The Fear of Missing Out by Aiyana

The Fear of Missing Out by Aiyana - September 2022 Scholarship Essay

When you're young, you take things for granted. Everything is handed to you on a platter, free for the taking. In my case, my mom paid for everything and I never thought twice about it. I was just along for the ride. But the older you get the more you start to realize that things aren't as simple as you once believed. You realize that those activities you used to love cost money and that the pressure to have money only grows as you get older. Suddenly everywhere you turn you need money. By time my early teen years rolled around, my mom had stopped indulging me as much and money became a real issue for me. I was given money once a year at my birthday and it was up to me to stretch the money and make it work. It always frustrated me, watching my friends do the same things I had to work so hard to do! By the time high school rolled around money had taken on yet another meaning. In middle school a common hangout was the mall, which meant lots window shopping and maybe five or ten dollars for lunch. But the time high school arrived, those fun trips to the mall became money suckers as window shopping turned to actual shopping. Suddenly I was leaving the mall with bags and bags of stuff, most of which probably didn’t need, but everyone else was getting stuff so I had to so I didn't miss out The pressure got more intense. The money slipped away quicker.

In the fall of my junior year, I stumbled across a volunteer opportunity called Teen Lifeline, a peer-to-peer crisis hotline. Being cleared to work the hotline was one of my happiest accomplishments. And I learned something I didn’t expect. The community at Teen Lifeline taught me that money wasn’t needed to have fun. When the peers weren’t answering calls or taking texts, we would hang out and enjoy being together. We spent considerable amounts of time laughing about nothing, attempting baking, sharing things we didn’t normally share… Without the pressure to spend money and fit in, I had the chance to enjoy my junior year its full potential and am on my way to doing the same with my senior year.

If I could give one piece of advice to my past self, it would be to not worry about money so much. To find hobbies and things I enjoy doing for free or cheap and don't let the fear of missing out and peer pressure control my life. Because life can be like a wave sometimes, passing by so fast, and think of all the time I wasted as a kid stressing out because of money. Hopefully I can continue my journey having learned my lesson and learn to live a stress free life where money isn’t a starring role.