The Importance of Your Girl Gang

Girl Gang. We see it embroidered on tees at Forever21 and on Pinterest quote boards – but what does it really mean?

I was lucky enough to spend this past weekend in New York with my friend Austen, who is nothing short of a badass. She has worked at places like NYLON, Cosmopolitan and Interview Magazine, knows nearly EVERYONE in New York City (at least, I’m convinced she does) and continues to succeed at any project she touches. I reflected on this trip as I was sitting on the tarmac delayed in yet another flight at LaGuardia.

Just tonight as I was Ubering home from an event with my friend Emma, who’s *technically* still a student while working a big girl social media job and running a blog full-time, where I had a similar moment of introspection.

I am surrounded by so many girl bosses who are masters of their own destinies. They are career-driven with blazing ambition, yet have such grounded ideals and kind souls. They are constantly reinventing themselves and seeking out the “next big thing,” and I guarantee you that more than a few of them will have invested in the next Apple or Facebook by the time it gets big.

Being friends with such motivated, successful and genuinely all-around great people makes ME want to be motivated, successful and all-around great. If I hear that someone is waking up early to take a call with a European company, it makes me rethink my global business strategy. If I hear another friend is getting a major deal signed, I make a mental note to learn from their pitch and start a new wave of pitching. These people who not only do all the “friendly” duties of putting up with my text blasts, helping me pick out outfits and drafting texts to boys also push me to be a better version of myself.

Research says we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with – who do you want to be? An uplifting go-getter? An arrogant girl stuck in her high school insecurities? A positive influence? A drain? You have the power to decide, because YOU (and only you) have the power to pick your friends.

I think the important part here is that you must CONTINUE to pick them.  Pick them because they bring out the best version of you – and stop picking them when they bring out anything short of that. Sure, people grow apart, and that’s natural – that’s not what I mean here. I urge you to weed out toxic, negative, draining people from your life; the ones who gossip about your other friends behind their backs, the ones who make you feel lesser than, and the ones who are whittling down your self-esteem.

I really, truly believe that at its core, your girl gang is the group of strong, independent women that help keep you at your best. They lift you up with support and encouragement. They give you a healthy dose of reality and humility when you need it. They love you unconditionally and positively influence you to give 110%, just like they do.

Find your girl gang. Love them hard. Buy them tacos and tell them they’re pretty – and that they’re pretty darn awesome.