On November fifth I got to wish my mom a very happy birthday and made plans with her to celebrate when I come home. But throughout my busy schedule, I forgot to make her a post on social media. Now, of course, I have already talked to her, but I felt immensely guilty for not posting on social media. I wondered why I felt guilty for something so absurd, but then I realized that it is because other people would not get to see my post. That's right, I felt guilty and a bit embarrassed that other people would not get to see a happy birthday post, and I thought people would look down on me for it. Now, I can not comes to terms with how ridiculous this sounds and how ridiculous I am for thinking this way. The only person that mattered in this situation was my mom, and she was pleased to get a Happy Birthday over the phone. She doesn't care about social media.

Because of social media, it seems that we as a society have evolved to feel this strange of validation when it comes to posting on social media. We tell ourselves that it matters what we post, who we post, and even what time we post. It is almost as if posting something for someone's birthday or any kind of celebration is a rule when it's not. Don't get me wrong, I love when I see happy birthday post for me posted by friends and family– I think everyone does, but there's a fine line between having to post something and wanting to. Unless social media falls into your job description, you don't have to do anything. When it comes to someone's birthday you should wish them a happy birthday because it's important to them, but you don't have to post anything on social media because it's just social media. Seeking validation through social media will get you nowhere. People are going to look at your post like it or not like it, but they will scroll past it. You're never going to find validation through this because validation doesn't come from others – it comes from yourself. The only way you'll ever feel true validation is if you validate yourself. No one– no like or comment will ever do this for you.

I first got into to social media when I much younger, and I'm not old by any means. I'm only twenty, but when I first started using Instagram, Instagram models weren't really around – or at least not popular, and there was mostly just pictures of food. I remember social media to just be a sharing platform. I was able to share pictures with my friends, and I thought this was the most amazing technology. Now I see so many young girls getting into Instagram or other platforms and just don't understand that what they see is somebody's best moments. Preteens are comparing their bodies to grown women without the thought that these women are grown and matured, while preteens are still in puberty. I still love social media, as do many other people. While there's nothing wrong with this, people have to realize that social media does not truly portray who you are. I was afraid that people would look down on me for forgetting to make my mom a post, which I'm not proud of because I feel like I have finally succumbed to the curse of social media. In reality, I have so many assignments to do that I just didn't think to make a simple post. It occurred to me that the most important thing was calling my mom, actually speaking to her, hearing her voice. A post could never measure up to a real-life situation.

Once again, I use social media often. I even try to make my Instagram feed aesthetically pleasing, but that's because I think social media is fun. I enjoy seeing others posts and statuses, but that's it. Social media is fun, but I know that I have many other important concerns. Social media is not my life– just a couple of moments scattered here and there. It's important that others recognize this too. Stop living your life through a screen, wondering what to post and how many likes you're going to get. In the end, the amount of likes, share, retweet, or whatever it is, won't matter. What matters is how your view yourself because you will always be your own worst critic. Stop comparing yourself to others when you went to class at 8 a.m. exhausted, while someone sat in hair and makeup for four hours. Stop comparing yourself to others at their best when you feel you're worst because we all have bad days – we just don't post about them, do we? Stranger's opinions about you on the internet don't matter. You're friends and family know you love and care for them. You don't have to post that in order for them to know, nor should you feel guilty because in the midst of a busy lifestyle you forgot.

Happy Birthday, mom. I love you with all my heart, and I miss you. I hope you had an amazing birthday, and I can't wait to celebrate.