Pumpkin spice lattes, monograms, Kendra Scott jewelry, Jack Rogers, Tory Burch riding boots, PINK leggings, Lulu lemon headbands, white iPhones, Lilly Pulitzer planners, fake laughing pictures… the makeup of a “basic white girl.”

From the outside this is all you see; on the inside there is so much more. Being “basic” has become a word that girls identify with. I will not identify with it anymore; I have a personality and interests that are far more than basic.

Basic, a synonym to dull, ordinary, simple, average, plain, forgettable or cookie cutter. I am none of those words, but the moment I show up with a Starbucks Frappuccino in hands and a monogram Jansport on my back I become “a basic”. Just another face in the crowd, suddenly unrecognizable and accused of not being my own person.

Girls are labeled by the labels they have on. Yet somehow instead of being though of as just a stereotype the word basic is tossed around to describe anything and anyone.

I get sorted into this group when I follow the newest trend, but if I don’t follow the crows I’m looked down on or accused of trying to be hipster. Girls criticize each other for acting “too basic”, yet the caption pictures and take pride in how basic their own selves are.

The word basic needs to be reserved for describing a simple noun in English class and not be used to limit a girl on her appearance. Referring to oneself as “so basic” is to limit ones individuality. I am more than a basic white girl.

I am a unique, creative and awesome individual; whom yes, enjoys a cup of Starbucks just as much as the next person. I don’t drink it because it is the “white girl” thing to do; I go to Starbucks because some mornings I just need a coffee. Yes, I occasionally put a bow in my hair or wear my initials on my chest, but I will not let the word basic define me further than my appearance.