born with but simply don't use enough. Intelligence. The one thing no media outlet can put on a scale of 1-10 because intelligence is divergent. A robber band durable enough to pull in any direction. 

The dreamer who sits in the library from dawn until noon to read the latest Jackie Collins book.  The protagonist who stays up late at night scanning the Internet, working on a business venture that is going to change her future. The enthusiast who realises she can create anything out of absolutely nothing. The skeptic who replays her favourite environmental & health documentaries just to absorb any hidden information. The activist who stands up for her opinions no matter what. The supporter.  The believer. The overachiever. 

Here's to the ambitious and motivated girls who strive to finish university, a personal project or even that broadsheet newspaper picked up from the local grocery store. The girl who doesn't give up when things get tough. The girl who completely immerses herself in the world she lives in. The girl who is simply aware of her surroundings. If you are this girl, then please stand up and be proud of yourself. You are the new IT girl. 

Intelligence is the new sexy. Being able to hold a conversation with depth is the new 'cool'. Not just 'Hey' and 'How are you's'. Confidence is the best selling accessory on the market. This is the generation where being yourself is finally okay. Our generation is making the unattainable, attainable. It's time to start living spontaneously, it's time to dig up that dream you've buried so deep into the dirt, wipe it down and start repairing it. 

Give Vogue something real to talk about.