If you’re anything like me, college has made my FOMO worse. I’ve spent the past three years desperately trying to make the most of my college experience. I joined several clubs, attended dozens of campus events, and watched countless sporting events. I’ve gone out on weekends, traveled, and opened myself to new experiences, yet I can’t help but shake the feeling that I haven’t done enough.
After recently turning 21, I was beyond excited to go out this past weekend, but plans fell through, and I ended up having a weekend in. For some reason, this sent me down a spiral of emotions, overwhelmed with the thought of graduating and never being able to have a night out with friends in college again. The thought of leaving behind not only my best friends but also the life that I’ve built for myself in college left me with a pit in my stomach.
I’m scared to move back home. I’m terrified to start a new job. Soon, I’ll close this short chapter of my life, moving on to the next. It may be embarrassing to admit, but the part that I’m dreading the most isn’t saving money or thinking ahead for the future. It’s the intense FOMO that I’m going to experience the second I leave campus.
Don’t get me wrong, college has been difficult, but I know there will come a time when I would do anything to re-live even the worst day of my college career. It’s not even the fact that I won’t be on campus anymore. It’s the fact that all my friends will.
In six months, I’ll be at home on a Friday night, getting ready for bed, when all of my friends will still be here getting ready to go out. I’ll no longer be able to experience the feeling of completing all my schoolwork for the week, getting dinner with my friends, and heading into town for the night. I’ll miss the late-night DoorDash orders, sleeping in on weekends, and those days where you don’t do anything but bed rot.
With everything going on in my life, I should be worrying about paying rent, securing internships, and bettering myself, but the only thing I am thinking about is how I only have one weekend left in college.
And that makes the FOMO even worse. All I can think about is how this is my last chance to stay out late, make memories, and feel like my college experience is complete. The thing is, no matter what I end up doing, it will never feel like enough.
So, I’m determined to make the most out of my last few weeks on campus, without setting crazy expectations for myself. I went into college three years ago with expectations of what life was going to look like, and absolutely nothing ended up going the way I anticipated.
I may be sad about graduating, leaving behind my friends, and, of course, the FOMO that comes with it, but it’s best to finish this chapter of my life with no expectations. But if leaving is this hard, it means I built a life here worth missing, and that’s something I’ll always be grateful for.