Hey it's okay! 9 Very normal things you don't need to feel guilty about

There’s a strange amount of pressure to have life looking perfectly put together at all times. A thriving social calendar, a solid friend group, 10,000 steps before dinner, a carefully curated personal aesthetic, a healthy dating life and enough confidence to put yourself out there without ever feeling awkward.

That isn't real life...

wellness

10 Things we’re romanticising this Spring

Sometimes the weekend is for plans. Sometimes it’s for lying horizontally on the couch for an unreasonable number of hours. Sometimes friendships change, dates go terribly and the only thing capable of understanding you is a tub of ice cream.

So, in the spirit of giving ourselves a little more grace, here are a few reminders that, actually, it’s okay.

…to not have a huge “girls who brunch” friend group

Social media can make it seem as though everyone has an enormous friendship circle that somehow manages to coordinate matching outfits, birthday trips and Sunday brunches every other weekend. You don’t need that. A small circle, a handful of close friends or even friendships that exist separately from one another are just as valid. Quality really does beat quantity.

…to rot on the couch all weekend

Not every weekend needs to be productive, aesthetically pleasing or worthy of an Instagram carousel. Sometimes doing absolutely nothing is exactly what you need. Cancel the alarm, put on something mindless and become one with the couch for a while.

…to distance yourself from a friendship you’ve outgrown

Not every friendship is meant to remain exactly the same forever. People change, priorities shift and sometimes you realise you simply don’t connect in the way you once did. Creating a little distance doesn’t automatically make either person the villain.

…to not fit into any of the trending aesthetics

You don’t have to be a clean girl, office siren, coastal grandmother, mob wife or whatever TikTok decides we’re supposed to be next. Wear what you like. Mix things that supposedly don’t go together. You are allowed to exist without turning yourself into a searchable aesthetic.

…to not chase 10,000 steps every single day

Some days you’re going for a run, hitting the gym and closing every ring. Other days your main physical activity is walking to the fridge. Movement is movement, and fitness doesn’t suddenly become meaningless because you didn’t reach an arbitrary number before midnight.

…to pretend last weekend’s one-night stand never happened

No debrief. No dramatic meaning attached to it. No need to turn it into a storyline. Sometimes something happened, you had your fun and everybody simply moves on.

…to stumble while getting back into the dating world

Dating after being out of the game for a while can feel deeply unnatural. What do people even text now? How soon are you supposed to reply? Are we still pretending not to care? You might overshare, misread a situation, go on a terrible date or temporarily forget how flirting works. Consider it part of the re-entry process.

…to eat your feelings every now and then

Should food be your only coping mechanism? Probably not. Is occasionally ordering your favourite takeaway or eating emotional-support ice cream after a terrible day a moral failing? Absolutely not. Sometimes dessert is simply part of the recovery plan.

…to put yourself out there, even when it feels embarrassing

Send the message. Introduce yourself. Apply for the opportunity. Ask someone to hang out. Admit that you like them. Pitch the idea. There’s always a chance you might cringe at yourself afterwards, but there’s also a chance something great comes from it. A little embarrassment is often the entry fee for actually participating in your own life.

And if none of it goes according to plan? Hey, it’s okay.