1.) Mean Girls is a defining moment of my generation. It came out during my 8th-grade year. It was a foreshadow of the four years to come.
2.) However, Mean Girls is also so real and true that it hurts to watch. Humans are like animals. Teenagers are assholes. Shallow, bitchy cunts do always win. Life isn’t fair.
3.) But then again, perhaps that’s why the movie is so great and has withstood the test of time. People watch it and go, Wow, yeah, that’s exactly what life was like…
4.) But then I’m like… Yeah. That is what you were like…and you should be ashamed because you were a douche.
5.) But they never are.
6.) I don’t think people ever grow up or mature. They’re always shallow. They’re always cliquey. They’re always mean.
7.) Mean Girls might be set in a high school. but the same story could be applied anywhere.
8.) And that’s why it’s so popular.

Keith Langston writes for Travel Channel, Screen Rant, and Passport Magazine, among others. His personal essays have been featured in Hobart and Talking Writing. His passions are travel, film, and tea.