We Retired 'Main Character Energy' and Honestly? The Group Chat Is Thriving

Somewhere around 2020, the internet decided that the key to a good life was pretending you were the lead in a movie. Walk slower. Wear headphones. Romanticize your coffee. Main character energy, baby.

And look — we get the appeal. When your confidence is at zero, acting like the star of your own film is a decent band-aid. But here at GRL Gang, we're officially retiring the trend, because we've noticed something: the girls who are actually winning aren't doing it alone. They're doing it in packs.

The Main Character Trap Is a Solo Mission by Design

Think about what "main character energy" actually sells you: a world where you're the protagonist and everyone else is, at best, a supporting role. It's confidence with a side of isolation. It's the hustle-culture mindset with a filter on.

And it tracks with what social media rewards. The algorithm loves a solo success story — the girl who built the brand, got the internship, went viral alone. What it doesn't show you is the group chat behind almost every one of those stories: the friend who designed her logo, the roommate who filmed the video, the bestie who talked her off the ledge before the big pitch.

Individual fame is the product. Collective power is the process. And the process is where girls actually get ahead.

Girl Power Has Always Been a Group Project

History check: basically every major win for women came from organized crews. The suffragists had reading circles. Civil rights organizers had church basements and kitchen tables. The women who changed workplace policy in the '70s did it through consciousness-raising groups that looked a lot like... a group chat with better snacks.

Even the pop culture moments we worship as "solo icons" were squad efforts. Girl groups literally built the modern pop chart. And the most iconic friend groups in film and TV — the ones we rewatch every fall — endure because they show us what we actually want: people in our corner.

The Crew Is a Career Strategy (We Said What We Said)

Let's talk numbers for a second. Want to know one of the most underrated advantages you can have in your career? A network of people who genuinely root for you. And for a lot of young women, that network starts with their friends.

Your bestie who's already worked retail can prep you for your first job interview. The girl in your group chat studying finance can explain a 401(k) better than any HR video. The friend with 8,000 TikTok followers will promote your small business for free because she believes in you.

This is what we mean by girl gang energy: the understanding that your win doesn't shrink my win. We're not competing for one spotlight — we're building a bigger stage.

How to Make the Swap

Ready to trade main character energy for girl gang energy? Start here:

• Share your opportunities out loud. Got an internship lead that's not for you? Pass it to a friend. Scarcity mindset is a scam.
• Skill-swap with your squad. Trade what you're good at — editing, spreadsheets, thrifting eye — instead of paying for everything.
• Celebrate her wins like they're yours. Because in a real crew, they kind of are.
• Say the scary thing. "I don't know how to do this" hits different when three friends respond "I'll figure it out with you."
• Stop auditioning for an audience. The main character performs for strangers. The girl gang builds for each other.

The Sequel Is Better Anyway

Here's the plot twist nobody tells you: being the main character is exhausting, and the movie ends. But being part of a crew? That's a franchise. Multiple seasons. Spin-offs. Everyone gets a storyline.

The girls who lift together don't just shine — they shine brighter, because none of them are burning out alone trying to carry the whole plot.

So no, we're not the main character. We're co-creators, co-conspirators, co-CEOs of whatever we decide to build next. And honestly? That's the more interesting story.