I feel like recently I’ve been bombarded with hyper-specific ads about things I should be worried about happening with my body. Sure, I’m plenty used to hair removal, anti-aging, makeup, and weight loss ads. Those have been constant background noise for most of my life. These new ads though, they’re something else entirely.

Recently, on a trip as the only single friend with a group of couples, I had a realization — the guys my friends were with were actually a whole lot cooler than I had thought they would be before I met them. Having only known them by their “credentials” before this trip, I had assumed they’d all be less than stellar boyfriends.

Setting and maintaining your standards is one of those skills that people simply don’t talk about enough. However, it’s one of those skills that has the power to affect every single aspect of our lives, for the entirety of our lives, and we’re just left to fend for ourselves.

Because of TikTok’s algorithm that whittles down the videos you see based on the ones you seem to like, I found myself in a side of TikTok FULL of women talking in extreme, vulnerable detail, about their lives.

Have you ever had someone be really nice to you for seemingly no reason? Have you ever been applauded by your peers or bosses for the same amount of work that your colleagues complete? Have you ever felt like you have your pick of the litter in terms of jobs, dates, friends, etc? If so, you probably have some degree of “pretty privilege.”