The “What’s in My Bag” Renaissance
It was early this summer when I scrolled on Tiktok and heard, “Let me show you what’s in my bag,” and immediately I could only think holy fucking shit. I had not heard those words uttered online since I was in middle school, and I was hit with a wave of nostalgia that I could only describe as oddly comforting. My middle school self had been obsessed with beauty YouTubers like Bethany Mota, Amanda Steele, Grav3yardGirl, and so many others, which I hadn’t really thought about since maybe 2016. I would only occasionally remember brief moments from this time on YouTube despite the fact that my life was very literally consumed by beauty gurus who had convinced my adolescent brain that organizing my locker would require me to buy a light-up mini chandelier (I would never actually get the mini chandelier because my mom was mentally sane and I was not).
Regardless of the years that had passed, as soon as I saw the trend resurfacing on TikTok, I immediately thought of the first-ever “What’s in my bag” video I saw. The year was 2012, and I had stumbled upon Grav3yardGirl, aka Bunny’s “What’s in my Bag” video. Now, I will mention Bunny a lot throughout this because she was not only an integral part of my childhood, but she’s kind of just for the weird kids, and I was a weird little middle schooler. Bunny has several “what’s in my bag” videos on her page that she’s posted throughout the years from 2012-2014. However, I often find that I go back to her very first one so often because of how much comfort it brought me throughout my time in middle school. This video of Bunny’s particularly stood out to me at the time because after watching it, that was kind of the first time I had felt like it was fine to like weird shit. Bunny’s video featured a rabbit's foot, her Lady Gaga Beats headphones, and a giant nightstick that she said reminds her of Clockwork Orange and a ton of other interesting stuff. She even talks about waiting to get her photos back from her meet and greet with Kesha…. which is fucking sick! For so long after that, “What’s in my Bag” videos were all I watched because they felt so personal, and I was able to feel okay with embracing my own interests. As a very awkward middle schooler, finding these videos was pretty much what kept me going from 6th-8th grade (well, and the coveted “what I got for Christmas” hauls).
I’m including the link to the video in case anyone hasn’t seen it because… why haven’t you seen it? She describes her bag as an “onion of awesome,” and I feel like that’s all the context needed to watch the entire video: WHAT'S IN MY BAG TAG!!
I read one time that as adults, we often revert back to the music we listened to as teenagers or children due to the sense of nostalgia and mild serotonin it can provide the brain with, and YouTube videos do the same for me. Don’t get me wrong, I still religiously listen to The 1975’s self-titled album and Lorde’s entire discography all the time (except for Ribs… I’m never brave enough to listen to Ribs), but the videos I watched over and over again on Youtube throughout middle school are some of the only memories I truly have of being between the ages of 11-13. I think if you were in middle school or high school during the era of beauty gurus, it would only make sense to have such a nostalgic attachment to the oversaturation of the videos, the ridiculous DIY’s, the questionable makeup tutorials/ hair styles, and “what’s in my bag” videos. Especially if you have never had anyone to talk to about makeup or how to “feel like a girl” in general. It’s kind of funny I even found beauty gurus during middle school because I have never truly wanted to “feel like a girl” at any point in my life. however, girlhood felt a bit forced on me at times, so I’m pretty sure I mainly stayed for the random DIYs and back to school videos. Watching so much YouTube in my preteen- early teenage years was what made me decorate my binders and notebooks with photo collages of my very niche interests, and it was what pushed me to buy so much clothing from Bethany Mota’s Aeropostale clothing line… I’ll be honest I don’t really regret that because the clothing line was really cute.
Seeing the resurgence of these types of videos on TikTok really brought me back to a time when everyone could just like the things that they liked, and that was cool. Not to say that’s not the case in 2024 but, I feel like the “what’s in my bag” videos help a lot to show anyone who’s scared to share their interests that as long as they think it’s cool then, it is cool. Plus, through TikTok, there have been so many iterations of this type of video. For example, there’s the classic talking format of a “what’s in my bag video”, there’s the asmr version, I even have seen people use different audios to show their bags off. It’s just so cool seeing how different people are from one another and how much we can tell from a person’s style just by how they decorate their bags and what’s inside of it.
All of this to say, “What’s in my Bag” videos shaped me in a way that allowed me to grow as a person and feel that it’s okay to have “weird” interests or super niche ones. People should keep talking about the things that they like because, a lot of times, it helps other people gain confidence in sharing what they like. From my experience as a very confused and anxious middle schooler who hated being perceived as a girl, Bunny was one of the only “beauty guru” type Youtubers I could relate to because she made me realize I could create my own style and enjoy my interests without worrying if all my friends had the same interests as me. As I’ve gone on to watch less YouTube and more Tiktoks, I’ve again found people who have the same interests as me or are generally super passionate about their own interests, that makes me feel comforted in the things that I love (thank you to the strong supporters of Snoopy and my beloved lesbian tv shows that are always canceled way too soon). We all need a sense of community at one point or another, and I’ve always seen how “what’s in my bag” videos promote and encourage others to join in on various welcoming communities, so that should be continued because maybe there are scared middle schoolers on Tiktok who are also searching for any kind of comfort.
I feel like the only correct way to wrap everything up would be to show what’s in my bag, so this is what’s in my bag:
Wyatt Najarro is a writer based in Virginia. They write plays here and there and generally about whatever their special interest is at the time! They can be found on Instagram: @pissedtaurus and Letterboxd (where they simply complain about movies): wyatt_watches