If you are in your late 20’s to early 30’s, you have probably seen (or at least heard of) the hit movie, Mean Girls. The movie (written by Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters) chronicles the experiences of homeschooler-turned-public-schooler, Cady Heron as she makes friends and frenemies. Her frenemies are a trio of popular girls called “The Plastics” – the titular “Mean Girls”.
Regina George – The Queen Bee
Regina is the cool girl that people either love to hate or hate to love. Regardless of what they are saying about her, everyone knows her and talks about her. She rules her clique with an iron fist, yet garners a degree of loyalty and admiration that others only wish they had. She has mastered the art of manipulation, and is described as “Fabulous, but evil”. I would describe her as the ultimate sour patch kid – sweet one minute, but sour the next.
Gretchen Wieners- The Gossip Queen
Gretchen is Regina’s main sidekick – which probably explains why she is the one who knows all of Regina’s dirty secrets. Although she is generally nice, she can be mean when under Regina’s influence. She is also desperate to be seen as a trendsetter, yet allows Regina to dictate things like what she can wear (like those really expensive white gold hoop earrings her parents bought her), words she can use (stop trying to make fetch happen – it’s not gonna happen), and who she can date (Jason is such a skeez).
Karen Smith- The Pretty Airhead
Karen is the stereotypical “airhead” of the group. Though viewed by many as the prettiest girl in the school, she bows down to Queen Bee Regina. Although easily manipulated by her friends, Karen is generally a kind person and a good friend.
So what’s the point of this trip down movie memory lane, Tiffany?
My friend, Michelle, and I often chat about the various aspects of our lives- including the people in our lives and our writing careers. During these discussions, one theme continues to pop up:
I am too nice.
I don’t set boundaries and am not assertive enough.
The boundaries I do set are practically useless since I don’t enforce them.
I lack confidence in myself and my abilities.
I tend to do things I don’t want to do out of a sense of obligation.
I don’t always pursue what I want on a consistent basis.
I allow people too much leeway in my life.
At one point, we both said that maybe we should be a bit more “mean”. That’s when I started thinking about the movie “Mean Girls”. Not just about how hilarious it is, but about how some of the qualities of the ultimate “mean girl” could actually be beneficial. There are several behaviors Regina displays that would probably make my life easier and more enjoyable if I adopted them as well. For example:
She has a confident demeanor
She has the air of someone who has confidence in who she is and what she is capable of.
She knows what she wants and goes after it with gusto
She is determined to have things her way and is willing to do what it takes to make it happen.
She is assertive
She is definitely not the type of person to allow others to bowl over her. She is highly capable of standing her ground.
She sets boundaries
She knows what she will not allow in her life and not only does she let people know her boundaries, she actually enforces them. Not only does she set boundaries for other people’s actions, she also doesn’t seem to be the type of person who does things that she doesn’t really want to do.
These are qualities that I feel would improve my life in a variety of areas. There were several things about Regina that make her the perfect antagonist. I mean, she was a ‘life ruiner’, after all. However, the aforementioned qualities aren’t all that bad.
How I Will Channel My Inner Mean Girl
1. I will be more confident in what I have to offer the world and the people in my life.
2. I will be assertive with family and friends when it comes to what I will and will not accept.
3. I will establish boundaries for myself in the form of routines and schedules that will help my life run more smoothly.
4. I will say ‘no’ to things that I do not want to do and that do not align with my goals.
5. I will say ‘yes’ to opportunities that may be scary or challenging, but that ARE aligned with my goals.
6. I will pursue my goals with determination and not allow external (or internal) obstacles to prevent me from success.
What do you think? Are there any “mean girl” qualities that you think are actually a bit beneficial?
