Everyone at some point or another has experienced it; FOMO, or the fear of missing out. At a young age it starts when your friends hang out without you. As a college student it might be what event are you missing on campus or the feeling that everyone else's lives are going on without you while you are away at school. As an adult maybe you are working while your siblings and extended family get together without you.

FOMO stops us from going after what we want in life because we fear that other people's lives will go on without us. Maybe you don't accept that job across the country right out of college because your friends and family will have different lives elsewhere. Maybe you miss a family get together because you are too worried about what will happen at that party Becky from high school is having if you aren't there. Maybe it is much simpler than that; maybe you go to college or work closer to home in fear of missing out on the everyday activities of your family's lives.

We have all been there, and it isn't as easy as saying "I don't care what happens without me, I am going to move away, follow all my dreams, and disconnect from other peoples' lives!" If it were that simple and we were wired that way everyone would do it, and I wouldn't feel the need to even write about it. Except, we are not made like that. We are made to have people in our lives. We are made to love others and have receive the same love in return.

FOMO creates this idea in our minds that we can't move on because we are missing something that someone else is doing. The problem is that we our missing what is going on around us, in our very own lives. This is not something that we will get over even if we can all acknowledge the effects that it has on us. It hinders how far we push our selves to take new chances, meet new people, and find new adventures throughout life.

I think another problem with FOMO is that, even if you can overcome it by taking a new chance, you might still think of what you're missing out on. It is a natural fear and I truly believe that's why we all have it. Social media is a huge cause of FOMO and why, now more than ever, it has become such a relevant topic in our brains. We are constantly scrolling through Snapchat stories, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook feeds seeing our favorite people (or maybe someone that we don't even know) having the time of their lives somewhere else. It can hurt a little realizing that you are doing homework while the rest of your family is vacationing somewhere warm. That's life. We aren't always going to have the same opportunities to go places and see people at the drop of a hat (although that would be sweet).

I am not going to pretend that I don't have this fear all the time either (because trust me laying on a beach sounds so much better than reading Thomas Paine's pamphlet,Common Sense. I am saying that sometimes you have to tell yourself to shut up for five minutes and enjoy where you are at in life and who is in it with you. We need to put our phones down and soak up our day while we still have it.

So, the next time that you are feeling down because of something you might be missing elsewhere, take a step back and focus on where you are. Remember, when you are busy looking at someone else's life wishing you were there, someone else may be looking at yours doing the same exact thing.