I remember when I was in high school I had a very specific idea of what college would be like. I had imagined that when I went to college I would have the best time ever; I would meet my besties, the love of my life, have tons of parties, and fill every little crack I felt I had in my life. This was simply not the case, and it’s not the case for a lot of people. I feel like the expectations I had set so high, were so completely off of my conceptions. I think that was the biggest mistake I had found myself making not only in college but in life, setting expectations. Life is very unpredictable and I wish I realized that sooner.
College isn’t as fun as I had expected it to be because it’s so unpredictable. One thing that is predictable however is Instagram, no matter what people will be posting and making it seem like their life is the best ever. You can completely customize what your life is like online, there is no unpredictability because it is totally under your control.
I often found myself, and still find myself, thinking small of myself because of what others people’s college experiences look like on social media. I wondered why I don’t have the best group of besties ever, and why I don’t go out every weekend, and why my life seems so much less significant. When I began digging into my other friends lives I realized everything is a lot sweeter online, even though it looked very fun on her social it actually was just okay in real life. You have complete and total control over what you choose to show.
I went out with my friend and noticed her social media pattern; she showed her and all of her ‘best friends’ getting drunk but what she didn’t show was them ditching her at the end of the night. This really put things into perspective for me, I had been comparing my college experience for months against people’s highlights, no one shows their downfalls.
I think this is great advice I learned in college and even though I’m still trying to figure everything out I encourage you to think similarly. It’s not about what other people post but about how you feel, what if you compared other people’s stories and post updates to the best times you have had … I bet they would match, just saying.