2000s character spirit animal

When August and September roll around the corner, so do coffee runs, rushed makeup routines, late-night calls, and cram sessions. The school day never gets easier as assignments and assessments pile up (often beyond belief), and ever so often the only thing to cure it is blasting your favorite playlist while going on a chilly walk. Your breath puffs up outside, and just for a second, you can pretend that you’re Bella before Edward showed up. 

Sometimes, we all need to borrow courage and motivation from our favorite 2000s characters. So today, Gen Z State of Mind presents: who is your 2000s character spirit animal for the school year? 

Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)

Macaroons while soaking in the bathtub, having your friends grill you on SAT vocabulary, being in charge of one too many clubs at school, competitiveness coursing through your veins like an addictive substance. 

If this sounds awfully familiar, then you might just be channeling your inner Blair Waldorf. Whether you’re at a private school in New York City or a public school in your hometown, we all need someone who is a natural leader to hold it down. Not everyone can be the queen of Constanance; small towns in Texas need Waldorf’s guidance too. 

Your passion may lie in fashion design, or if we’re going according to the books, law. Whatever you’re intense about, though, you dedicate your all to it, networking at every possible opportunity. Galas, Constance Ivy Day, Coffee Chats, TED Talks, the list goes on. 

A little birdie told us that your friend group may have some tension too… Well, it’s bound to happen in a tense place like high school (understatement of the year). There’s a sort of silence competition that always lingers in every word, and there’s a part of your friend that’s sad (or jealous, or angry) when you get a new accolade. Of course, it’s covered up with dainty words and backhanded compliments, but we see the true you. Regardless, Queen Bee doesn’t really care what other people say about her; the only thing that matters is that she gets to the finish line (doesn’t even matter if it’s tortoise style). It might mean that you get sassy and snappy sometimes, perchance to people who don’t deserve it, but it really happens to the best of us. 

So watch an Audrey Hepburn movie when you’re feeling down, go shopping (because why not?), and remember that the life you’re carving for yourself will most definitely surpass the lifespan of high school. 

Sandy Cohen (The OC)

If your favorite study snack is bagels (yes, this is a snack), you run off of coffee, and you’re determined to carve space for the little guys via your chosen career path, then your spirit animal is most likely our Berkeley public defender (turned corporate lawyer turned business owner turned public defender again). 

You’re passionate about the environment and the political state of the world, getting involved with the news and campaigning. You didn’t really have any help along the way (money and nepotism weren’t your advantages), and so you work as hard as you can, enthusiasm being your fuel. But along with all the academic success and perseverance (being a public defender or criminal justice sphere is truly no easy work), Sandy Cohen is also an extremely lovable character. Your Ryan Atwood could be someone you took under your wing as a mentee or best friend, saving them from stories that they were afraid to tell you. 

Maybe you live in California. Or if you don’t, maybe you still feel connected to the ocean and tanlines. The wind and darkness of the water at night, a time ripe for contemplating the entirety of your existence. In the daytime, the beach is filled with laughter and sidequests; but at night, the true magic comes out when it’s just you and the sound of the sea hitting the shore. Hopefully, you’re packing SPF in your bag along with your case briefs and computers. 

Additionally, your humor tends to run sarcastic, and you may or may not joke more than once every other sentence about how much you hate your hometown. Of course, after you travel for weeks, you miss the feel of your own bed and the sense of familiarity that you got in any random street; but when you’re actually there, forget about all that. Unfortunately, due to all of this in combination, it’s kind of hard for you to fit in with the newpsies that run the town. But you’re lovable regardless, because everyone still comes to you for help (socially, legally, professionally, the list goes on), and you’re always happy to oblige. 

Aria Montgomery (Pretty Little Liars)

Piles of books strewn across the room, a mix of comforters and clothes on your bed, mascara being your one non-negotiable step of your morning rituals, having a tight-knit friend group. In the mornings, the sun hits your room just right, and you can feel the yellow, orange hue welcome itself into your space. If this is you (and we are so jealous), then you might just be Aria Montgomery. 

Hopefully, you’re not being tormented by A and are actually enjoying your time at school. But regardless, English is your favorite subject, and you can never turn down a little locker gossip session before class. You and your friends are discussing the plans after school today: a beverage run at the local coffee shop, followed up with whatever party is happening tonight, ending with a sleepover. 

You have a tendency to keep secrets; it’s mainly because you believe that everyone should have a piece of themselves that only they know. Let’s just hope yours doesn’t have to deal with blackmailing classmates and a teacher whom you pay too much attention to (and vice versa). You find that it’s more productive to express yourself through art and fashion, different colors of cardigans decorating the interior of your closet. 

Most of all, you’re a firm believer that friendship is crucial in high school. Who would you be without your best friends? A shiver runs down your spine thinking of it because who would want to imagine that? 

Regardless of whether it's solving your local town’s new mystery or guessing if your teacher is married, you’re determined and levelheaded. Yes, all of this needs dissection? And you wouldn’t have your high school years any other way. 

So when you walk home from school during autumn, a plethora of colors crunching under your shoes (maybe Uggs?), we know you’ll appreciate all the sights that the season has to offer (and maybe even text in your group chat about it). 

Sam Winchester (Supernatural)

Heavy jackets, law textbooks, unsure of what path you want to take, a sibling whom you love (even when they come out of hiding to tell you that your dad has gone missing while ghost hunting)... yeah… you’re definitely Sam Winchester. 

You dedicate everything to your academic life, studying every second of the day, even if it means straying away a bit from the people around you. You have big dreams to fulfill, and it keeps you restless at night (just don’t look at the ceiling!!) Maybe you have a past that you want to outrun, whether that’s through success or distance, and you’ll stop at no means. We respect the hustle, though, and just want to kindly remind you to take breaks between cramming and interview prep (studies have shown that it’s optimal for peak performance; we didn’t make it up). 

Sometimes, you question if your path in life is correct. This is especially true if you’re a first-generation student of any kind; your whole family has only known something else. Occasionally, there are hints of the life that you could have had in passing moments, and it makes you sit down and contemplate if all you’re doing is worth it. There’s a sense of bittersweet nostalgia and longing that coats the air, making it almost impossible to escape. 

Additionally, as you are Sam Winchester, you may have a sibling who you’re really close with; you go on adventures together (specifically road trips), and while you may fight about the aux, you wouldn’t change anything for the world (bonus points if either you or your sibling are obsessed with true crime documentaries or conspiracy theories). Maybe you’ll truly embrace the Supernatural lifestyle and skip class for days on end… oh, he never went back to Stanford Law. But we trust that you catch up on all missing assignments as soon as possible, even if it means all-nighters with caffeine as your sole companion. 

And to wrap it all up, your favorite weather involves fog, with cold winters being a comfort to you. Your closet consists solely of jackets, sweaters, and scarves to bundle up in these frosty conditions. So now, as the temperatures continue to drop, grab a murder mystery book and your favorite warm beverage. Question everything, and put your true detective skills to work (with your favorite backdrop of snow, of course). 

Lane Kim (Gilmore Girls)

Rock bands blasting in your headphones, pizza lover, black sheep of the family (but good at hiding it or adapting), a slight rebellious streak, always there for your friends… We formally diagnose you as Lane Kim. 

As the black sheep of the family, you’re most likely intensely passionate about things your family may not understand (or even actively forbid), you have a lively spirit, and you’re always there for your friends even if there’s a great distance. You believe that all these traits work in tandem, complementing each other along the way: you understand the fact that everyone needs someone to unconditionally support them because you lack that from your family, and you have to stay passionate because who else will be enthusiastic about what you love? Mix in a great taste of music and a few secret compartments in your room, and you may just be a modern Lane Kim. 

If you’ve dabbled in hair dye or with piercings (bonus points if your family wasn’t happy about it), then you have only reinforced our beliefs. And it’s something many people admire about you: not conforming yourself into what everyone around you pressures you into, doing your own thing no matter what. It is certainly not easy to choose a path that makes you happy, everyone else be damned. 

That doesn’t mean you don’t work hard at school, though. Being unique is something that follows you everywhere, so while you may struggle sometimes to feel like you fit in during high school, that doesn’t stop you from having a great time– studying in the libraries, on the bleachers, being the cool spunky tutor. 

Having your own identity in a small town that thrives off of conformity is especially hard (Gen Z State of Mind would know; we are the original hometown haters). It can feel suffocating to live in a place like that, but you stand strong regardless. We just know that your music taste is elite, and your love language is sharing tunes with your friends, specifically catered towards them. 

So this school year, stroll around your autumn-themed small town with your best friend in hand. Go to a bookstore, a record store, anything to explore your tastes further. Never change your ways, even when they’re lurking under floorboards or secret social media accounts. 

Final Remarks 

Each school year gets harder than the next as the real world outside gets more and more eager to meet you. This pressure can become debilitating sometimes, and we know that the struggle to choose (even if it’s just what to wear in the mornings) only makes it worse. So sometimes, it’s helpful to channel an inner spirit animal or personality to persevere through the day, allowing yourself to take a step back and rest. 

And who doesn’t love a cinematic montage of romanticization for the school year? Don’t tell me you would turn down a moodboard of autumn shopping, seasonal lattes, fog, small town posters, the smell of old parchment, new books… the list goes on. 

We all need a little bit of joy and love in our lives, and this is just a way to inject it when things seem mundane. So stay positive, stay dreaming, 

Stay as you, 

Gen Z State of Mind