National Get Over it day was reportedly invented by a heartbroken man in 2005, who conceived the idea of celebrating a day on which everyone could finally just get over it. This national holiday doesn’t have any rules: this could be a day of cackling over a bonfire full of your ex’s pictures and old T-shirts or a 24-hour pity party that will finally cleanse you of your grudge against your childhood best friend that cut the hair off of your Barbies. However you do it, the main point of this day is to forgive, forget, and let go. Following is a list of things we all may need to get over. Read through, do an examination of the conscience, and prepare to build a bridge and get over it.
1. That embarrassing moment
Sure, everyone saw your Hello Kitty underwear when you split your pants on the eighth grade ice skating field trip. Or maybe you called your teacher mom in front of your whole class. But if you’re still picturing little Johnny pointing and laughing at the rip in your jeans or snickering at your classroom misidentification, and it still makes you want to crawl in a hole and never come out, it’s time to get over it. Chances are, nobody remembers your embarrassing moment as vividly as you do, and they definitely either don’t care enough or are too busy remembering their own embarrassing moments to keep replaying your embarrassing moment in their heads. Even if your embarrassing moment is so unique and elaborate that you think absolutely no one has had an experience as bad as you, you can change the moment into a hilarious story to tell at parties.
2. That time you lost
Yeah, you lost the first playoff game in the last thirty seconds by one point and even your coach cried. Or you lost a debate to that snobby girl in class because she laid the pathos on thick, and everyone ignored your exhaustive research and statistics. But if thinking of these losses still makes you want to go all Worldstar on the other team, it’s time to get over it. As long as you competed to the best of your ability, you have no reason to feel inadequate. Focus on your wins, not your losses, and turn your losses into learning moments.
3. That guy
You dated for a year until it was time to leave for college, and then you decided long distance wouldn’t work. Or maybe you were never even dating but it sure felt like you were, until he stopped talking to you and started talking to your “friend.” But if you still have a heart emoji in his contact name or stalk his new girlfriend on Facebook just to see how she compares to you, it’s time to get over it. Heartbreak comes with a lot of varying and vacillating negative emotions, but none of the anger, sadness or insecurity is worth holding on to. Eat a pint of ice cream, burn some pictures, ugly cry to a friend, delete his number: do whatever you need to do let go of the silly boy who couldn’t or didn’t want to be with you.
4. That friend
Like the guy, the friend you need to get over broke your heart. She moved away, she talked about you behind your back, or she turned into someone else, and you grew apart. But if you two don’t talk anymore, and there’s no reconciliation in sight, and you’re still holding on to the Best Friends necklace in the shape of half a heart, it’s time to get over it. Nobody needs a bad friend in her life, and you’re better off without her. Focus on all of the people in your life who do support you and have your back.
5. That number
Your weight, your GPA, your number of followers: you may track these meticulously as if you could be summed up by these numbers like stats on a baseball card. But if you’re losing sight of who you really are beyond your stats, it’s time to get over it. You should never measure your worth quantitatively. To determine your self-worth, you need to take into account quality of your person – your unique characteristics and talents, the way you treat others, the beauty of your contributions to the world, etc. Numbers will fluctuate without much that you can do about it, but if you can live with and love the person that you are every day, then you’ve really accomplished something.
6. That old version of yourself
Maybe you were a different weight, or more athletic, or more popular. Maybe you just miss being a kid, when your only worries were what flavor juice box to have at lunch and not student loans and choosing a career. But if you’re wasting all of the opportunities of the present because you’re longing for the long gone, it’s time to get over it. The person you are now is a collection of all of your past choices, accomplishments, mistakes and knowledge gained. You will never go back to the person you were before you gained all of these things. If you don’t like who you are now, there is no going back, but there are changes you can make now for the future. Learn to love the person you are now and stop living in the past.
So here’s to hoping that this March 9 will leave you feeling ten pounds lighter from shrugging off those grudges and regrets, refreshed and with a clean slate.