How 2014 Tumblr Shaped Who I Am Today

By: Aneesha Mahapatra

 Sometimes I think a piece of who I am came from 2014 Tumblr. The lifestyle was genuinely so much cooler and creative. It was the moody and romanticized corner of the internet where everything felt deeper and more poetic than real life. It was more than just a website to me. It was everything. The black and white themed dashboards, song lyrics that somehow related to 12 year old me, and obviously the endless scrolling through music, quotes, and photos that made my miserable middle school life feel more meaningful.

Tumblr was where fandoms lived and breathed, and I know Twitter was cool back then too, but unfortunately my parents didn’t allow me to have the app until I got a phone at 14 (they didn’t know Tumblr was on my IPod). It was a place to escape to where I spent hours scrolling through 1D memes, aesthetic blurry concert photos, and artsy edits that made my teenage years feel cinematic.

Back then, and even today let’s not lie, I was deep in my One Direction era. I would go to my school Scholastic book fairs and buy 1D posters and calendars instead of books. My entire room was One Direction themed and even though it looked like that since 2011, I kept it throughout my pre-teen years. I would wear “I love Zayn Malik” bracelets on my wrists, a “Directioner” pendant on my neck, and read 1D mafia Wattpad stories that kept me up until 3 AM (I was so delusional, I prayed Harry Styles would kidnap me). They were my first ever concert and attending them felt like the peak of existence. It was truly, madly, deeply, pure serotonin. 

Can we please talk about the music during that time as well- Lana Del Rey, The Neighbourhood, Arctic Monkeys, Marina and the Diamonds, Halsey, Melanie Martinez, and Lorde. We were blessed with such intellectual and emotional albums, but also why was I screaming the lyrics to “Ultraviolence” at 12… maybe because it was just the era to be acting and feeling that way (this may be a bit problematic oops). 

Taylor Swift’s “1989” album is my favorite TS album ever and was one of the reasons I wanted to live in New York. It captured everything I was feeling. You know what else came out in 2014? “My Everything” by Ariana Grande- AKA her best album ever; no one loves “Best Mistake”, “Love Me Harder”, and “Why Try” more than me, I fear. All of the music that was released during that time wasn’t just background noise. It influenced how I felt things and even to this day now. Even when the lyrics were deep or dark, I understood them. It was art that taught me to appreciate emotion, storytelling, and vision in ways school never could.

The style back then also had that specific Tumblr charm which was a mix of grunge and preppy that made everything look effortlessly cool. I’d beg my parents to take me to the city just to shop at Topshop, American Apparel, and Zara (back when it was the real it girl and affordable store). 

I wore skater skirts with tights, oversized flannels, infinity scarves, and chunky boots, thinking I was basically Alexa Chung. I would buy alien iron-on patches from Etsy to put on my T-shirt (you know exactly which type I’m talking about). I dragged my mother out of the house to get the Bethany Mota and Pretty Little Liars collections at Aeropostale or to Victoria’s Secret PINK for a neon quarter zip jacket. None of my outfits were complete without my EOS lip balm or tinted Baby Lips chapstick.

Some of my summer weekends literally consisted of being dropped off at the mall, testing Naked palettes at Sephora, buying LUSH bath bombs, and making Musicallys pretending I was in a music video. The girls I followed for inspo were Cara Delevigne, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner with her teal hair streaks, the Victoria’s Secret Angels, and the entire Tumblr-famous model group. That feeling followed us into 2015 and 2016 where the rise of Kylie Cosmetics, Selena Gomez’s Revival era (her best one, let’s be real), and the boho chic Coachella era of flower crowns, chokers, and pink hair took over. 

During dinner, I’d watch YouTube videos of my favorite creators: MyLifeAsEva, Maybaby (Meg DeAngelis), Niki and Gabi, Bethany Mota, Dolan Twins, Christian Collins, Rclbeauty101 (Rachel Levin), Alisha Marie, Miss Remi Ashten, CloeCouture, Brent Rivera, Zoella, MakeupByMandy24 (Amanda Steele) and so many more. I fully believe much of my sense of humor and my love for creating content came from them. “Literally My Life” was actually my whole entire life. 

 Watching Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Teen Wolf, Finding Carter, The Secret Life As An American Teenager, 90210, The 100, and endless Gossip Girl reruns felt like part of the Tumblr universe. Waiting and watching for the new episode and then immediately going online to reblog screenshots with captions like “trust no one.” Back when ABC Family was fun and nostalgic with their 13 nights of Halloween and 25 days of Christmas movies too.

It wasn’t just TV, though, it was the movie era too. The Divergent, Maze Runner, and Hunger Games years had me convinced I could easily survive an apocalypse in knee-high boots and makeup, but also showed me that these things could happen in real life...how ironic. Then there were movies that made me want to rip my heart out between 2014-2015 such as The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns. Can’t forget about the movie that changed the trajectory of my life in 2016: Nerve, which had one of the best soundtracks ever and also made me want to live in NYC so I could experience riding on the back of someone’s motorcycle. Although, they don’t really make movies like that anymore.

Looking back, I think that era shaped how many of us see the world today, through a lens that feels hopeful and confident. We grew up romanticizing moments, searching for meaning, and wanting life to feel like a film. Maybe that’s why the 2014 Tumblr moment hit so hard, it felt like everything was made for us to create, share, and live in.

Looking back, that time was more than just a phase. It was a cultural moment that molded how I see beauty, art, fashion, music, and self-expression. It made me open-minded, maybe even more dramatic and a bit detached, but forever nostalgic for the days when filters had a blue tint, music was my holy ground, and Tumblr being the place where inspiration came to life.

2014 Tumblr wasn’t just the beginning of my social media era, it was part of growing up and finding myself.