I caught up with Dresden on a rainy Tuesday in the back booth of Denny's on Sunset Blvd. She cradled a black coffee, looking down nervously. I was taken aback by how dry her skin looked in person. An infinite scrolling of beautifully crafted and grainy, filtered selfies, Dresden is nothing like her Tumblr persona. Her hair isn't even black and there are no bangs in sight. She comes across as a girl you "might know" from that "one thing" you went to "last year."
I ask her how her life has changed since every teenager knows her name via her successful blog, "The Girl." Dresden can't meet my eyes, but looks out the window, wistfully.
"I still don't talk to my mom," she remarks, in way that makes me think she still doesn't talk to her mom. "I've been on three dates, all which ended horrifically. I'm not sure any of those guys are still alive, actually." She says this with a coy, half-smirk. I ask her if I can quote her on that.
"Sure," Dresden replies, as her order of fries come. It's refreshing to see a girl whose most liked photograph on Tumblr – her eating a ripe avocado as she jogs – actually order a plate of fries and eat the whole thing. One might even venture to guess she's emotionally eating, but I opt to keep that to myself.
Dresden tells me she dropped out of school when she was fourteen, a fact anyone could find from the description of her blog that reads "I Dropped Out of School When I Was Fourteen."
"It was just something I had to do," Dresden tells me, polishing her plate of fries and ordering a chocolate milkshake. It should be noted Dresden's blog also tells readers she's vegan, and the hashtags "clean eating" and "vegan" can be found on almost every post, regardless of a food picture or not.
Dresden continues. "I was unhappy getting a structured education. I needed to make a change. So I dropped out of school, made a Tumblr, and devoted my life to becoming internet famous. That's when my mom stopped talking to me."
There's a sadness in her tone, that is in stark contrast with the brightness displayed through a computer screen.
"I thought strangers knowing my name would fill the void I have or give me a soul. It did neither. I'm sad."
I ask Dresden what her plans are for the future and where she sees herself in ten years. She pauses, smiling again in that crooked, coy way, and takes a swig of her chocolate milkshake.
"I guess I don't want to still hate myself." I laugh, shaking my head.
Our time together has come to an end. As we're beginning to exit the booth, Dresden stands up, and I realize she has legs made out of marshmallows. She gives me a look.
"Anything for a like, huh," she quips. I can't help but agree.
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