#alrawabi

I don't condone her video. She recorded and used shots of people without their consent, and she also made some demeaning comments about them, especially about Farah who would "do anything to be popular and make friends", essentially deliberately humiliating her in front of the whole school when she already struggles in her social life and confidence.

But at the same time, I get her point. Shams is an outsider, possibly by choice, although we don't know because we didn't see much of her backstory. I think I know what she was onto, because I know what it's like to be her, insanely curious about the world that excludes you; the world which is all around you, into which you are expected to fit in but no one taught you how. You see people and wonder how they do it, how did they know how to do it? Who taught them? Often, observing others acutely and finding ways to look down on them is a coping mechanism for those struggling with loneliness and FOMO. Its a way of convincing yourself that you're better off because at least you don't have the problems that come with that kind of life, even though you do still have other problems of your own. Her execution was poor, her methods unethical and her intentions may have been subconsciously selfish, but Shams' message accurately portrayed that it often looks like there's only one image you must live up to in order to deserve being happy, to be of any worth. That image is made of beauty standards, social circles, hobbies and lately social media followings. In chasing that image, young people risk losing themselves.

The other girls in the series like to dress up and do makeup, they all are active on social media and like to follow trends on TikTok, they admire the same idols like Karen Wazen, and they seek to be in the same places as the popular kids, like the parties and the bowling alleys. We don't see Shams using social media at all, or doing any of the above-mentioned, but we do see her having fun: when she takes Nadine to the skateboarding park, she's most in her element then. We see that she has friends here, and a hobby she enjoys, and we see her genuinely smile. It looks like this isn't the most socially accepted activity, because none of the popular kids are doing it, but that's alright, because you don't have to do what the crowd tells you is fun, and you don't have to stop doing what the crowd tells you is not fun.

Yeah, I didn't really like those parts either. A while back I would have dismissed it as an intentional part on the writers' to make a point about how conflicted we can be when it comes to things like retributive justice and conditional misogyny, but though Layan didn't deserve...that ending, she was still an awful person who did awful things to other people.