Cue the crippling anxiety, because all your friends are headed off to do something exhilarating without you. Yes, you’ll hear about it in the group chat, but no, you won’t know what the f–k they’re talking about. The FOMO nightmare plagues college students at least once, and somehow the fear of missing out continues to rule our over-worked, mostly inebriated lives. Little did we know that the decision to ditch studying for a bio exam for a few vodka cranberries would feel this life altering. Start 2016 right; take charge of your social media-addled brain and listen to these poor weathered FOMO veterans to avoid the twist in your stomach when you can’t make dinner plans.
1. Divert Your Attention
“I just try to keep myself distracted. Like sometimes I’ll just start cooking something fun that I’ve never made before. Either that, or I’ll binge watch Netflix.” –Jena Speiser, Senior, Florida State University
2. Play Up Your Mystery
“I try to remember that when someone doesn’t show up to a party because they’re tired or busy, they’re never really missing out on anything at all. [It’s] not like that was the last time your friends will get together and have fun. There’s always going to be another opportunity. Plus when you don’t show up, you add an air of mystery to your aesthetic, and everyone loves to be mysterious.” –Carol Crosby, Senior, Florida State University
2. Remember Your Health
“My metabolism is far from what it used to be, and a night out normally means tons of sugar from alcoholic beverages, and if I’ve had enough that night, plenty of pizza after it. I like to start my days with a nice 3-5 mile run instead of yelling for tylenol, gatorade and a breakfast biscuit from Chick-fil-a.” –Alison Wentley, Junior, Florida State University
4. Accept the Truth
“I’ve had a sufficient amount of nights out on the town, and they don’t always end with me high-fiving my friends as I take a Victoria’s Secret model into my bedroom. Actually, none of them do. Sometimes they end in a promise to Jesus that I’ll never drink Jim Beam again as I cling to a toilet. Sometimes they end with my eyebrows singed off. Sometimes they end with a pellet in my apartment door because my drunk friend didn’t know it was loaded as he pointed it in all of our faces like some watered down knock off of a scene from Semi Pro. [My] adventures taught me that sometimes the experience you miss out on wasn’t going to be a good experience. –Colby Hartzog, Recent Grad, Florida State University
5. Indulge Your Emotions
“I just cry because no one loves me.” –Stephanie Connor, Sophomore, Florida State University
6. Hug a Puppy
“Fear missing out? Make your own plans. Pet a dog—it’s free and fun. Invite your friends. Now you’re not lonely and the dog doesn’t pity you.” –Jelys Bobadilla, Senior, Florida State University
7. Get Philosophical
“We’re always simultaneously missing out and participating. Technically, we’re not missing out on things because we’re permanently in the state of actively being and doing, but even more technically, we are always missing out on everything that isn’t what we’re immediately doing. So basically, I don’t know what I’m trying to say. Just live life and drink a lot of water.” –Oscar Lemus, Recent Grad, Florida State University
8. Never Say No
“Never miss anything ever.” –Tim Hart, Sophomore, Florida State University
9. Be Realistic
“I just have to tell myself that no matter where I go, how often I go out, or how much I want to believe, I won’t go out to a bar and meet John Stamos.” –Phelan Kenyon, Sophomore, Florida State University
10. Keep Breathing
“I think it’s more of something you cope with rather than get over. I still have it all the time, but I just remind myself that I won’t be able to do everything and still remain alive.” –Justin Butler, Sophomore, Florida State University
CM’s Guide to the University of Maryland
