The seemingly few moments of calm I experienced during this past summer I spent thinking. I thought a lot about wasting time, as counterintuitive as that sounds. Because I was in a period of change in my life, I decided why not change a little extra. Transitionary periods in our lives are great situations to make changes. So, I came up with a list of things that I decided going into college in which I would stop wasting my time doing, thinking, worrying, or obsessing.
1. How many likes an Instagram post receives
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It's really silly to think how much people care about this silly aspect of social media. It's crazy how a little number below a photo can determine a person's worth to the point where people purchase likes online to try and make their photo appear to have a higher number. Or they just delete it when it doesn't reach the certain number they wanted in their minds. NO MORE. I'm done giving power to that little heart icon. The significance should be in the photo itself not the number below it.
2. That mistake I made 3 years ago
..or the past in general. It has already happened and it can't be changed. There is no use in allowing your brain to play those bad experiences on repeat. It happened, and the little seemingly awful, heartbreaking, and humiliating pieces of your life contributed to who you are and where you are at this moment. I'm accepting that, and leaving the past in the past.
3. Worrying about what everyone else is doing
I'm done waking up in the morning, scrolling through my different feeds and stories, and feeling like I missed out because I wasn't sitting on the beach in the Caribbean, at some party with everyone I know, on a shopping trip with a platinum cards that never seems to run out. However, none of that is true and it's important to remember I'm only seeing what they want to portray to the world. That night could have been the worst night of their life. Comparing and worrying about what others are doing is an ineffective and wasteful practice.
4. How many friends I have
100 pennies versus 4 quarters. Quality is better than quantity. No need to say more. "Remember you don't need a certain number of friends, Just a number of friends you can be certain of" -unknown
5. Trying to Control everything
Things are constantly changing. "Going with the flow" is really the only way to not be continuously stressed by plans not going according to how you expected. I'm ditching that extra unnecessary stress and letting things happen as they do.
6. Stalking others on social media
Social media can be great, but not when trying to get to know someone better. Nothing good can come out of obsessively looking at all his past girlfriends, her bazillion perfect summer body bikini shots, or the brand new Jeep Wrangler she got for her birthday. This is where minding my own business is necessary to avoid that discouragement I feel from this fake perception of other's lives. Social media can't show me who they truly are so spending hours scrolling through their pictures is, like everything else I mentioned, a waste of time.
7. Taking photos of my food
This one is just dumb. I don't know where along the line in my life I decided that it was okay or desirable to take a photo of my food before I have even taken a bite. The world doesn't need to see what I eat and I'm done sharing it.
