We had waxing, vaccinations, and relaxation last year. But now, it's time to reclaim the story and begin acting in ways that advance the plot.
You can always find me on my couch on a wet Monday night, browsing streaming services. And searching for nothing while indulging in Trader Joe's butter chicken. However, the rapidly ending summer gave me a case of the blues a couple of Mondays ago, so I resisted the impulse to relax and tried something new.
A few hours later, I was sitting at a chic bar with a friend, trying to get a good look at the third member of our group who just happened to be on a date. We were quietly keeping watch.
My friend and I were dressed in black, not to blend in with the vibrant decor, as we both agreed, but to stand out. We would whisper-shout observations to one another while sneaking "covert" glances towards her table across the bar. "Many hand motions. He must be into her," my friend said as he nodded in agreement. I groaned, "They switched on the mood lighting, and now I can't see if she's smiling."
The plot of this terrible spy movie began with a group chat conversation between the three of us, as with most absurd circumstances that develop. "Suppose we... ", "I'm kidding if you're kidding," and "I'm kidding if I'm kidding," only for my two accomplices and I to realize that nobody was kidding.
My other buddy and I prepared to play our parts. Her dependable but horribly inexperienced operatives, like our friend, are getting ready for her date at her apartment.
We do this for what reason? Maybe just for the purpose of the plot. After a tough week in our personal lives and beyond, we needed to release the serotonin from belly laughs and smiles that hurt our cheeks.
We afterwards drank to make a Monday night anything but ordinary at the bar after being greatly entertained. Plot Girl Summer is here.
Last summer was Hot Girl Summer, thanks to COVID-19 vaccines and a revival of the 2019 Megan Thee Stallion banger. After a year of pandemic living, we were waxed, vaccinated, and anything but at ease. The summer of 2021 served as required tuition for looking and feeling well; it was enjoyable yet stressful.
The air is a little denser this summer. The Supreme Court invalidated Roe v. Wade on June 24th, dealing our right to bodily autonomy a terrible blow. A few states promptly passed trigger legislation outlawing all abortions. Even while that is horrifying, the ramifications go far beyond abortion. According to Justice Clarence Thomas, in a concurring opinion, the court "should reexamine" its decisions codifying safeguards for contraception, same-sex relationships, and marriage equality.
Also, with only eight months remaining in 2022, there have already been over 300 mass shootings in the United States. The fact that Black and brown people have been disproportionately affected by all of these occurrences. They remind us that the human condition is precarious and that the white, cis, and heteronormative institutions in which we live are fundamentally wrong.
Humans naturally lament their rights. Our minds are wired to focus on dangers to our survival and negative things. However, some have intentionally faced this dumpster fire with extreme delight and serendipitous agency rather than burning to death. And that's what Serena Kerrigan's phrase, "Plot Girl Summer," is all about.
Summer, the protagonist, isn't just telling an amusing story at dinner. c Legal, political, and economic frameworks have historically encircled our rights, bodies, and means of subsistence. The Plot Girl slogan, at its foundation, calls for the agency to reclaim the chaos of the world, beginning with our personal life. It is an empowering alternative to those inflexible systems.
The main character, Summer, isn't just making up a funny story to tell at dinner. Additionally, it serves as a subliminal reminder to everyone who isn't a cishet white guy. As we are entitled to star in our own multi-season TV drama, complete with beautiful supporting cast members, life-changing victories, and occasionally unexpected plot twists. Our rights, bodies, and means of subsistence have historically been surrounded by legal, political, and economic frameworks. The core message of the Plot Girl phrase is that we must take control of our lives to recover from the world's chaos. It is a flexible replacement for those rigid systems.
She was inspired to go inward and concentrate on her own objectives. In 2021, she and her small daughter moved from Atlanta to New York, fulfilling a lifetime goal so that Harris could pursue her creative endeavors. It was a giant leap, and instinct and emotion—the beat of Plot Girl Summer—took precedence over language and reason.
After much searching, she has finally located a location in New York where she can set up her own textile studio. She also started the website Women Who CoParent, which enables mothers to co-parent with one another. It was a pre-pandemic idea set aside until a few months ago when a simple Twitter remark would connect her to the idea.
She has finally located a location in New York where she can set up her textile studio after much searching and error. She also established Women Who CoParent, a website that allows mothers to co-parent. It was a pre-pandemic idea that had been put on hold. Until a few months ago, a simple Twitter remark led her to the funding and business resources that allowed her startup to be revived.
According to Harris, "Plot Girl Summer knows that you can do something and then really doing it, without really having the expectation of knowing what happens next." It has the assurance to carry it out.
Even though each of our Plot Girl Summers is a little different, intention and spontaneity matter. It's not sufficient to merely be given a circumstance or chance, such as last-minute tickets to an outdoor concert or, in Harris's case, a resonant Twitter thread. It involves committing to act even if the results are uncertain and following your instincts, your angels on your shoulder, or however else instinct manifests for you.
It can occasionally entail engaging in an activity that makes your inner kid happy. Sometimes, purely out of intuition, it will inspire a considerable transformation in one's life. In any event, pursuing those unanticipated occasions that Plot Girl Summer enables. It is just plain important after two years of painstakingly dispersed park hangouts. And those back-to-back Zoom meetings full of "Maya, I think you're muted" and a lot of nervousness.
These days, Plot Girl Summer means starting this narrative on my laptop. Then closing it an hour later and heading to my favorite pub to watch the weekly drag show, which has stunning drag queens singing an Ariana Grande song. My one and only engagement for the day is a 90-minute brunch, and I'm leaving for it just as my microwave clock blinks at 4:05 a.m. It's firmly stating my "yeses" while acknowledging the importance of my "noes."
It's a way for me to remember that despite how helpless and furious I feel, these happy accidents fuel feelings of awe, self-assurance, and compassion. The delight of my own agency coexists with my lamentation over what this nation is currently unable to do for me. And that's a hell of a plot twist.