FOMO, or otherwise known as fear of missing out, is something that everybody goes through at some point in their college lives. Whether it be from missing out on that big party that everyone went to last Friday night, or being home for summer and not being caught up on the lives of the many people you graduated high school with, it always seems like someone you know is just having more fun and living life more than you. However, I’m here to tell you that it is okay to feel this way and you can overcome it.
College kids have this idea in their heads that this is the time of their lives and they have to always live it to the fullest. This does not mean going out every weekend and always making elaborate plans with friends, though. That party you missed? Wouldn’t have been that fun anyways. Those people you graduated with 11 months ago? They haven’t given your life a second thought since you moved away to different schools in August, so you shouldn’t waste time thinking about them. Trust me, your college adventures are just as exciting as theirs.
It is perfectly okay to spend a Friday night in, binge-watching your favorite Netflix series with a bowl of popcorn. Society has taught us that because we are in college now, life should be about how many friends you have and how much fun you have on a weekend. This is just not true. Everybody needs some time spent alone, just chilling out. It’s a time to de-stress and reorganize your thoughts. Otherwise, we would all go insane.
Don’t get me wrong, I am guilty of having FOMO, too. Your group of friends goes to dinner without you one night, or you’re sitting alone in your room on a Saturday, wondering why anyone didn’t invite you out. It feels terrible to miss out. But thinking realistically, your whole friend group can’t possibly go out to dinner every single night, and everyone has a night in where they just need to get some studying done. It’s OK. Don’t let your mind run wild and get you down about life.
When you find yourself feeling like you are missing out, because I know you will, just remember that there will always be another party, another night for dinner and laughs, and more years of college life to have fun (at least for some of us).
