The Fear of missing out.

Missing out—it isn’t always bad to miss out on something. Sometimes, missing out on something benefits you, like if your friends are wreaking havoc or doing anything bad. Missing out is good for you in those situations. But if your friends are doing something that benefits others, you should help them rather than missing out on that.

This phrase doesn’t have a definitive meaning, is what I’m trying to say. It’s like most things in life—it has a good and a bad version. There are two types of people, really. The people who don’t like missing out are called FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), and the people who don’t mind missing out are called JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). I think I’m more of a FOMO type of person, but I’m not too sure about that yet.

One story about me missing out is that when I was little—littler than I am now—I used to go to school on a bus. A bunch of my friends also used to go on that bus. My friends always sat in the back, and I was usually with them, but one time, the back seats were filled. I didn’t know what to do since all my friends were sitting back there, and all the seats in the front were occupied. I had to sit right behind the driver’s seat since that was the only unoccupied one, and boy, was I anxious. It felt like everyone was staring at me. And when I heard my friends laughing in the back, I always felt like I was missing out. I didn't know at the time but this was me experiencing the fear of missing out.

That day, the kids sitting in the back were talking so loudly, and a fight also broke out. Even those who were not involved were issued a warning. The driver filed a complaint with their parents.

I guess everything that happens, has a purpose but still, that was probably the first time I felt so anxious, and it might have even given me a bit of anxiety, but looking back at it now, it wasn’t that serious of a story. I was probably overreacting—a LOT. It’s just these little things that you start thinking about that get you stressed out. That’s kind of the reason I’m even writing this post—to remind everyone that missing out isn’t always bad.

It’s like most things in life—like choices or other materialistic stuff—people stress over it too much when they’re young, and when they get older, they realize how dumb the whole thing was. I really like this post topic because I think it will make more people realize how short life is and that they shouldn’t be wasting most of it thinking about what they missed out on. As they say, "Forget the past, live the present, and plan the future." That is one of my favorite quotes, and it is a big inspiration for me writing this post.

Sometimes, even when we think we are missing out, we really aren’t. We think we don’t have anything, but in reality, we have everything we need. For example, if a kid with wealthy parents doesn’t get what he wants, he’ll think he’s missing out, while in reality, most kids dream of having what he has. I think most people feel left out on a daily basis, whether it’s going to the movies with their friends or anything really.

Whenever this happens to me, one thing always comes to mind.

One time, my friends were going to the zoo, but my mom didn’t give me permission to go. I don’t remember the reason why, but I do remember that the place was far from home. At the time, I wasn’t old enough to go too far from my house without my mom, though I didn’t realize how dangerous it actually was. After all, I was only seven years old.

That day, I didn’t talk to anyone because I didn’t understand that I simply wasn’t old enough to go.

A few days went by, and I met the friends who went to the zoo again. Turns out, one of the monkeys escaped the cage and attacked my friend. Luckily, there was an adult nearby, so no one got hurt. That day, I couldn’t have been more grateful that my mom stopped me from going.

Nowadays, people always think their parents are over reacting when their parents stop them from doing something, but that is certainly not the case. Our parents always want the best for us, even if doing that is boring. Not me though, after that incident, I don't think that will be the case.

This post has a few lessons. The first one: missing out isn’t always bad. And the second one: always trust a mother’s intuition.

Anyways, I guess this is the end of my post. Bye!