Out of my flop era
OOMF is in her flop era.
Allow me to translate.
From the credible Urban Dictionary - Oomf is an acronym standing for “one of my friends” or “one of my followers.” This is a way to mention someone without directly naming them.
"A flop era, if you're not familiar, refers to the more fallow period of a pop star's career, one in which she—and we're almost always talking “she,” here—fails to replicate the success found in earlier parts of her run." - an excerpt from Harron Walker's W Magazine article, explaining what a flop era is. Harron's also a very enjoyable Twitter follow.
While the term "flop era" was originally attributed to a music artist's career, it's been adopted to define someone's "downfall" if you will. It could mean different things. Someone could attribute their flop era to not looking or feeling their best, while someone else would attribute it to their lack of social media engagement.
But with a flop era, it's implied that a comeback will occur.
I've recently been feeling like I've been in a flop era. I've absolutely experienced several flop eras in my life before - freshman year of college and 2015, specifically. Sixth grade was probably a flop era as well, but we'll give me a pass on that one (acne, braces, and a penchant for musical theater were inescapable).
A few months ago, in an attempt to regrow and refresh my hair (and identity), I returned to my natural brunette shade, from a stark platinum blonde. Unfortunately, these brown locks (insert Tiffany Pollard voice here) did nothing of the sort. I felt less than myself. This is not to knock on my brunette babes (we see you and your sultry tresses), I am simply more me with a head of silver or ash-colored hair. So I've made an appointment to leave my brown roots and return to blonde.
This is the beginning of coming out of my flop era.
I also recently moved into my own apartment. My first time living on my own. I fucking love it, and this is coming from someone who never envisioned herself living on her own. I love the sense of freedom, independence, and self-sufficiency. I revel in decorating my home to my liking, getting lost in the preparation of a meal, and playing my music and podcasts as loudly as I like, without the fear of disturbing a roommate. I love that I did it essentially all on my own.
If you've stuck around on my blog long enough, you might know that the warmer weather inexplicably creates swirls of anxiety from the bottom of my belly all the way to my cerebellum. This has happened for as long as I can remember. But with the recent gorgeous weather here in Philly, something strange happened...your girl was not riddled with anxiety. I was in fact, enjoying it??? Perhaps it's because I now have my own outdoor space I can enjoy it in, or because being outside more will have me more active? Which in turn will get me back into shape? I hate to tie so much of myself to my physical being, but here we are. I do invest a lot into this human vessel my soul resides in. I'm including this newfound love of the seasons changing to my revival.
2020 was a flop era for everyone. But it feels like we're slowly but surely emerging from this, with spring around the corner and vaccinations becoming more available. For me, a new appearance, new home, and a renewed sense of vigor for my hobbies (and the fact that I recently got vaxxed) has all culminated into me feeling like I'm coming out of my flop era. It feels good.
In the words of the above tweet: Be kind. You never know who's in their flop era.