Originally created by Nox Quiroz on 5 November 2025
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I think the personal curriculum trend on TikTok is revolutionary. If you haven’t heard of it, here’s the gist: People decide to further their education and share what they want to learn about, at whatever cost they choose (or no cost, if they stick to YouTube, podcasts, and libraries). Discussions are had in the comments. Ideas, materials, and other suggestions are exchanged. Information and inspiration flows freely. It's everything that education could be. Should be.
The personal curriculum trend was popularized by creator Elizabeth Jean (@xparmesanprincessx). The idea is to create a personalized curriculum around whatever you want to learn. It can be as intense or as laid-back as you choose. Elizabeth Jean has a new curriculum each month, but many people, myself included, go by the season. It's entirely customizable to you, and many people share their curricula on TikTok, using #PersonalCurriculum or #CurriculumClub.
I noticed this trend at a time when I had begun to wonder if I was losing my intelligence now that I was no longer in school. I’ve always prided myself on being smart, and on always learning. My grandmother never graduated high school. My mom had to go to night classes for years before she was able to get her degree. My dad never graduated college. As a result, I built my own identity around education and intelligence.
But I recently began to wonder how I could possibly continue that education post-college. I found myself wishing I had chosen to do a double major, or pick up a minor… wishing I had learned more.
And then I saw the personal curricula on TikTok, and I realized I could continue my education, which is so integral to my development as a feminist.
Education and Feminism
Education–and who has access to it–is inherently political. Who has the funds to go to college? What educational opportunities do we have when we're young? At a time when the ten commandments are now required in some schools, and when books are being banned throughout the country, education is political.
It's important that as feminists, we are always learning. The great thing about the personal curriculum is that we can choose how we learn, and what we learn about.
I first decided that I wanted to learn about the history of food, individual dishes, and ingredients. Eventually, I became curious about the role women have played when it comes to food, as well as the evolution of foods that were historically for poor people being turned into luxury items. I watched a Business Insider video about Michelin-star ingredients, and watched as two of those items were created in one of the poorest countries, Madagascar. What was initially a curiosity about the evolution of my favorite foods turned into research regarding the wealth inequality that comes with food, and the role women have played throughout history, often from the kitchen.
Of course, you can choose laid-back subjects in your own curriculum. I have an entire course dedicated to the Magic Tree House books. But as feminists, it's important that we know how to learn, that we find a way to enjoy learning, and that we continue to learn.
I mean, that's one of the joys of Feminist Book Club. I end up learning something new every month.
A Structure Of Our Own Making
I have been craving structure for my learning, but I can create one with the personal curriculum. I get to decide what I want to learn and how I will do it.
I personally have eight different "courses" for the Fall (due to the fact that I do not work a 9-5). Every day, I pick one subject to focus on. As long as I've done something related to that subject, I've succeeded. It's low-stakes but still structured enough that my neurodivergent brain thrives.
I'm also assigning myself end-of-the-quarter "projects" to highlight my learning. There is a lot of discussion online about how having some form of output to show what you've learned is integral to the learning process. But my output varies for each subject. For my History of Food course, maybe I'll write an essay on the history of my favorite food, or maybe I'll cook a historical meal. I can create my own conlang (constructed language) for History of Language, or do an art project each week for Magic Tree House Learning. The possibilities are endless.
At the same time, personal curricula are flexible enough to account for life circumstances. I've had a concussion for the past month, and I haven't been able to focus on my curriculum. That's okay, though, because the personal curriculum is low-stakes. I can simply carry on once I am feeling better. There's a flexibility there that traditional schooling did not allow, an opportunity to make my curriculum accessible for myself, while still allowing for structure.
People on TikTok have shared Notion templates and other suggestions on how to structure your curriculum. These resources have been incredibly helpful.
Resource Sharing and Community
The community, and the sharing of resources, has been one of my favorite things about this trend. People comment material suggestions on people's curriculum videos. Some make their own videos suggesting books, topics, courses, videos, podcasts, and more. There are discussions of the mistakes people made while creating their own curricula. There are even videos talking about how to learn!
Resource sharing is so vital for communities to thrive, and now more than ever is the time to lean into this sharing. I have been loving the trend of creating a weekly roundup of media that was consumed this week, and I've found so many videos, books, and Substack articles to enrich my own learning.
I think everyone should have their own version of a personal curriculum. If you want to know more about mine, you can follow my Substack, where I’ll be posting about it. I’d love to know what topics you would study. Leave a comment below!
