For a while, it seemed as if I had gotten myself into what is known as the “sophomore slump”. I no longer had any interest in going to Five Points to enjoy a night of partying with my friends. This was strange for me because as some would say, I was the “life of the party” last year – going out every day of the week and always looking to have fun. I was confused with my mindset of preferring to stay home to catch up on schoolwork, put on a facemask, watch some Netflix and go to bed at a reasonable hour.
I was then able to realize that this change in heart that I had had was a blessing in disguise. My grades began to go up drastically, I was focusing on me, and I was seeing improvements in my overall mental health. It took me a while to come to this realization, but I began to think… “maybe I’m just growing up”.
No longer having interest in things you once used to enjoy doesn’t always have to be a bad, depressing thing. As we get older, we tend to outgrow certain aspects of our lives and partaking in wild partying can be one of those things. Not to say that you won’t get back into it one day because maybe you will, and maybe I will too. But, for the time being, my lack of wanting to go out has taught me how to love myself in the most honest way possible.
You don’t always have to feed into the pressure of going out with your friends because you have FOMO. Most of the time you won’t miss anything important. Make the decision to put yourself first. Get schoolwork done early, make a nice dinner, put on a facemask and your favorite movie and smile at your decision to stay home.
You should go and love yourself by staying home!