DIML

April 8, 2026

Writer: Tessa Rothman

Editor: Madison Freshour

I wake up, open TikTok, and within seconds, I have watched three ordinary strangers document their picturesque mornings. Their beds are smoothly made, they take a few minutes to journal, chat with friends, and have a cup of green juice beside a picturesque outside view. Meanwhile, I’ve snoozed six alarms, barely rolled out of my messy bed, and made it just in time for class to start.

While nothing about these TikTok “Day In My Life” videos is inherently extraordinary, they create an immediate comparison between my chaotic routine and the curated routines of my peers. The individuals posting these videos are not celebrities or influencers with large audiences, but rather ordinary college students like me. Because of the similarities between the creators of these videos and me, they feel like they should be relatable and attainable. I blame myself for not being able to replicate these habits, and I constantly feel like I’m falling short of what the standard should be.

College life, universally, is an unpredictable and disorganized environment. Most nights, I go to bed later than I would like to, and it is very easy to struggle with balancing academic and social demands. The feeling that “I’m not doing enough” is perpetually enhanced by TikTok DIML videos, presenting a perfect version of a simple daily life. Perfection—something that was previously only seen in celebrities and influencers—is now mainstreamed as “the norm” and expected by everyone.

For me, the problem I have with these videos is the cumulative nature of them. After seeing video after video on my feed, they’ve created a narrative about how my day is supposed to look. I feel like even the most basic activities are now required to be aesthetically pleasing and optimized. To fall into the cycle of these trends means not experiencing daily life anymore, but rather being evaluated against a filtered standard.

One morning early last week, I tried to recreate what I had been seeing. I threw myself out of bed before 8 AM, tired and disheveled, telling myself: Everyone does it. I can too. After carefully pulling the covers of my bed so that not a crease was in sight, I took a picture of it. I took out my journal from the top shelf of my closet, wrote a couple of words, and quickly realized I had an email to send. My “put-together” moments only lasted seconds, yet they were forever captured by the picture I had taken.

One photo or one video does not tell the whole story.

These selective moments are intentionally framed and edited, and it is important to recognize this in moments when you’re feeling down about yourself. The messy bed still exists—just outside the frame of the camera.

Understanding this phenomenon is important for everyone, particularly college students who need to reconsider their definition of a successful day. The unpredictability and disorganization of college life do not have to be a failure, but rather a real personal experience that is not altered to fit a certain aesthetic. While there is no visual perfection to it, and certainly no aesthetic DIML TikToks being posted about it, it is still authentic, and it is alive.