Usually, the beginning of a new semester has me feeling all sorts of excitement at the thought of starting new courses, being back with all of my friends and taking more dance classes. But the start of this semester has been completely different. Instead of being back in Waterloo and jumping right back into my life at Laurier, I’m back in my childhood home, working a full-time job, while waiting for my study abroad semester to begin.
It’s only been two weeks since the winter holidays have ended, but it’s felt so much longer than that. Plus, I feel like I’m missing out on so much of the life I’m used to living. Choosing to study abroad for my final term of my university career was a bold choice as it means that last semester was my final term attending school at Laurier. More distressingly, it was my last semester with all the friends I’ve made over the last three and a half years. With this realization, I found myself questioning the choice I’ve made, but only just a little bit. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m so excited to move across the world for a semester, but my FOMO surrounding the life I’ve made for myself at university has been extremely overwhelming. My life is changing faster than I prepared for it to, and honestly, it’s hitting me a lot harder emotionally than I was expecting.
At this point, I feel as though I need to shift my mindset. I need to focus on everything that I’ll gain from this opportunity rather than constantly thinking about all the memories and experiences that I’m going to miss out on at home. I know that this exchange semester is an amazing opportunity that will give me many new experiences, and I’m so excited for my adventure to start. It’s this waiting period that makes it harder because I feel like I should be back at school rather than being at home. Seeing my friends together on social media is escalating the FOMO I feel. I’m trying to make as much time as I can to see them before I go, although it’s not the same as physically being with them this semester.
I also know that my FOMO won’t be as overwhelming once I start my study abroad since I’ll be so busy adjusting to my new environment that these feelings won’t be as prominent. Even so, it’s important that I stop thinking of FOMO in such a negative context. Instead, I should flip it around to view it positively: I’m so lucky to have friends and family in my life that I care about so much that the thought of moving across the world from them makes me distressed.
Choosing to embrace the feelings of FOMO rather than pushing them away will help me fully live in the moment. And yes, the life I’m leaving behind is going to continue without me, but I’ll be back in no time with loads of stories to share with all my friends, and I can’t wait for them to do the same. Sometimes, just a small mindset shift can make the biggest difference in the way you view your life, and I think that this mindset change is really going to help me with mine.