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They say that you’ll go to college, make a new set of friends, have unforgettable experiences, and define yourself while doing so. You begin your first semester and immediately start seeing photos on social media of all of your high school classmates going to football games, joining Greek life and other organizations, and going to parties. Everyone has a smile on his/her face; they must be loving it there! They’re making so many friends!
And then you think about yourself. You start wishing that you were able to make friends as quickly as everyone else was. You try, but you feel too pushy. You feel like you’re the one always asking your borderline acquaintances to hang out, but no one is ever asking you. Then, you begin to see photos of those acquaintances on social media, and you REALLY feel like something is missing. Why didn’t they ask ME to go out with them?
This new phenomenon, brought on by social media, is called FOMO, short for “fear of missing out”. You feel anxious about all the fun that others could be having without you. You stay in on a Saturday night to work on a paper for the upcoming week. The next day, you log on to Facebook and see all of your friends gathered, with cups in their hands and smiles on their faces. You question the friends you’ve made and if they actually care if you’re there. Am I always the one organizing plans with people? Am I meant to be friends with these people? Is there any significance here?
What I’ve recently learned, as cliché as it may sound, is that it’s important to not let other people interfere with your happiness. It’s silly to let other people define where you should and shouldn’t be going in your life, so do what makes you happy, not what you think will make others happy. However, it’s easier said than done, making FOMO so real. You want to go to a bar and take lots of pictures, in hopes that one will be Instagram-worthy the next day? Do it. You want to cozy up in your bed and watch “The Notebook” with mac ‘n’ cheese and a cup of hot chocolate? Go for it. But, with the latter, you won’t have anything to share on Instagram to show your followers what an awesome night you had.
We’ve all felt this before. No one may want to admit it as to not show a lack of self-confidence, but it’s there. We all think that everyone is doing better than we are, when in reality, we’re all in the same place. We don’t realize it, but there’s this drive to make others aware of the fun that we may or may not actually be having. Why is this? What makes it so difficult to just be happy with ourselves? It may be because words are easier to express than to actually follow. The more we preach self-happiness, hopefully, the more it will stick.
So, in conclusion, a simple piece of advice: if going somewhere in particular makes you happy, go. If not going there makes you happy, don’t go. Save yourself from FOMO and just be happy.