by Zack Mink

Being in your I-don’t-give-a-f*ck (IDAGF) era means that you do what you need to do for yourself. For me currently, this means I’m showing up to class in the same outfits every week, or pressing snooze on my alarm and committing to wearing pajamas all day. It’s giving low effort although I’m still on top of school and work because, “that’s what really matters,” as my Grandma would say. 

I love clothes, thrifting, design, etc., but who am I trying to impress when I’m running to The Depot during a ten minute break? I’m tired of dressing up for the one cute guy in my class who doesn’t even know my name (yet). I’m done wasting a good outfit on a day when I’m sitting in one classroom for multiple classes back to back. Being as thoughtless as I am when it comes to my daily appearance takes a lot of work though. It takes a sense of style, confidence, and a certain je-ne-sais-quoi you would only know from hitting rock-bottom, possibly even multiple times. 

When I say hitting rock-bottom, I mean a struggle you have had in life that you learned from. Something that taught you a life lesson, brought a growth opportunity. No judgment to the people who have never been to therapy, but working to improve yourself is super important. It’s a time when you focus on loving yourself, owning your flaws, and working to improve yourself however that looks for you. It’s also hot, so if you have never been to therapy I highly recommend taking advantage of the free resources campus provides. Focusing on your personal growth brings you a third-of-the-way to thriving in your IDGAF era; the second part is being confident. Luckily… you’ve had some time now to work on yourself, learned a life lesson or two, gained some emotional maturity, and are feeling happy with how far you’ve come. 

The turning point for me was my junior year of high school. It was the third high school I went to, so during the first week I took advantage of the fact that I was the new kid. Being my bold self, I ran for treasurer with no one even knowing my name. I didn’t win, but it was still fun to just not take it too seriously, break down my walls and be confident in who I was. Some may say that was actually the beginning of my IDGAF era.

The missing piece to being successful in your IDGAF era is having a sense of style. Like I said, I’m an outfit repeater and wear the same exact things every week. Not to brag, but I do consistently get compliments on my eight dollar sweatshirt and the t-shirt I thrifted that has a huge hole in the armpit. Maybe it’s the low standards of Arcata, or maybe I’m just delusional, but all you need is some style to pull off being low effort and presentable.

Once you’ve reached this point, you can truly enjoy the world around you. You have prioritized yourself, grown emotionally, and gained confidence allowing you to be successful in the other aspects of your life. You also look cute and are the mysterious person someone thinks about after seeing you walk to class. So be free my little birds, get help – because if you’ve read this far you need it, and I wish you a pleasant journey finding your successful low effort lifestyle.
If you are in need of emotional and mental health support, please reach out to Counseling & Psychological Services at humboldtcaps@humboldt.edu or call 707.826.3146 to sign up for free mental health/counseling services through TimelyCare.