As I sit down to write this article, I realize I want it to resonate with women everywhere. However, I also can’t help questioning how I can speak to such a broad experience when I’m simply a soon-to-be broadcast journalism graduate who doesn’t quite know what comes next. Maybe you’re a freshman trying to find your place, an engineering major deep in your coursework, a proud cat-mom navigating adulthood, or someone who simply has no idea what the future holds. No matter where you are in life, there’s a common thread many of us share—wondering if we’re making the right choices and worrying about what we might be missing along the way.
Not to quote Olivia Dean directly, but I feel like I have seen the films, read the books, and watched the stories about people who seem to “have it all.” Yet, I’m still not fully convinced that having it all is actually possible. I want to believe it is, but it often feels like every choice comes with some kind of sacrifice, especially in 2026. I think it’s especially hard nowadays to avoid playing the comparison game when we see social media content that publicizes what feels like unrealistic expectations and standards.
There’s this unspoken pressure surrounding young adulthood. The pressure to move up in your career, to find your person, to get married, to build that perfect group of friends—the ones who become your bridesmaids and the people you’ll later tell your kids about when you reminisce on “the good years.” At the same time, we’re told to find the right job, chase opportunities, and make the most of being young while we still can. For me, and maybe for others too, these pressures can sometimes feel a little empty—like I’m watching all these milestones happen around me while I’m still trying to figure things out. I’ve seen the “day in my life” TikToks, the carefully curated routines, and career updates. Some days, they motivate me. Other days, they make me question whether I’m somehow falling behind.
So, what are we supposed to do with that feeling? Are we really meant to have it all, or are we just chasing the idea that we should?
Trying to move up when the ladder feels broken
That pressure to have everything only grows heavier when you look at the world around us right now. The job market isn’t exactly forgiving, inflation seems to make everything, from rent to groceries, feel a little more out of reach, and suddenly landing that “dream job” feels less like a milestone and more like winning the lottery.
Yet the expectation to keep chasing opportunities never really slows down. We’re told to network more, apply more, hustle more, and somehow stay optimistic through it all, and that’s where FOMO quietly creeps in again. It’s the feeling that while you’re refreshing job boards or waiting to hear back from an interview, someone else your age is already stepping into the life you imagined for yourself. For many young women trying to build a career, it can feel like a race where the finish line keeps moving and the pressure to catch up never quite goes away.
While it may seem hard, one way to ease that pressure is to focus less on comparison and more on intention and consistency. Instead of measuring your progress against someone else’s timeline, try defining what success actually looks like for you. It can help to limit how much you consume content that fuels comparison, especially when social media tends to show only the highlights of someone else’s life.
Setting small, realistic goals can make career growth feel more manageable and less like a race. Most importantly, remember that progress doesn’t always look big. Sometimes moving forward means quietly building your confidence, improving your craft, and trusting that your path doesn’t have to mirror anyone else’s to be meaningful.
Trust me, I know it’s hard. I still catch myself drifting over to someone else’s LinkedIn page. The truth is, I’m still figuring it out day by day, moving in silence, trying to give myself credit for the steps I am taking. Sometimes progress doesn’t look like a promotion announcement. Sometimes it looks like finishing your portfolio after a long day, searching for internships, and sending out applications or reaching out to potential employers, even when you’re nervous to hit “send.” It looks like working an eight-hour retail or food service shift just to pay for the materials you need to succeed, handing someone your business card, sliding your résumé across a table, or showing up to a career expo hoping one conversation might open a door.
Success has many different faces, and most of them are small, quiet moments that happen far away from social media. Those end-of-the-day wins, the ones that feel small at the time, start to build on each other. Eventually, they lead to the bigger milestones we’re all working toward. Some people may cross the finish line faster, but that doesn’t make your journey or your pace any less meaningful.
When FOMO fades, your path becomes clearer
To whoever is reading this and struggling to balance their personal life and professional goals or those feeling FOMO in their careers, friendships, or relationships, this is for you. For the ones who scroll through social media and feel a little defeated seeing influencers on paid vacations, opening PR packages, and living what looks like a lavish life. For the people working long days just to pay for the things that will help build their future. For anyone afraid of spending their birthday alone, who may only have one close friend, or who sometimes wishes they had a bigger circle. Even for the person who simply got dressed today and went to the grocery store, that still counts.
Just know this: you are not alone. So many of us are quietly navigating the same feelings. It may look like everyone else has everything figured out, but most of us are simply learning as we go, one day at a time. The truth is: no one really has the perfect formula for life. We’re all figuring it out along the way.
But one thing remains true for everyone: when you stop letting the fear of missing out control your perspective, your path becomes a little clearer. In that clarity, you start to appreciate the small stepping stones that make up your own journey.