One of the things that's so fascinating about social media is that it gives you a glimpse into the lives of people wholly unlike you, who have their own hopes, dreams, and opinions. On the other hand, when someone expresses an opinion that diverges from a certain norm, they tend to rev up the tweeting masses, which can lead to some interesting results. Such is the case of one woman, who sent her personal best life fantasies out into the world, only to spawn the excellent "LADIES imagine this" meme. Everybody's living their best life, but only some people can dream of a Mamma Mia, after all.
The meme-able tweet was sent by one Mallori Taylor, a college student at the University of Louisiana. On May 20, Taylor made a little tweet about her life goals. "LADIES imagine this," she wrote. "[I]t’s 15 years from now—your son is up to bat, your husband is the hot 3rd base coach, your little girl is cheering on her big brother at the fence,&you are team mom, taking pics with a fancy camera,&keeping the scorebook THAT WOULD BE LIVING MY BEST LIFE."
So, OK. Taylor's best life is, perhaps, not everybody's best life. Which is fine! (It's also incredibly gendered, which is less fine, IMO, but again, Taylor's fantasy, not mine.) Unfortunately, the Internet was a little less forgiving, and one Twitter dude jumped in to critique Taylor's dream. "College girls on twitter aggressively fantasizing about being 40 year old moms who do regular activities with their fictional families is one of the most bizarre social media trends," Twitter user @kbnoswag chimed in, calling attention to the tweet.
While Taylor should not have to be subject to shaming for her particular goals, the bright spot is that quote retweet called enough attention to it that a few other fantasies rolled in, each one more admirable and stolen from television show plots/the inside of my head than the last. For instance, here is a fantasy for the collecting Social Security set:
And a dream for those feeling nostalgic for the Salem Witch Trial era:
And for folks who've long yearned to be a Jetson:
And for those who live in fear of fording the river:
And for anyone who's wanted to experience a Mamma Mia (TBH this is actually my dream, and I am very comfortable admitting it).
And for anyone who has cried on repeat viewings of Ratatouille (also me).
Gotta say, some of these dreams are actual goals.
I mean, hopefully your life's goal isn't to re-enact Gone Girl, but if it is, vaya con dios.
But if it is to re-enact New Girl, I mean, look, those guys had a real good time in the loft.
EXTREMELY GOOD DREAM YES THIS IS GOOD YES.
So, indeed, Taylor's very earnest and admittedly very lampoon-able tweet spawned a far more entertaining list of Best Life tweets. Of course, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a son who plays sports, or being a Volvo driving soccer mom. The beauty of the modern era is being able to do what you want, and while the thought of attending a single child's sports game makes me want to sink into my couch, everyone is free to have their own fantasy.
On the other hand, the only real, good, and true fantasy is this:
May we all grow up to live out the plot of The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which was robbed of a 2003 Oscar but lives on in all our hearts for all time.
