TikTok’s Personal Curriculum Trend, Explained

Chances are, simply reading the word curriculum is enough to send shivers down your spine. Maybe it conjures images of syllabi and scantrons, or maybe it reminds you of scrawling pages of notes, your hand smudging the ink along the way. Or, maybe, the word curriculum reminds you of assignment and rigidity: strict timelines, denied extensions, and cramming during the final hours before a submission deadline.

Now, though, thanks to a rising social media trend, curriculum is becoming synonymous with self-improvement, mental health, and passion. The “personal curriculum” trend was seemingly popularized by TikToker Elizabeth Jean (@xparmesanprincessx), who shared videos of her monthly goals, including: study topics, plans for projects, and exploring new hobbies. Jean’s content quickly gained traction as an alternative to “brainrot” culture, encouraging users to spend time bettering themselves rather than doomscrolling.

In this setting, the word curriculum is not meant to stress or provoke anxiety. Rather, the personal curriculum trend uses the traditional academic framework to legitimize and encourage individuals to invest in themselves. 

It can be easy to neglect self-care because it doesn’t seem necessary or productive. By reframing this conversation and showing how self-care can lead to personal growth — in terms of knowledge and skills — it takes away the stigma of self-care as an excuse to just bed rot.

So, how do you participate and build your own personal curriculum?  

Find Your Topics

Start your personal curriculum by brainstorming subjects you’d like to learn more about. Set a timer for five minutes, and write down every topic that interests you. Is there a historical period you want to know more about? Are you interested in the life and work of a certain person? What topics in school do you gravitate toward? Which subjects could you improve in? 

At the end of this brainstorming session, group like subjects together into themes. For example, if you want to learn more about chef Anthony Bourdain, and you also want to read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Delimma, then consider creating a Food or Cooking lesson plan for your curriculum. 

Once you have your themes, you’re ready to build a learning schedule.

Gather Information

Once you know what you want to learn, you need to decide how you want to learn. If you like podcasts, you can research shows hosted by experts in the field you’re curious about. If you prefer books, head to your local library to search through the shelves. If you’re a visual learner, scour the internet for documentaries. 

You can set goals related to these forms of media, such as listening to a certain number of minutes of podcast, reading a certain amount of chapters, or watching a certain chunk of a documentary.

Set Timelines, But Not Deadlines

Your personal curriculum should excite you, not stress you out. However, it’s undeniable that setting time-related endpoints can help you actually achieve your goals. So, rather than giving yourself a deadline to master a new topic or skill, give yourself a set period of time to dive into a topic as much as possible. 

For example, for all of autumn, you can focus on a handful of topics. Once the fall ends, create a new list of topics for winter and follow through on those. Then, do the same for spring and summer. This way, you still have the flexibility of changing your curriculum, but you also have enough time to enjoy what you’re learning.

Remember: Your personal curriculum is personal. You don’t need to compare your goals to others, and you don’t need to feel bad if your curriculum doesn’t perfectly align with popular influences. In the end, this trend is all about embracing yourself — this is self-care with a purpose.