Wanna Be On Top?
Theres nothing like a nemesis to fuel your ambition.
And theyre better than Chelseas*.
In the end, they both got into their dream schools, and they slowly lost touch.
Still, she has mixed feelings.
It was a time in my life where it felt like I couldnt relax or chill.
Whatever it was, it led many to discover the ultimate superfuel for success: a nemesis.
Lets stick withLegally Blondeas an example: a delightful classic and a 2001 document of proto-girlboss feminism.
What does it matter, as long as Woods won?
Why not join arm-in-arm and pull each other up?
Or tear down the system, rather than each other?
Well, because theres nothing that ignites a drive to succeed quite like good, old-fashioned spite.
Im like, You have never really had a nemesis.
A relationship that mixes work and play is the ideal crucible for an optimally useful nemesis.
A fraught personal relationship only adds rocket fuel to the fire.
I told myself she was a self-promoter and her successes couldnt be that substantial, she says.
Then I walked into a job interview, and her name [was on the screen].
She was due to interview for the same job about a half hour after me.
It was a totally clarifying moment.
We reallyarerivals on some level.
Yes, it’s possible for you to girlboss too close to the sun.
But if you never sip the haterade, will you ever sprout wings at all?
Gen Zers say grudges are alive and well.
Being very online, youre so aware of other peoples achievements, she says.
And social media really lends itself to the performance of trying to be better than people.
For some, a grudge is a valid reason to stay on social media at all.
And for many, a nemeship isnt over until they hit the unfollow button.
Take it from Tina, who unfollowed Chelsea in college.
I think I won because I stopped having the need to compare myself to her, she says.
Others, like Marie, have found ways to peaceably coexist with their nemeses from a safe distance.
I still regard your humanity.
I still regard your contributions.
But am I going to sit down and have a drink with you?
Absolutely f*cking not.
*Names have been changed.
