Per routine of every person my age, I was laying in bed scrolling through my social media feeds. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram… repeat. Before I knew it, I had spent over 20 minutes looking and analyzing the lives of other people. I see all the parties my friend goes to… jealous of the concert my other friend across the country went to…. analyzing (in detail) all my friend’s new friends… jealous at that girl’s outfit… looking at the other one’s boyfriend. I was spending my time observing what other people are doing… and worse, comparing it to what I am doing.
Why is it that in this day and age every single detail of our daily lives has to be posted onto a social media outlet? And why is it that we compare our own lives to that? Just admit it, you can’t help but think that other people are living a much more fun life than you are based on what you see on social media. Trust me, I do. A lot. I’m an athlete, and sometimes do not have the time to do things or logistically just cannot go out do the things I want to do. And I see my other friends doing all those things. And yeah, it sucks. I know for a fact that everyone is guilty of looking at a Snapchat story or an Instagram picture and thinking, “Wow, they really are living it up. What am I doing with my life?” Or my personal favorite, “I really wish I was this person.”
I cannot stand the comparisons. The jealousy. Yeah, maybe that person is having a great time and you may think that if you were at that school or in that town you would be living the life too. But honestly, their life isn’t everything they post it to be. Everyone should know this. How many pictures does it take before you find the perfect candid that makes it look like you and your friends are having the time of your life?
Wishing you were living someone else’s life is only going to make yours worse. You need to take advantage of where you are and make the best of it. Because life really is what you make it. And if you decide to be miserable, life is going to be miserable right back. But if you decide to make the best of it, life will reward you and you will enjoy yourself.
As cliché as it is… the grass isn’t greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it. Everyone has their problems and is going through things in their life you have no idea about. That girl smiling in her bikini? She cries every night over what she looks like. That guy at all the concerts? He gets too drunk to remember them. The “best friends” who vacation together? They fight every day. Honestly, don’t think someone’s life is great just because they make it seem that way. Everyone struggles and everyone lives their life.
So honestly, I have realized that comparing myself to people and getting upset over the things I have absolutely no control over will only make me depressed. Life is happening right in front of you… don’t miss it.
