College Fomo
by: Kaylynn O'Curran
As spring break has come to an end and seniors are coming back from their college trips, the halls are filled with gleeful upperclassmen who have a sense of where their life is headed. Well that might be a little overstated, seniors still have no idea of who they are. However a good amount of them know where they will be headed in the fall. Despite this crowd of college commits, there are still many seniors who come back from their college trips just as unsure as they were before they left. Those seniors come back to the question “so where are you planning to go?” and still have no answer. Social media is teaming with commitment posts with dozens of congrats in the comments. This can add pressure to an already exhausting process.
For those seniors who are still deciding between UCs, privates, or out-of-state schools there is a sort of FOMO. Even though May 1st is fastly approaching and people will be deciding, everyone wants to get those dozens of congrats that come with the cute picture. There are many different methods to avoiding this college FOMO while making your decision.
Firstly, delete all of you social media. Out of sight, out of mind. If you can’t see the constant Instagram and Facebook posts, bio changes, and flooding of congratulations then it basically isn’t happening. Sure you might lose your 562 day streak with your snapchat bestie but at least you won’t have Betsy reminding you every day that her boyfriend is going to Tulane. No one cares Betsy.
Second thing to do to avoid this education related FOMO is to stop going to classes with mostly or entirely seniors. This will avoid seeing the in person bragging that comes with friend groups and teachers asking about college. It happens to be on everyone's mind and although it is something you need to think about, you probably don’t want it brought up in every aspect of your day. So of course that means not going to class is the only option.
Finally, remember that at the end of the day you will find the college you’re supposed to be at and even if you don’t you can always transfer next year. We are all on our own journeys and comparison will just make you unnecessarily unhappy in the end. Goodluck to all the seniors still deciding and have fun with not going to class or being on social media!