Short n’ Sweet: XOXO Memoir
Short Reflection
As my rest break comes to a close, I’ve been binging all the TV I can—both old favorites and new releases. With fall around the corner, I naturally revisited both seasons of Wednesday, and, of course, Gossip Girl —inspired blog post felt inevitable to watch on my break. After all, what better way to boost my cultural capital than with a little fall TV indulgence?
Meanwhile, watching Gossip Girl made me realize it’s more just drama and scandal because beneath the chaos of the Upper East Side there is this constant reminder that identity and status are so intertwined. Maybe that’s why the show still feels relevant: it captures the thrill and tension of wealth, power, and reinvention. In a strange way, these reflections of how billionaires operate baffle me in every sense. It's not the designer clothes or the hotel suites, it is their ability to understand money is no problem. A mindset so special that only a select few could ever reach that potential especially in New York City of all places.
What fascinates me most is how that mindset contrasts with reality. Most of the people I know live with very real financial constraints, where ambition requires sacrifice, planning, and persistence. We grew up learning how to spread ourselves thin to make ends meet. Gossip Girl exaggerates wealth to the extreme, but it reveals something real about how much our identities are shaped by what we have—or don’t have—and how we aspire to more. It’s less about wishing I had Blair’s closet or Chuck’s power and more about questioning the systems that make wealth so powerful in shaping identity.
That contrast inevitably makes me reflect on my own ambition. As I prepare for my journey into law, I think about the difference between image-driven ambition and purpose-driven ambition. The Upper East Siders strive for status, influence, and reinvention, but their lives are insulated by privilege. In my eyes they do work hard for the thing they want but money and family name give the upperhand in most cases. My own path will demand discipline, reinvention, and resilience without the cushion of limitless wealth. I have no family name, I have no grandparents. Instead I have to work twice as hard. For me, ambition isn’t about climbing up the ladder, it's about building something meaningful to start my family name using education and effort to create opportunity.
In that way, Gossip Girl becomes a guilty-pleasure TV. The show glamorizes reinvention, but in real life, reinvention requires grit. Watching it during my rest break reminded me that ambition isn’t just a phone call away, it’s a commitment I’m carrying with me into law school and my personal adventures.
Enjoy This Journey With Me
° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °
Enjoy This Journey With Me ° 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 ₒ 𐐪𐑂 ♡ 𐐪𐑂 °
This isn’t the end—just a bookmark in the conversation. Stories don’t really close; they unfold, shift, and find new voices. If this one stirred something in you, let it breathe. Leave a thought, challenge an idea, or carry it forward in your own way. And if you ever feel like wandering through more unfinished thoughts, you know where to find me. Let’s keep the conversation alive. ~XOXO
