I am sure many of you are familiar with this term. It refers to when someone upgrades their look or improves their life. You’ll often get a before picture and then a years later after picture where someone has “glown” up. Or sometimes it’s instant, like someone will get a makeover or you get make up tutorials to get that glow up look.

In essence it’s not bad, either way you are perceived to improve your life and your looks. Sometimes it’s a matter of gaining confidence. However I have an issue with the whole concept. It’s so visual and materialistic. So we mainly glow up when we look better on the outside? Isn’t beauty subjective? Isn’t beauty in the eye of the beholder? I truly believe that. I believe there are many types of beauties in this world and yet only one kind gets praised for their glow up.

I honestly didn’t have much of a problem with the term until people started to use it with me. They’d ask me, “When are you going to glow up?” or “If you’ll wear that then you’ll finally glow up.” The words bugged me but I didn’t know why. I thought to myself, “Perhaps I do need to glow up, I am in my twenties.”

But then recently I met up with my friend and because she’s a close friend I dressed up and I looked good. I felt good too because it had been a while. As I was with her I thought to myself my self-esteem isn’t as bad as it used to be. Also I’m not ugly. I don’t need a glow up. There are days when I want to be comfortable and to just chill around my home. There are days where I want to be cute and there are days where I want to sexy. I can do all three.

I already know what I like and what I don’t like but because my style doesn’t fit into some of my friends’ norms I need to glow up? Not everyone needs to be an Instagram baddie to look good. We all have our own styles and looks. Also we don’t look the same every day. We don’t HAVE to look good every day; I think it’s perfectly okay to be comfortable when you want to be and to not feel sorry about it.

In conclusion, I don’t like the term when it’s forced on others. It’s kind of insulting when someone says, “You need a glow up.” Like girl I’m already sexy I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve had my glow up, a glow up in confidence and self-esteem and I think that’s more important. Unfortunately I don’t think many think the same way as I do.

What do you think? What are your thoughts on the phenomenon? Let me know below!