Little things aren't so little

Through social media today, we have access to everyone’s highlight reel of life. Their most exciting groundbreaking moments in life all packaged neatly into perfectly filtered, adjusted and aesthetic videos, posts and highlights.

Leaving the rest of us “boring” people, to feel a void inside. We feel like we are missing out. Seeing everyone and their mother going on exciting vacations, partying every night, drinking and having fun makes you feel like you are missing out on the quintessential teenage experience.

Our whole life we’ve been fed with narratives about what our teenage lives should look like. However one paradigm shift that has made a world of difference to this issue, is the existence of social media. Earlier, watching movies where teenagers would get drunk in a parking lot and lose their virginity in a sleazy car seemed like fiction, but nowadays we see real people, people that we personally know, post about a surplus of exciting events in their lives, making us fear that we are missing out.

What are we doing wrong? What do we lack? Why aren’t our lives as exciting? These are regular thoughts that come up.

But the truth is boring is beautiful. And I really love being bored. I think to be bored and do nothing is a skill that many of us seem to have lost today. The constant frenzy of thinking whether or not you’re good enough, spending your precious time scrolling through that inane device, watching other people live life and miss out on living life yourself.

So much of what we see is a facade, and even though we are aware of this, the perfectly coordinated colour schemes and aesthetic array of photos make us lose sight of what is truly important.

In my opinion most of life (even teenage life) is spent in the mundane. Life is slow and fast and everything in between. It is a compilation of little moments that end up becoming a lot. Think about how much of your life is spent just living day by day as opposed to the exciting things. A lot, right?

In order to enjoy the excitement, we have to find joy in the little things.

Little things that aren’t so little to me

My morning cup of tea
Walks to the school bus
My precious nap time after school
The candle I light at the end of a long day
Watching Gilmore girls
Catching up with old friends after a long time
Going on walks
Listening to my favourite songs
Smiling in the midst of adversity
My bed
Being exceptionally bad at something the first time I try it and slowly getting better

Now I could go on, but the point of this article is to just bring to light the fact that a compilation of little things ends up making a full life.

So the next time you see a party reel that you want to be a part of, remind yourself that the person on the other side isn’t as happy as they look, and somewhere inside everyone has a void they’re trying to fill.

Go to parties, and enjoy yourself, but don’t waste your time trying to prove that you’re enjoying yourself. It’s your life, and you define what enjoyment is.

On some days enjoying myself looks like a raging party, but on most it looks like cuddling up in bed with a cup of my favourite herbal tea and watching Gilmore girls. Both bring me immense joy. So instead of feeling FOMO (Fear of missing out) learn to feel JOMO (Joy of missing out).

Learn to find joy in what’s little.

Because before you know - little by little, a little becomes a lot.

Sarah Makani