The Idiosyncratic Routine

As soon as you saw this name, you may have immediately thought: how can Aubrey Plaza possibly be a role model for young women? But don’t worry, I’ll explain it and it’ll totally make sense, I promise.

I’ve always loved Aubrey Plaza since I saw her on Parks and Recreation. She played the role of April Ludgate, who began as an intern in the Pawnee department of Parks and Recreation before becoming a full time assistant. Her character and her acting were just superb, and one thing I really liked about her character was how she didn’t just wait for Chris Pratt’s character (I don’t remember his name) when he was stuck between Aubrey’s character and another woman. She made space between the two of them until the time was eventually right for them to start dating.

Now that anecdote is obviously just a part of the TV show, so it really doesn’t reflect Aubrey as a person, but her somewhat weird behavior on the show definitely did, and that’s more of why I love her as a human being. To put it bluntly, Aubrey Plaza is really weird. I originally thought it was just her on Parks and Rec, until I started seeing her more outside of the TV show.

In all of the interviews she does, she really just does some totally weird things. From weird outbursts of her random thoughts, to weird facial expressions and sexually suggestive commentary, just about everything I’ve seen from Aubrey includes some weird quirks at the very least.

But what is great about it is that she is being true to herself. Most people in the spotlight do their best to portray normalcy in order to be accepted by the mainstream audience. Aubrey simply isn’t like that. No matter what people think of her (and there’s a lot to think about her given her overall strangeness in everything she does), Aubrey doesn’t change.

This is exactly the kind of mindset we should be instilling in our youth. There is so much pressure to “fit in” with our peers that a lot of times, people who are truly unique hide their true selves to the world. That uniqueness is really what is most valuable about people, and so hiding that does nothing but keep ourselves from fulfilling our full potential.

When young girls see Aubrey Plaza, they may at first think she is super weird. But over time, they will realize that she is being her true self, and has not, and will not ever change. And hopefully, they emulate that mindset in their own lives.

Now admittedly most girls are not as weird as Aubrey. But whatever character traits and personalities are present in young women, it is important to keep them present as they grow up. And although I doubt many parents in particular would jump at the chance of introducing Aubrey Plaza to their young girls, at the very least, it is important to recognize how she can be seen as a role model and teach the relevant traits to their children (even if they don’t mention Aubrey Plaza explicitly).