A dozen of my OG high school buddies are still in contact via an iconic group chat called “woo woo” (formerly “woop woop”) and tens of other Instagram chats for different events that get abandoned after a month. We are an adventurous bunch who are equal parts making new memories and ruthlessly hashing out old ones. When you survive high school together, the dynamic is just like that.
Over the years, we tried commemorating our time together through random social media accounts. Titan House was our fake “bop house” where we would upload cheesy TikTok dances together and make story posts as if we ran an adult content house, which was just us recording video memos in between classes about complete lies. Yeah, we slowly gave up on that comedy gem. The only documented imagery and footage of our group was hidden in our Gallery apps, only shared between each other in group chats to tease ourselves about horrible photos and funny moments we wanted to remember.
Being the resident film girly in the group, I wanted an excuse to practice video editing and marketing, and we had always mentioned wanting to share our group dynamic with people our age because we looked up to content creators who made college blogs and podcasts. It’s why I have this blog too!
The sub-chat to “woo woo” is “accutane,” the second most active group chat that’s GIRLS ONLY! Stay out boys, lol. As we all entered the freshman fall of our respective colleges, we discussed creating a joint account to document how we live our lives as long-distance friends and as young women learning to navigate the adult world. That plan baked in the group chat for months until December of 2025, when shit hit the fan in my life (if you remember my previous post heyyyy check it out) and my friend Olivia’s. We needed a fuck-it project, so we pushed for the fruition of a new TikTok account and YouTube channel that would be known as…
Diva University
What a killer name!
Why thank you, it happens to stem from the unshakable usage of the term “diva” in our friend group. In the year of our Lord, 2026, with songs like Stateside by PinkPanthress and Zara Larson — how could one not strive for Divahood?
The beginning of this documentation started on TikTok, breaking into the new year by sharing our tradition of partying at Universal CityWalk.
It’s hilarious witnessing my amateur editing style from only a few months ago, and I have gotten significantly quicker and better at editing. Thank goodness. This video began my resolution to create content for my friends and share this baby that is Diva University. After the first video launched, the only views that mattered to me were the same people featured in the video. The thrill of sending the link into woo woo was like no other, and to hear how pleased and excited my friends were to see what I made just sent me over the moon.
We also create extremely low-budget podcasts using my dad’s DJI microphones, some pens, and a phone to record. The quality doesn’t matter, it’s the stories we are sharing and the witty banter I could watch over and over again. I fall right back into the joy I felt being with my girls just by having these recordings and elevating them with a little bit of editing.
Instead of having formal outlines and production, we capture our authentic conversations and interactions we would have even if the camera was off. It’s relaxing, it’s silly, it’s just girls girling out and we all need a little girling out now and then.
This particular podcast was recorded during our Heated Rivalry weekend that consisted of vicious thirsting for fictional men for hours on end, thus the title. I enjoy every part of crafting the videos from timing the perfect zoom-ins for comedic effect to searching the internet for the best pictures to use in the thumbnail.
Vlogs will likely make an appearance on the channel when we have larger get togethers such as this Spring Break video Olivia edited together. We had this tripped planned for months and it was the cabin trip we always dreamed of in senior year but never had the funds or time to execute until now!
This project, Diva University, is still quite new and moldable to become whatever we want it to be. I make it a point when creating for my friends and myself to treat these videos as time capsules for us and us alone. Yes, they are little wishes that we can create a community with a wider audience, but overall, these videos are for us and our family, friends, and future family and friends to enjoy and laugh at.
The Lessons Learned & Learning
Comedy and true love is what sticks us together like super glue.
With the ability of rewatching memories, I reflect a lot on why my friendships have lasted so long and bring me such pure joy — we actually have a podcast about that very topic releasing soon! For me, comedy is the blood to all life because life would be nothing without laughter. Comedy has always been the saving grace in dark times whether it’s to cope through a situation or a horribly timed comment your friend makes that you can’t help but snort at, even when you’d rather focus on your misery.
To me, my friends are the funniest people alive and I can let my guard down completely in their company. More than silliness, we work so well because we actually like each other. There’s no bullshitting each other, and after high school if we didn’t like each other we would’ve just stopped hanging out. Hearing from friends in college now who haven’t been as fortunate with their own high school buddies made me realize that many friendships are born of circumstance, but the ones that last find reason and connection outside of circumstance.
That takes effort, though. It takes unconditional love, understanding, and patience. We definitely ebb and flow in closeness individually, but that is just life. However, in the end we all find each other again because we really want this connection, and it can be as simple as that.
If I have kids (heaven forbid), or my friends have my future nieces and nephews, I am so excited to share what we document as an example of what wholesome and loving friendships look like. Meaningful conversations, creating art and ideas together, planning trips and our lives together, and supporting each others’ differences as well as what we share.
I encourage YOU, dearest reader, to document your life as well. We can make our own version of home movies our parents used to record on a much larger scale now. I think of it like that one hypothetical trending a few years ago: “How much money would you pay to watch a compilation of all of your friend group’s funniest moments?” Hello? It’s free! We can do it now! The memories don’t have to be fleeting! We can finally grasp them in our own two hands and hold onto them with all the might of a digital folder.
This post is just a little glimpse into a project I am working on actively, and hopefully can grow and spread positivity to the greater world. I plan to post this on our TikTok page, so if you have found the blog through that post, leave a comment and share with your friends! A few of the Divas post here and it is an extended enclave of sharing interests and stories as young people.
As I branch into newer projects, I’ll be sure to share them here!
Avaia L