The Mean Girls movie taught us that “on Wednesdays we wear pink” and taught me that I related the most to that girl who cried and wanted to bake a cake made of “smiles and rainbows” because I too have a lot of feelings. So while the Mean Girls musical teaches us very similar things, it also teaches us to appreciate ourselves for our individuality and that “we are all stars” as the last song says. Plus that Tina Fey is a legendary queen! She is the creative mind behind the film screenplay and the musical’s playwright.

In all honesty, the Mean Girls soundtrack really has been on loop on my Spotify since the moment the show opened on Broadway in 2018; it’s a 00s classic brought to you on the mainstage with jazz hands, no complaints from me. While listening to it during this quarantine madness, I realised that part of me longed for high school because it seemed so much simpler, and then I realised I just missed my friends. Which brings me here — I miss my friends from high school, uni, the lot. While I seem to preach betterment, today is different. Today we are here to appreciate and love those around us. It is very hard to come out and say “I appreciate you” out of nowhere, so this is also my love letter to all my homies out there.

COVID-19 quarantine has made us feel the important role socialisation plays in our mental wellbeing, and it’s hard to check up on everyone, because you might be in your own cocoon of weight-bearing isolation. I’ve scrolled through Instagram quite a bit lately and I’ve seen people posting, “Now you know who your real friends are, because they check up on you” — but do you check up on them? Why are we so quick to judge someone for not doing something for us, when we haven’t reached out to them? Don’t start your own mental ‘Burn Book’! No one mentally prepared for a pandemic, and if you did, then props to you because you’re set for every curveball coming! So, I propose a question — when did you become the centre? When does appreciation start with someone appreciating you first? We all like to think that we are loved and that people will reach out to us, but this environment is not the time to make that judgement. Everyone responds differently to the shock that is a pandemic.

Take my words lightly, enjoy this cookie of a conversation with a pinch of salt — much more tasteful — because friends make the world go round. If the world is a massive Savannah, and high school is the little metaphor for the big bad world, then friends are truly what make us. Right now the big bad Regina George is Ms. Rona and no one wants her as the apex predator. Give your friends the benefit of the doubt, reach out to them if you can — if not, then later. When this finally all blows over, you can have your own tap number together, because that’s what Damian does and what he does is a way of life — so listen to Damian.

So love your friend for putting ‘d’ in the word orange. Let them make “fetch” happen, and if you have the time, tell your mum she’s a cool mum. And make sure you keep your friends — don’t pull a Cady and ditch Janis and Damian because they could really come in useful in planning a corona-revenge party when corona hits the road (it’s not time yet!). For now praise your Glen Coco!

*Listen to the soundtrack and reread this. Have a drink for every reference I make